Life! eligibility criteria

is as follows;

Victorians at high risk of T2DM (AUSDRISK score 12 or more) aged 45 years and over who do not have diabetes.

Aboriginal Victorians aged 18 years and over (AUSDRISK score 12 or more) who do not have diabetes.

Victorians aged 18 years and over who have a history of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) or Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and have not had a diagnosis of diabetes.

Life! Referrals can be completed via your software and forwarded to

Rosemary Cole, Community Health Nurse.

Please include recent (performed within the last 12 months)

BP

BGL

Lipid Studies ie Chol, HDL,LDL, Triglycerides.

CVD Risk Score

NB: Rosemary will organise a 1 hour Introduction Session ASAP after referral is received. This is a comprehensive overview of the program, assessment and goal

setting session, designed to help get the client “on track” prior to the Life! pro-gram starting.

NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2014

Active Health Portland’s November Newsletter

What’s On In November

1-30 November Lung Awareness Month

Movember

5th November Stress Awareness Day

7th November Walk to Work Day

9-15 November National Psychology Week

19th November World COPD Day

11th November Remembrance Day

14th November World Diabetes Day

24th November Celebrate your Unique Talent

25th November White Ribbon Day

World Diabetes Day is held on the 14th day of November. This date is significate as it is the

birthday of Frederick Banting, the man who discovered insulin in 1921. World Diabetes Day

is celebrated worldwide, where numerous local and national events are organized to raise

awareness for diabetes.

Page 2 Active Health Portland’s November Newsletter

Community Transport Portland Community Transport Service is a ser-

vice provided by Portland District Health. It is

available for access through Active Health Port-

land. The service is provided with the assis-

tance of volunteers.

Transport can be provided to eligible users for:

Medical appointments and access to com-

munity services;

One off social activities;

All clients must be eligible for transport, as fol-

lows:

Frail aged persons and/or those with

physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities

who have a functional disability;

Lives at home;

Cannot use conventional public transport;

No other transport options open to the

including Red Cross Transport Service

and Public Transport;

Are financially disadvantaged;

Any member of the public can contact the ser-

vice without referral.

Any service provider can contact the service

on behalf of the client.

There is a fee for this service.

To contact the service phone Active Health

Portland on 5522 1200,

Please give as much notice as possible and

the co-ordinator will contact you by telephone.

Our Current Staff Members

General Practitioners:

Dr. Marg Garde

Dr. Judy Carson

Dr. Malinda Leary

Dr. Ann Dunbar

Dr. Scott Deller

Dr. Deborah Carrington

Dr. Heidi Cutting

Student Doctors:

Adrian Luscombe

Laura Tagell

Practice Nurses:

Helen Beavis

Michelle Finck

Allied Health:

Vicki Barbary -Credentialed

Diabetes Educator

Melissa Yip - Accredited

Practicing Dietitian

Mikaela Staples—Social

Worker/Youth Worker

Rosemary Cole—Community

Health Nurse

Fiona Coulson—Speech

Therapist,

Carolyn Price—Mental

Health Nurse

Ruth Magnusson —

Psychologist/councillor

Exercise physiologist—Shae

Johnson

Podiatrist—Rebecca Rundell

and Nikki Edwards

Practice Manager:

Kat Warner

Administration:

Michelle Harris

Michelle Emmerson

Gabrielle Lewis

Louise Willis

Cherie Arnott .

Picture taken by Portland Observer, featuring some of our staff

Page 7 Active Health Portland’s November Newsletter

When you are first diagnosed with a chronic (long

term) illness or condition you may feel quite over-

whelmed and worried about your health. You may

be wondering how it will affect you. How will it af-

fect yourself, those close to you, your lifestyle and

your future?

Learning about your condition and ways you can

manage it is an important step to that allows you

to taking take control.

The following steps from Arthritis Victoria and tips

from a Community Health Nurse will help you to

understand your condition, make informed deci-

sions and live well with it.:.

• Learn about your condition

Accept all information offered by your doctor or

other health professionals and don’t be afraid to

ask questions

Look up Victorian/Australian Foundations that

represent your condition on the Internet (e.g. Dia-

betes Australia, The Heart Foundation)

Call 1800 Foundation info lines

Visit your library

And be careful about listening to other peoples

experiences or unqualified advice as not every-

one’s conditions are exactly the same. If you have

questions or concerns, raise them with your

health professionals.

• Your healthcare team

-communicating well (frequently and openly) &

working as a team is critical.

Ask your doctor about any self-help or relevant

programs or support groups that may be offered.

You can also call Active Health 5522 1200 or

Portland District Health Intake on 5521 0653

-Understand your management or treatment op-

tions

• Becoming informed and being able to ask

your doctor about different options helps put you

more in control of your health

• Explore different types of physical activity

• Being as active as possible has great ben-

efits… both physically and mentally. Ask for an

Exercise Physiologist referral if you need special-

ised support or aren’t sure about activities that are

best suited to you and your condition.

• Learn how you can make healthy food

choices

Eating sensibly a nutritious diet helps you to feel

your best .Ask for a Dietitian referral if you need

extra assistance.

• Identify effective condition /pain manage-

ment techniques

Understanding and trialling different options with

your doctor can make a real difference. What has

worked for someone else may not necessarily be

the best option for you.

• Manage your fatigue & energy levels

Don’t underestimate the importance of pacing

yourself, scheduling tasks and establishing good

sleeping habits…

• Acknowledge the emotional challenges

Knowing how to break the pain /depression cycle

with exercise, good pain/condition management,

social contacts etc can help to ward off negativity

very effectively.

If you feel you need emotional support or ideas

about coping strategies, speak to your doctor and

ask for a referral to see a counsellor.

• Research complementary therapies

Don’t blindly take alternative remedies unless

you can find good research showing that they are

effective.

Always discuss alternative remedies with your

doctor and pharmacist as they can interact with

other medications.

• Let’s talk about sex

If your condition is impacting on your sex life,

speak with your doctor or health professional –

there are things that can be done.

Primary Source:/ www.arthritisvic.org.au/

Conditions-and-Symptoms/What-is-Arthritis/

Living-Well

• For more information

Some Foundation Websites

1. www.arthritisvic.org.au

2. www.diabetesvic.org.au

3. www.heartfoundation.org.au/

4. www.asthma.org.au

5. http://www.epilepsy.org.au/

www.epinet.org.au

6. www.parkinsons.org.au

7. http://www.copdx.org.au/

Compiled by Rosemary Cole, Community Health

Nurse, Active Health.

Living with a chronic condition?

Page 6 Active Health Portland’s November Newsletter

DID YOU HAVE TROUBLE

GETTING AN APPOINTMENT TO

SEE A DOCTOR?

We had 10 people NOT attend their

appointments in the past week.

Please help fellow patients by letting

us know if you are unable to attend

your appointment,

so that other patients who need

medical help, are able to attend.

THANK YOU.

How long have you been a nurse?

13 years , I have worked in aged care, orthopedic, and in GP for 4 years.

Why further study?

It was time to take the next step for me, and it opens more doors in the future.

What will you grad year entail?

Consolidate the last 3 years at uni. Working on clinical skills and decision making.

Any special areas of interest?

I enjoy general practice, emergency and children.

In five years time I see myself…?

As CEO at PDH :)

Professionally?

Paramedic/Nurse

CONGRATULATIONS

MICHELLE FINCK

ON YOUR GRAD YEAR

Patients, please remember to present

yourself to the girls in reception when ar-

riving for appointments. This makes it eas-

ier for us to know you’re here , and your

doctor can see you as soon as they can.

Reminder for All Patients

Page 3

Evening Appointment Sessions

Active Health Portland has an evening appointment session one evening per week be-

tween six and eight pm. These sessions are ran to make doctors appointments more con-

venient for patients who work long hours, or just simply cannot find time during our usual

practice hours. Please enquire at reception for more details.

Active Health Portland - Consultation Times

Standard Appointment 15 mins

Long Appointment 30 mins

Please note: If your health needs require an appointment which is longer than these times please advise the receptionist when booking and we will consult with the doctor about the best time to make this appointment for you.

Also, it is really important that we have

your correct details, for example, ad-

dress, phone number, Medicare and

pension card numbers, etc.. Please do

not forget to let us know when any of

these change.

Page 4 Active Health Portland’s November Newsletter

Are you concerned that they may be overweight? Would you like to prevent a weight problem in your family?

Did you know that studies have demonstrated that you burn up more calories while you are asleep than while you watch television ?

Here are a few tips that have a huge impact on the health of your family.

Reduce “screen time” Look at TV, video game and comput-er usage - the whole family needs to commit to reduc-ing the time each one spends in front of a screen

How many TVs are there in the house? Is it possible to re-duce the numbers or to only have one on at a time?

Who turns the TV on or off? Parents should be involved in limiting the time spent in front of a screen and also set an example to their children.

Is there a TV in the bedroom?

What about DVDs, computers, play stations, IPads or other devices?

Look at alternatives;

What else can you and your family do, that does not involve a screen?

Read a book or magazine

Take the dog for a walk

Play a game

Visit friends

Are you concerned about the health of your children?

Page 5

World COPD Day

World COPD day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for

Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease to improve awareness and care of chronic ob-

structive pulmonary disease (COPD) around the world. CPOD Day in 2014 will

take place on November 19 around the theme “It’s Not Too Late”. Additional

media resources will be available beginning in mid-October.

The 25th of November is White Ribbon Day, a male-led Australian campaign to prevent

men’s violence against women.

In Australia, one in three women will expe-rience violence by someone known to them and at least one woman is killed every week

by a partner or ex-partner.

White Ribbon Day is about recognising the positive role that men play in preventing vi-

olence against women, by speaking out against and challenging the attitudes and behaviours of men who commit or excuse

violence.

Take the oath and wear a white ribbon on November 25th.

“I swear never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women.”

www.whiteribbon.org.au