ABOUT THIS REPORT

Each year we take pride in presenting you with an account of our achievements , our challenges and our aspirations moving forward . This year , we continued to navigate the challenging environment surrounding COVID-19 and are proud of the support we provided to individuals , families and communities amidst widespread social upheaval .

This report provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the work that occurs every day across the organisation to deliver positive health and wellbeing outcomes for our community and deliver on the vision and purpose of Merri Health .

Our theme this year is ‘ Celebrating Partnerships in Care ’!

PARTNERSHIPS

A key success this year has been our ability to continue to foster positive , collaborative partnerships with a broad range of key stakeholders that have improved health , social and community outcomes . Partnerships are key to providing integrated and holistic health care , connections and to developing innovative services !

This year we engaged with over 140 diverse partners , as well as clients and communities in the co-design , delivery and evaluation of our services . You can read more about our partnerships throughout the report .

ADAPTABILITY AND RESILIENCE

The last twelve months have been successful on many different levels . We adapted to the challenges of the pandemic , continued to operate effectively and supported many vulnerable and marginalised communities .

We are particularly proud of the significant role we played in supporting , connecting and educating the community in response to COVID-19 , especially our work in the High-Risk Accommodation Response program . We supported over 2600 residents at 165 facilities and facilitated Merri-bek ’ s first pop-up COVID vaccination hub – providing over 2217 vaccinations this year and 4700 in total .

Despite many challenges , Merri Health identified and fostered opportunities that grew our service offerings , increased access for individuals and communities , and expanded our geographical reach . Our service responses became more agile .

Through a combination of telehealth , face-to-face and hybrid delivery , we reached more people and were able to adapt our models of care to provide services across regions with reduced access barriers . These new service delivery models will feature as part of our enhanced ongoing suite of service offerings .

ACHIEVEMENTS

We are particularly proud that Merri Health was a Finalist for the Victorian Premier ’ s Primary Health Service of the Year Award in recognition of these vast and enhanced service offerings .

In particular , we provided 259,935 services instances , reached over 30,000 residents with community led events in Fawkner alone and provided over 22,211 carers with support across Victoria .

Throughout the following pages you will have the opportunity to read about Merri Health ’ s service development in response to gaps and emerging needs .

Our successes include :

• launched our Smile Squad school dental program

• set up an Assistive Technology Library to support people with dementia

• grew our Chronic Pain Service and reduced the burden on hospitals

• launched our Hello ! Moreland program to foster community leadership

• led the Elder Abuse Prevention Network across the North and West of Melbourne

• became an access point for the Hume-Moreland ‘ Orange Door ’ in response to family violence

Whilst service delivery takes precedence , a key focus has been ensuring the capacity and capability of the organisation continues to be enhanced to meet current and future demands . A broad range of actions was mobilised to support this including state-of-the art audiology , podiatry , rehabilitation and dental equipment upgrades at four sites .

Diversity and inclusion also remain a priority and we are pleased to be an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality for the fourth time .

Merri Health has invested in research and evaluation capability and participated in Australian-first research to improve health outcomes for people in social housing . We also developed a new Reconciliation Action Plan focused on moving from ‘ safe to brave ’ and an updated Family Violence and Gender Equity Strategic Action Plan .

The reform environment continues to be rapid and evolving and we continue to prepare , review and respond . From aged care to family violence and mental health , reform preparedness has now become part of our business as usual .

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