Health Promotion

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Health Promotion

Prevention is always better than cure.

This is the underlying principle of Health Promotion. Many cases of disease and illness are considered preventable by decreasing those risk factors we can change, such as tobacco use, poor nutrition, low levels of exercise and alcohol use.

Aligning with the Victorian Health & Wellbeing Plan priorities, at Alexandra District Health with the support of the Victorian Department of Health Community Health Health Promotion Program, we strive to reduce these risk factors within our community to improve current and long-term health across the Shire

The Victorian Health & Wellbeing Plan 2023 – 2027 recognises 10 priorities;

Improving sexual and reproductive health
Reducing harm from tobacco and e-cigarette use
Improving wellbeing
Increasing healthy eating
Increasing active living
Reducing harm from alcohol and drug use
Tackling climate change and its impacts on health
Preventing all forms of violence
Decreasing antimicrobial resistance across human and animal health
Reducing injury

At Alexandra District Health, while mindful of all 10 Victorian-wide priorities, we focus our efforts on increasing healthy eating, increasing active living and reducing harm from tobacco and e-cigarette use.

If you would like us to help your school, organisation or business in any of the priority areas mentioned above, or would like to learn more about what we can offer in this space please contact Melissa Storey on 5772 0900 or melissa.storey@adh.org.au.

Grow Well Dindi

Data collected across the Goulburn Valley region in 2019, and again in 2022 highlighted the need for a more focused approach in our joint health promotion activities to reduce modifiable risk factors in children across the region. Grow Well Dindi, a shared initiative between Alexandra District Health and Yea & District Memorial Hospital, concentrates health promotion efforts to improve the health of children and young people in our Shire. This community-focused, localised approach to improving the health and wellbeing of children was borne from Deakin University’s RESPOND project with the Murrindindi community taking ownership locally and renaming to Grow Well Dindi in 2019.

To learn more, check out the Grow Well Dindi brochure .

Dindi Cooks!!

Dindi Cooks!! delivers a fun, interactive food education to kinder kids in Murrindindi Shire. Dindi Cooks!! is a low pressure, play-based program designed to encourage curiosity and exploration of food and nutrition in young people. Evidence tells us that early childhood is an optimal time to encourage and develop healthy habits, and Dindi Cooks!! has some fun with this and we get to eat pizza too!

Dindi Cooks!! is delivered by Alexandra District Health and Yea & District Memorial Hospital under the banner of Grow Well Dindi, and supported by partners Nexus Primary Health, Goulburn Valley Public Health Unit, Seymour Health and Murrindindi Shire Council, with funding provided by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal ‘Strengthening Rural Communities’ grant.

Dindi Skills!!

Dindi Skills!! is currently under construction. Dindi Skills!! will offer Come & Try sessions of non-traditional sports and recreational activities to young people (aged 12-25yrs) in Alexandra. Dindi Skills!! hopes to resonate with local young people that aren’t interested in the more traditionally played sports such as football and netball for example, or perhaps those who already play these sports but are looking for something different to try. Dindi Skills!! will be delivered in partnership between Alexandra District Health, Murrindindi Shire Council and Valley Sports.

Community consultations to inform this program were conducted during May – June 2025 but if you would like to have your say or learn more about this program please contact Melissa Storey on 5772 0900 or melissa.storey@adh.org.au.

Stay tuned for more details!!

Past Activities

Physical Footpaths Project

Our Physical Footpath’s Project placed fun, interactive footpath stickers across the townships of Yea and Alexandra in Murrindindi Shire to encourage incidental movement. These stickers display a variety of activities ranging from hopscotch to exercises including ‘squats’ and the ‘goal umpire’ just to name afew! Placed primarily on footpaths known to be frequented by children on their way to & from school and getting around town the stickers are also available for the entire community to enjoy. This project was delivered by Alexandra District Health and Yea & District Memorial Hospital under the banner of Grow Well Dindi, and supported by partners Nexus Primary Health, Goulburn Valley Public Health Unit, Seymour Health and Murrindindi Shire Council, with funding provided by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal ‘Strengthening Rural Communities’ grant.

This project was inspired by another successful initiative called Active Footpaths based in Mansfield, Victoria. GWD is a shared initiative co-managed by Alexandra District Health and Yea & District Memorial Hospital and is an example of the strength of successful partnerships to deliver a Shire-wide approach to health promoting activities.

Alexandra Show, 2024

Alexandra District Health (ADH) and Grow Well Dindi (GWD) teamed up for the day, offering dazzling conversation, free smoothies and Diabetes health checks at the Alexandra Show. GWD was a successful recipient of a Quick Response grant through Murrindindi Shire Council’s Grants and Sponsorships Program which funded a fun, healthy and active activity that had members of the community making their own free delicious smoothies, blended by sheer pedal power! During the course of the day, the community pedalled out 126 mango or strawberry smoothies. The bikes proved popular with children and adults alike, with lots of people eager to join in the fun including Sarah Hopkins from Murrindindi Shire Council and Peter Weeks whose dulcet tones you may recognise from the UGFM airwaves. Robyn and Anne Marie, two of our ADH District Nurses conducted over 50 blood pressure checks and blood glucose checks, and shared their expertise and knowledge with many other community members who stopped by for a chat. Lots of resources were distributed out into the community, including many healthy recipe ideas and free drink bottles. As a sponsor of GWD, Goulburn Valley Water donated 50 drink bottles which proved an extremely popular offering.