Gippsland Lakes Complete Health

31/08/2026

Eat more veg. It's a simple message! 🥕

Here we are at the launch of Get the Edge. Eat More Veg. CEO Anne-Maree Kaser has signed the 'Pledge for More Veg' on our behalf.

The campaign asks us to find room for one more serve of vegetables each day.

As a region known for growing great produce, it's a message that makes sense for Gippsland. And it's something we can get 100% behind, because we're all about helping people live their best, healthiest lives as Jaquie (right) and Ainsleigh (left) in our health promotion team know all too well.

Keep an eye out for the campaign around town over the next few weeks. 🥦💚

👉 Find tips, hacks and recipes at VegEdge.com.au

Gippsland Region Public Health Unit - GRPHU AUSVEG Plus One Serve

28/08/2026

Job list for this weekend....
1) Watch local football netball finals
2) Soak up the last of the winter sunshine.
3) apply for a job at Gippsland Lakes Complete Health!

🟣Alcohol and Drug Counsellor & Care and Recovery Worker
🟣Home and Community Based Nursing Manager
🟣General Practitioner
🟣Registered Nurse- Expression of Interest
🟣Alcohol & Other Drugs Dual Diagnosis Clinician - Mental Health & Wellbeing Local
🟣AOD Youth Outreach Worker
🟣Early Childhood Educator
🟣Specialist Family Violence Practitioner

More information here: https://ow.ly/QNBN50ZFXqR.

28/08/2026

Steve Fletcher is a valuable member of our Community Advisory Group, and he wants your vote!

Check out his film below, called Through My Eyes, explaining his approach to living with disability and learning new skills.

“My goal was to make more people aware of people with a disability, by talking about not only my own disability, but other peoples.”

Steve has entered the Focus on Ability short film festival. You have until midnight, TONIGHT, to vote.

https://focusonability.com.au/films/2026/through-my-eyes-12157

As a member of our Community Advisory Group, Steve is an advocate for accessibility in all our services.

The group is a chance to go behind the scenes and better understand the challenges and opportunities shaping healthcare here in East Gippsland.

If you want to get involved, you can!

Through My Eyes is a 2026 open entrant documentaries film by Steven Fletcher from Australia. Watch it free.

27/08/2026

Safe, compassionate support for people living with trauma

We've partnered with TraumaConnect by The Cairnmillar Institute to offer East Gippsland locals free access to the digital platform, which provides safe information about trauma and recovery.

The platform includes articles and practical information from clinicians and people with lived experience of trauma, along with videos designed to help people better understand the impacts of trauma. It can also be used by carers, family members and health professionals supporting someone through recovery.

"Sometimes people want to understand what they're experiencing before they speak to someone. Sometimes they're waiting for an appointment, or they're supporting someone they care about. This gives people somewhere safe to start. It's accessible and it's a targeted response, complementing our face-to-face delivery of care." - Trish Prighel, Family Violence Services manager

People living or working in East Gippsland can access TraumaConnect free of charge at https://ow.ly/aR6j50ZFsSo. For those who want to find out more about GLCH’s family violence support, call 5155 8300.

26/08/2026

This National Meals on Wheels Day, we want to pay tribute to the late John Nicholson of Eagle Point, pictured here with his wife Jacqui and GLCH volunteer engagement officer Karren.

John passed away peacefully at home on August 6, with his memorial service being held later this week.

John was a dedicated volunteer with Gippsland Lakes Complete Health. His family describe him as a man who was always ready to offer a helping hand, and someone who was generous with his time.

This is certainly our experience.

We thank all of our volunteers this National Meals on Wheels Day, including remembering John.

Go well.

17/08/2026

Diary date: Mark up your calendar, Friday Aug 28 is the day you need to reach for purple.

This year's Wear it Purple Day theme is Colours of Courage. Courage can look like speaking up, standing out and creating change. It can also take quieter forms of bravery, like living authentically, coming out, asking for support, standing beside someone, or choosing pride and hope in spaces where being yourself does not always feel easy.

The day is all about celebrating the many different forms of courage shown by LGBTGIA+SB young people, allies and communities.

To get ready, tell us what 'Colours of Courage' or Wear it Purple Day means to you. There's official merch on the line!

13/08/2026

👋Hello New Leaf Cafe Bairnsdale. New to the Catering for Good Directory! 🎉

The Catering for Good Directory helps YOU find local caterers offering healthier menu options, perfect for your next meeting, training session or community event.

New Leaf Café, at 270 Main Street, Bairnsdale, is all about delicious, high-quality food that makes healthy catering an easy choice. The team sources local produce wherever possible and loves getting creative with fresh menu options that go beyond the usual catering fare.

As Shannon from New Leaf Café explains: "A lot of people don't actually know too much about healthy eating, and they often choose the easy, processed options. It's good to have healthy choices available and an opportunity to learn that nutritious food can also be delicious."

And healthy doesn't mean boring. "You can still get tasty food. Healthy doesn't have to be bland," says Shannon. "Our meals are delicious, exciting, and we've introduced new options that give people something different to enjoy."

For the New Leaf team, it's about more than nutrition: "We love food, we love supporting local producers wherever we can, and we love being creative in the kitchen."

Joining the Catering for Good directory, part of the Healthy Eating Advisory Service, was also easier than expected. "We'd been putting it off for over 12 months because it seemed too hard, but Anna (in the GLCH Health Promotion team) made the whole process really easy," Shannon said. "We're excited to reach more local businesses and provide them with healthier catering options."

Looking for healthier catering for your next meeting or event? Check out the Catering for Good Directory and support local. 🔗https://ow.ly/Ahte50Zz8fo

12/08/2026

East Gippslanders are invited to help shape the future of affordable, nourishing food at a food systems mapping workshop on August 25 in Sarsfield.

It's all about bringing together community members, local organisations, businesses and service providers to identify practical actions that can strengthen food access across the region.

Previous workshops have explored the many factors that influence people's access to affordable, nourishing food.

“The systems map being developed shows strong links between access to food and wider issues including housing stability, transport, financial stress, employment, education, family violence and social connection," says GLCH Health Promotion Team Leader Jaquie Nethercote.

Participant, Lakes Entrance Secondary College school nurse Kate Bire, said the final workshop was an opportunity for the wider community to help turn those insights into local action.

“I look forward to even more community members, and organisations joining in the conversation as we identify practical actions together to strengthen our food system.

“I’m proud and excited to join a network that will inevitably benefit the youth we support in the Secondary School Program.”

The workshop will be held on Tuesday, August 25, from 1.30pm to 4.00pm, at the Sarsfield Community Hall and Reserve. Afternoon tea will be provided.

Community members can register by emailing the Health Promotion team at Gippsland Lakes Complete Health via [email protected].

GLCH is hosting the workshop in partnership with the Gippsland Region Public Health Unit - GRPHU and East Gippsland Shire Council.

06/08/2026

In three months, Lakes Entrance's new Drop-In Centre has welcomed people seeking support 171 times.

For many in Lakes, the Centre has become a place to find practical support and build helpful relationships. Visitors come for a hot meal, a shower, laundry facilities, warm clothing and the chance to reconnect with others.

Community support for the Drop-In Centre continues to grow, with community groups finding new ways to contribute.

Among them is the Lakes Entrance Lions Club, which recently donated eight purpose-built backpack beds and 10 portable stoves to the centre.

Designed specifically for people sleeping rough, the backpack beds use waterproof and fire-retardant materials to provide shelter in all weather conditions, when traditional blankets and doonas are often no longer usable.

💬“Lions is a huge organisation but we want to focus on our immediate community here in Lakes – with a focus on early intervention. We are here to serve and prioritise the needs of the community." -Lakes Entrance Lions Club president Brigid Baldwin.

📸: Lakes Entrance Lions Club secretary / treasurer Max White with president Brigid Baldwin at the Drop-In Centre in Jemmeson Street. The Centre is open Monday and Tuesday from 10am-3pm.

03/08/2026

Seeing people sleeping rough in East Gippsland communities has become the norm, driven by rentals becoming increasingly unaffordable and insufficient social housing. The longer people remain without support or stable housing, the more complex their needs become.

This Homelessness Awareness Week, The Gippsland Homelessness Network has shared facts about homelessness in our region:

➡️ In March this year there were 7,791 households on the Victorian Housing Register social housing waitlist
➡️15.2% of households that accessed homelessness supports were sleeping rough in tents, cars and in the open
➡️12.2% of people who accessed homelessness services were employed.

The top three reasons for accessing supports were; inadequate or inappropriate housing, housing crisis and financial difficult.

No one chooses to be homeless.

Our Drop-In Centre in Lakes Entrance is a small way we are working to increase support available to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. It’s a safe and warm place, people can come and grab a meal, wash clothes and access a shower. Open Monday and Tuesday 10am-3pm in Lakes Entrance, we’d like support to ensure this service remains viable.

📸: We've received a lot of support from volunteers and helpers, like Debbie.