Barwon Health

Barwon Health Victoria's largest regional service, providing state-of-the-art treatment and care.

Barwon Health is established under the Health Services Act 1988 as a Schedule 5 public health service. Formed in 1998, Barwon Health is one of the largest and most comprehensive regional health services in Australia,
providing care at all stages of life and circumstance. With more than 8,758 staff, we are one of Australiaโ€™s
largest regional employers and the largest employer in Geelong. Barwon Health provides services for everyone who needs care, regardless of their financial status or the location of their usual residence. As a regional health service, we provide leadership and tertiary referral services across the
Barwon South West region. We provide services from the University Hospital Geelong precinct in central Geelong, the McKellar Centre precinct in North Geelong and other locations including the Sunrise Centre, a partnership initiative with the Geelong Football Club and the Transport Accident Commission that provides a contemporary community venue for specialist community rehabilitation programs. We provide community health services from Anglesea, Belmont, Corio, Newcomb, and Torquay and dental services from Belmont, Corio and Newcomb. Our newest sites include Barwon Health North in Norlane providing, amongst other services, child and family health services, renal dialysis, medical imaging and an urgent care service. Mental health, drugs and alcohol services are provided at the Swanston Centre at University Hospital Geelong, Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) at Belmont Community Rehabilitation Facility, the McKellar Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre and Blakiston Lodge Psychogeriatric Unit at the McKellar Centre and 10 community-based locations including Belmont, central Geelong, Colac, Corio, Barwon Health North and Newcomb. We provide residential aged care beds across two sites: Alan David Lodge in Charlemont, and three lodges on the
McKellar Centre precinct in North Geelong these include Percy Baxter Lodge, Wallace Lodge and Blakiston Lodge. We provide a comprehensive range of health services including acute care (medicine, surgery, womenโ€™s health,
paediatrics, emergency and specialist clinics), mental health, alcohol and other drugs services, primary care,
community health, rehabilitation, geriatric medicine, palliative care, community nursing and hospital in the home. As a major teaching hospital, we have relationships with Deakin University, LaTrobe University, the Gordon
Institute and other tertiary education providers including the University of Melbourne and Monash University. We
provide teaching and training for all health professionals across all disciplines, at all career stages.

17/09/2026

๐Ÿ—๏ธ ๐Œ๐š๐ฃ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง ๐–๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐งโ€™๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ž๐งโ€™๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ

Construction of the new Barwon Womenโ€™s and Childrenโ€™s continues to make strong progress, with several major milestones recently achieved on one of the regionโ€™s most significant health infrastructure projects.

Take a moment to hear from Barwon Health's Chief Executive Frances Diver on the latest updates on the project.

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐‹๐š๐ฎ๐ซ๐š ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐, ๐€๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐“๐ž๐š๐ฆ ๐‹๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ซ | ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง & ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ "I've been part of ...
12/09/2026

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก
๐‹๐š๐ฎ๐ซ๐š ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐, ๐€๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐“๐ž๐š๐ฆ ๐‹๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ซ | ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง & ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ 
"I've been part of the Barwon Health team for almost six years, and every day brings something different.

Before joining Barwon Health, I worked in conferencing and events at Deakin University and The Salvation Army, coordinating corporate events and supporting front-of-house operations. When my previous workplace was sold, I made the move into healthcare, a decision I've never looked back on.

Today, as Administration Team Leader for the Centre for Education and Training, I work alongside a fantastic administration team, supporting a diverse range of services including agreements, student placements, funding, training data and countless inquiries from across Barwon Health and the wider region.

What I enjoy most is the variety. Every day presents new challenges, new opportunities to improve systems and processes, and new ways to support colleagues across the organisation. I love bringing people together, solving problems and helping everything run smoothly behind the scenes.

Although my role isn't patient-facing, I know the work our team does has a real impact. By supporting the education and development of our workforce, we're helping ensure our clinicians and staff have what they need to deliver the best possible care to our community.

I'm incredibly grateful to work alongside such a knowledgeable and supportive team. Every day I learn something new, and it's rewarding to know that, together, we're making a difference for our workforce and ultimately for our patients.โ€

Teams and departments all across Barwon Health were glowing in yellow as we came together to share kindness and check in...
10/09/2026

Teams and departments all across Barwon Health were glowing in yellow as we came together to share kindness and check in for R U OK? Day.
Remember, a simple conversation can make a world of difference to someone who might be going through a tough time. No special qualifications needed... just ask: "R U OK?"

If you or someone you know needs support, reach out:
๐Ÿ“ž Lifeline: 13 11 14 (Available 24/7)
๐Ÿ“ž Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 (Available 24/7)

A conversation could change a life: https://www.ruok.org.au/

The flu season is coming late this year; itโ€™s never too late to get your flu vaccine.It can take a week or more to recov...
09/09/2026

The flu season is coming late this year; itโ€™s never too late to get your flu vaccine.

It can take a week or more to recover from the flu. The flu vaccine can reduce the severity of illness, which means a quicker recovery. It can also make it harder to catch it in the first place.

Vaccines can be accessed through GPs, pharmacies, Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisations and Barwon Health's Vaccination Centre in Belmont.

Staff on the Percy Baxter Wing, Level 5 ward were delighted to help celebrate a very special occasion this week, with pa...
08/09/2026

Staff on the Percy Baxter Wing, Level 5 ward were delighted to help celebrate a very special occasion this week, with patient, Alan Hodgkison marking his incredible 100th birthday alongside his wife, Gloria.๐ŸŽ‚๐ŸŽˆ

With cake, flowers, party hats and plenty of singing, the ward came together to ensure Alan's century milestone was celebrated in style ๐ŸŽ‰

Reaching 100 years is an extraordinary achievement, and it was a privilege for staff to share in such a memorable day.

Happy 100th Birthday, Alan! ๐Ÿ’™๐ŸŽ‰

Have you ever thought about volunteering but werenโ€™t sure where to start? Or perhaps youโ€™d love to give back to your com...
07/09/2026

Have you ever thought about volunteering but werenโ€™t sure where to start? Or perhaps youโ€™d love to give back to your community, meet new people and make a meaningful difference?

Come along to one of our upcoming volunteer information and meet and greet sessions!

Itโ€™s a great opportunity to meet the Volunteer Services team, learn more about the variety of volunteer opportunities available across Barwon Health, ask questions and find out how you can get involved.
๐Ÿ“… Wednesday 16 September | 1:00pmโ€“2:00pm
๐Ÿ“… Thursday 17 September | 12:00pmโ€“1:00pm

Interested in attending?
Please click the link below to register your interest and we'll send you the details:
๐Ÿ‘‰ https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/fiFK80MA6u

Have questions or would like more information?
๐Ÿ“ž Volunteer Services: 03 4215 6160
๐Ÿ“ง [email protected]

Whether youโ€™re a student, retiree, working professional or simply looking for a rewarding way to give back, weโ€™d love to meet you! Come along, have a chat and discover how you can make a difference with Barwon Health.

Happy Fatherโ€™s Day to all the fathers, grandfathers and father-figures today. Whether you're celebrating with family or ...
05/09/2026

Happy Fatherโ€™s Day to all the fathers, grandfathers and father-figures today. Whether you're celebrating with family or missing those who aren't able to be by your side, we wish you a wonderful day.

Today, weโ€™re giving a shout out to one of our Barwon Health duos, Andrew Gibson, Director of Environmental Services, and his daughter Molly Gibson, Coordinator in Volunteer Services.

Molly works with our volunteers, helping them make a difference to the experience of our patients and consumers, while Andrew leads the teams responsible for keeping our health service clean, safe, fed and running around the clock.

For Molly, having her dad around when she first started was a big help. โ€œHe knows the hospital so well and could always point me in the right direction,โ€ she says. โ€œHaving a familiar face around made the whole experience a lot less daunting.โ€

For Andrew, there was a little bit of nerves when Molly started, but mostly pride. โ€œIt was surreal seeing the little girl I once dropped at school walk in with her own lanyard and responsibilities,โ€ he says.

Heโ€™s particularly proud that Molly has built her own reputation at Barwon Health, with colleagues often speaking highly of her before realising they're related.

Working at the same organisation might not mean they see each other every day, but the occasional coffee catch-up at work certainly has its benefits.

Happy Fatherโ€™s Day to Andrew and all the dads in the Barwon Health community. ๐Ÿ’™

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐‡๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ง ๐’๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐, ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ž๐ซ โ€“ ๐‹๐ข๐›๐ซ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ฌ | ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง & ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ "This year marks 27 ...
05/09/2026

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก
๐‡๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ง ๐’๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐, ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ž๐ซ โ€“ ๐‹๐ข๐›๐ซ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ฌ | ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง & ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ 
"This year marks 27 years working in the Barwon Health Medical Library, and it has been a career I have genuinely loved.

I joined Barwon Health as a Health Reference Librarian before moving into the role of eServices Librarian, supporting the growing use of digital resources. Today, I'm proud to lead our Library Services team.

The Barwon Health Library plays an important role in supporting staff with evidence-based information for patient care, teaching, professional development, research, policy development and quality improvement. Our goal is simple โ€“ to ensure staff have access to the best available information, whenever and wherever they need it.

No two days are the same. From planning and developing library services to supporting staff with research and clinical decision-making, our team works across the organisation to help people find, assess and use the best available evidence.

One of the biggest misconceptions about librarians is that we spend all day reading books. In reality, we provide specialised resources, education and support across every health discipline, helping staff make informed decisions that ultimately improve patient care.

What I love most about my role is knowing that the work we do behind the scenes helps clinicians deliver the highest standard of care. Whether we're helping answer a clinical question, supporting research or informing a policy, it's incredibly rewarding to know our service contributes to better outcomes for our patients.

After 27 years, I still feel privileged to be part of a team that supports learning, innovation and excellence across Barwon Health every day.โ€

๐Ÿ† Congratulations to Professor Peter Vuillermin, Barwon Health Clinical Director of Research, on being named Health and ...
02/09/2026

๐Ÿ† Congratulations to Professor Peter Vuillermin, Barwon Health Clinical Director of Research, on being named Health and Education Champion at the Future Geelong Leadership Awards.

Professor Peter Vuillermin is a children's doctor. He is also the Chair in Medicine at Deakin University, and Clinical Director of Research at Barwon Health.

Committed to enabling the next generation of clinician-scientists, Professor Vullermin and his colleagues have created a pathway that allows Barwon nurses, doctors and allied health staff to complete a PhD alongside their clinical work, creating over 20 new Barwon Health/Deakin University research roles.

The Barwon Infant Study (BIS), which was founded by Professor Vullerimin and of which he co-leads, has followed local families from pregnancy onwards, gathering more detail about early life than any similar study. BIS has won 17 major grants and produced over 100 papers!

Professor Vullermin is also one of ten international leaders of a US$50 million โ€˜FORMโ€™ program studying the microbiome, the microbes that live in and on our bodies. His teamโ€™s work asks how these microbes shape a child's developing immune system and brain, and whether that knowledge can be used to prevent childhood illness and developmental difficulties.

An experienced trials researcher, Professor Vuillermin played a key role in establishing the Adrian Costa Clinical Trials Centre and the Barwon Health and Deakin University Clinical Trials Alliance. He designed the ARROW trial, the largest childhood asthma trial ever run, involving 1,088 children across 45 hospitals, which could change asthma care worldwide and with the โ€˜Farm My Schoolโ€™ initiative, Peter's team won a $3 million grant to test whether a healthy diet during pregnancy improves brain health for mothers and babies.

Combining cutting-edge science with our regionโ€™s people power, Peterโ€™s research strives to create knowledge that improves the health of children in our region and around the world.

Read more in today's Geelong Advertiser here: https://bit.ly/4gLvGFW

02/09/2026

Have questions about H5 bird flu?

Join us for a community information session in Torquay.

Our wildlife and agriculture staff will share the latest information about H5 bird flu, provide local updates, explain what to do if you see sick or dead birds or wildlife, and answer your questions.

๐Ÿ“ Surf Coast Civic Centre (1 Merrijig Drive, Torquay)
๐Ÿ“… Monday, 7 September 2026
๐Ÿ•’ 5:30 to 7:00 PM

Come along to learn more and ask questions.

More information: agriculture.vic.gov.au/birdflu

Surf Coast Shire Council
Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority

Address

272-322 Ryrie Street
Geelong, VIC
3220

Telephone

+61342150000

Website

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