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 H

ealth 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.

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

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐€๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฅ๐š ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฒ๐ž๐ซ, ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ž๐ซ โ€“ ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง & ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  โ€œI joined Barwon Health in 2015 a...
29/08/2026

#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ง๐ ๐ž๐ฅ๐š ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฒ๐ž๐ซ, ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ž๐ซ โ€“ ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง & ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ 
โ€œI joined Barwon Health in 2015 as a physiotherapist after returning from overseas, working first in paediatric rehabilitation and later in community neurological rehabilitation.

Today, I lead the Allied Health Education and Training team, which supports more than 15 allied health professions across Barwon Health. Our team delivers education on clinical skills, professional development and the systems that help ensure high-quality care and clinical practice.

Education has always been a passion of mine. Iโ€™ve loved supporting students, graduates and colleagues to learn, grow and build rewarding careers. Over the years Iโ€™ve been fortunate to take on a range of education and leadership roles, including supporting allied health graduates, working across the Barwon South West region and contributing to the Public Health Unit during COVID.

What I enjoy most about my role is the variety and the opportunity to work with such a diverse group of clinicians and educators. Every profession brings unique expertise, which means Iโ€™m constantly learning and thinking in new ways.

Quality education helps attract, develop and retain great clinicians who provide outstanding care to our community. Being able to support that work, and help others grow in their careers, is incredibly rewarding and something Iโ€™m proud to be part of every day.โ€

๐Ÿคง๐ˆ๐ง๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐ข๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐šIn Victoria, cases of influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are increasing while ca...
24/08/2026

๐Ÿคง๐ˆ๐ง๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐•๐ข๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐š

In Victoria, cases of influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are increasing while cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remain raised after peaking in July. Health service visits for respiratory illnesses have also been increasing.

Many respiratory infections such as flu, COVID-19 and RSV occur more common in winter and early spring months. This year, these common respiratory infections are showing a later-than-usual increase in activity compared to previous seasons.

Vaccines are available to protect against common respiratory infections.

Seasonal influenza vaccination is still widely available and with cases now increasing, it is not too late to get vaccinated.

Some people, including young children, older adults and those with a weakened immune system, are at increased risk of severe disease.

Early antiviral treatments can help to reduce severe disease from flu and COVID-19 for some high-risk individuals.

Find information including vaccination details, symptoms and prevention here: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/get-vaccinated

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐Š๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐š ๐‡๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ž, ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž | ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ โ€œI started my nursing ca...
22/08/2026

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก
๐Š๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐š ๐‡๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ž, ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž | ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ 
โ€œI started my nursing career at Barwon Health as a graduate nurse in 2012. After working in Orthopaedics and progressing through roles including Clinical Nurse Specialist and Associate Nurse Unit Manager, I moved into my current role as an acute Clinical Support Nurse two years ago.

Today, I work across 11 wards, providing bedside education, coaching and competency support to help nursing staff deliver safe, high-quality care.

The most rewarding part of my role is supporting the growth and confidence of others. I love seeing staff proudly apply new skills and knowledge and knowing it has a positive impact on patient care.

I also value being able to step into busy clinical environments and provide practical support when itโ€™s needed most. Seeing the relief on a colleagueโ€™s face when we can help make a new or unfamiliar skill feel more manageable is incredibly rewarding.

Supporting our staff to succeed and grow is what inspires me every day.โ€

โœจ A welcome milestone this week as we reopened the Myers Street maternity entrance, providing direct access to the Birth...
20/08/2026

โœจ A welcome milestone this week as we reopened the Myers Street maternity entrance, providing direct access to the Birthing Suites and Maternity Assessment Unit for maternity patients.

With emergency short-term parking, dedicated drop-off spaces and an after-hours intercom, the new entrance is designed to make accessing maternity services easier and more convenient for patients and their support people.

A huge thank you to our incredible volunteers, including Reggie, who have been on hand to provide directions, advice and support, helping ensure a smooth transition for everyone using the new entrance.

This week marks National Health Management Week 2026! ๐ŸŽ‰ To celebrate, our Health Information Services team enjoyed a won...
20/08/2026

This week marks National Health Management Week 2026! ๐ŸŽ‰
To celebrate, our Health Information Services team enjoyed a wonderful spread for morning tea on Wednesday.
Our Health Information Services professionals ensure health systems have trusted information, supporting better care, compliance, privacy, and evidence-based decision-making as well as reporting episode activity through Clinical Coding for accurate funding.

โš ๏ธ ๐‡๐Ÿ“ ๐›๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐ฎ: ๐œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง:H5N1 avian influenza (also known as H5 bird flu) has been detected in birds in many pa...
20/08/2026

โš ๏ธ ๐‡๐Ÿ“ ๐›๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐ฎ: ๐œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง:

H5N1 avian influenza (also known as H5 bird flu) has been detected in birds in many parts of Victoria, including in the Barwon South West region.

The risk to human health is low.

For current information on avian influenza detections in birds in Victoria, please visit the Agriculture Victoria webpage here: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/animal-diseases/poultry-diseases/H5N1-avian-influenza-H5-bird-flu

For human health information, refer to the links below:
๐Ÿ‘‰ Chief Health Officer alert: https://www.health.vic.gov.au/health-alerts/avian-influenza-found-in-birds-in-victoria
๐Ÿ‘‰ Better Health Channel: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/bird-flu-avian-influenza
๐Ÿ‘‰ For FAQs and mental health support information go to Barwon South West Public Health Unit: https://bswphu.org.au/infectious-diseases/avian-influenza-bird-flu/

๐Ÿ“ข ๐Ÿš— ๐“๐Ž๐Œ๐Ž๐‘๐‘๐Ž๐–: ๐‘๐ž-๐จ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž โ€“ ๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ• ๐€๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญFrom 7.00 am tomorrow (17 August 2026) the maternit...
16/08/2026

๐Ÿ“ข ๐Ÿš— ๐“๐Ž๐Œ๐Ž๐‘๐‘๐Ž๐–: ๐‘๐ž-๐จ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž โ€“ ๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ• ๐€๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ

From 7.00 am tomorrow (17 August 2026) the maternity entrance on Myers Street will reopen to maternity patients needing to access the Birthing Suites and Maternity Assessment Unit. Visitors and staff should continue using the main entrance on Bellerine Street.

An after-hours intercom will be available. Emergency short-term parking and drop-off spaces are available near the maternity entrance for maternity patients and their support people.

Please speak to our Maternity Services staff should you have any questions.

#๐“๐ก๐ž๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐Ÿ๐๐š๐ซ๐ฐ๐จ๐ง๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐“๐จ๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ฌ, ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž, ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  & ๐‘๐ž๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ฌโ€œI first...
15/08/2026

#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จ๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ฌ, ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž, ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐„๐๐ฎ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  & ๐‘๐ž๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ฌ
โ€œI first joined Barwon Health in 1999 as a registered nurse after moving from The Alfred Hospital. Over the years, my career has taken me through a variety of roles across renal services, including Clinical Nurse Specialist, Associate Nurse Unit Manager, research and home dialysis.

Today, I work as a Clinical Support Nurse, supporting Barwon Health's Renal Services across University Hospital Geelong, Barwon Health North, Newcomb, Home Dialysis, Colac, Lorne and Portland. My role combines hands-on clinical support with education and training, helping new and experienced staff develop their skills and confidence in dialysis care.

A key part of my role is supporting staff through practice changes, delivering education sessions and ensuring our teams have the knowledge and resources they need to provide safe, high-quality care for patients.

One of the highlights of my career was working with our internationally recognised Home Dialysis Unit, helping empower patients to manage their treatment at home. That experience also contributed to completing my Masters in Nursing in 2015.

After spending several years working in specialist dialysis education and support roles outside Barwon Health, I was pleased to return in 2024 to take up my current position.

The most rewarding part of my role is sharing the knowledge and experience I have gained throughout my career. I enjoy supporting staff to deliver best-practice care and helping ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our patients remain at the centre of every decision we make.

It is a privilege to work alongside such dedicated teams and to contribute to the ongoing development of renal care across our region.โ€

Address

272-322 Ryrie Street
Geelong, VIC
3220

Telephone

+61342150000

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Barwon Health posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category