St Arnaud residents will be able to check their health for free at a special event in the lead-up to Christmas.
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Free health checks are being offered on Thursday, December 7, at the St Arnaud Neighbourhood House at 34 Alma Street from 10:30am-3:30pm as part of a joint Grampians Community Health and Ballarat Community Health initiative.
It is the first event of its type but others will be organised across the Grampians and Wimmera regions in 2024.
Grampians Community Health Targeted Response project lead Mel Pesic said the checks would be like a one-stop shop for health.
"We are trying to reach people who may not have easy access to medical support," Ms Pesic said.
Ballarat Community Health nurses and vaccination nurses will be on site to provide free health checks to the community and provide COVID-19 boosters.
A diabetes educator from Grampians Community Health will be available, along with a service navigator intake worker so referrals can be made to other health programs.
"We want to make it easy for people to access the services they need and advise them on the next steps they could take," Ms Pesic said.
During COVID-19, Grampians Community Health supported and educated communities, particularly people who were most vulnerable due to living conditions, health literacy, or limited supports to get access to COVID-19 vaccinations and information.
"We continue to support the people that we helped over this time, and are offering supports, boosters and health information to more people across our shire by reaching out directly to where people are in the smaller communities," said GCH manager community and capacity, Kristy Price.
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On December 7, free health checks and health information will be offered, free RATS and masks provided, information provided about COVID-19 vaccination boosters and vaccinations given if needed, and people will be linked to further health services if needed.
"Everyone is welcome to come along to chat to our community nurses and receive a free health check and find out more about programs offered by GCH," Ms Price said.
Other Grampians Community Health workers will be on hand are able to assist with information about services that can support people in the St Arnaud community.
Between now and May 2024, GCH plans to visit other smaller towns across the shire with the free health check program.
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