Gippsland Southern Health Service, 66 Koonwarra Road, Leongatha (2025)

18/11/2025

Congratulations to schools and outside school hours care (OSHC) services across Bass Coast and South Gippsland shires who have created nutritious food and drink environments for their students.

Thank you to the following schools and OSHC who have achieved or are working towards creating positive change through their involvement in :
• Cowes Primary School
• Fish Creek & District Primary School
• Inverloch Primary School
• Leongatha Primary School
• Loch Primary School
• Loch OSHC
• Meeniyan Primary School
• Our Lady Star of the Sea TheirCare OSHC
• St Josephs’s Primary School Korumburra
• Toora OSHC
• Wonthaggi TheirCare OSHC
• Wonthaggi North TheirCare OSHC
• Welshpool & District Primary School

Pictured is Danni (Educational Support) with students River and Lucy from Loch Primary School.

Register for free and be supported by our Health Promotion Officers to take simple steps that make a big impact www.vickidseatwell.health.vic.gov.au/join/members

16/11/2025

Every story matters — every insight saves lives.

MARAM tools are now integrated into TRAM and SHIP, helping services assess and manage family violence risk safely and consistently.

These digital systems make it easier to share information securely and use real data to guide better, faster outcomes for families across Gippsland.

Because when we connect the dots, we protect more lives.

🔗 Learn more: vic.gov.au/maram-videos-series

15/11/2025

Real change starts with accountability.

Ending family violence means addressing all sides.

The Enhance Perpetrator-Focused MARAM Practice Project brings services together to work safely and effectively with people who use violence — supporting behaviour change, stronger accountability, and safer communities.

Because every step toward accountability is a step toward healing for victim survivors.

🔗 Learn more: familysafety.vic.gov.au

14/11/2025

Perioperative Nurses Week 2025 Spotlight: Diane

For Diane, the theatre corridor has become a familiar and comforting place — a space she has called home for 20 years as part of the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) team at Gippsland Southern Health Service. Her role may sit behind the scenes, but its impact is felt in every single surgical case.

Her journey didn’t begin in healthcare at all. Diane’s first job was as a sales clerk, long before she found her way into CSSD. But once she stepped into the world of sterilising, organising, and preparing surgical instruments, she knew she had found her place. “I’m the same at work as I am outside,” she says — steady, straightforward, and quietly dependable.

Over two decades, Diane has seen countless memorable moments — not just the big ones, but the everyday wins and shared smiles that make the theatre team feel like family. “Nearly every day, I’m proud to be part of GSHS,” she reflects. That pride comes from the people around her just as much as the work itself. “Friendship and communication keep us connected,” she says. “The team makes the rhythm.”

When things get tough, Diane’s approach is simple: don’t panic, just get the situation done. Her calm presence is something her colleagues rely on — the kind of person who stays grounded even in the busiest moments of the day. And while many people outside theatre assume her job is “too hard,” Diane sees the joy in the challenge.
CSSD, she says with a smile, is one of the most misunderstood but essential parts of perioperative care.

Outside of work, life is much the same — Diane enjoys going to the footy and “just doing her things,” a refreshing contrast to the precision and structure of her workday. And working in a regional health service only deepens her sense of purpose. “It definitely has more of a community feel to it,” she says. “You know who you’re caring for.”

Ask her what people don’t realise about what happens behind the theatre doors, and her answer is simple: my job. The unseen work of CSSD keeps every instrument safe, sterile, and ready — the foundation of every successful procedure.

This Perioperative Nurses Week, we celebrate Diane’s 20 years of dedication — her calm, her consistency, and her vital role in keeping our theatres moving smoothly, day after day.

14/11/2025

Perioperative Nurses Week 2025: Spotlight on Brit Owen

Behind the steady pace and precision of our theatre suite is Brit — a theatre technician with a calm presence, a quick mind, and a love for getting things done efficiently.

In her two years at GSHS, Brit’s become an essential part of the team’s rhythm, the kind of person who helps keep everything running smoothly from the moment a list begins.

Brit’s pathway into perioperative care wasn’t a linear one.

Her very first job was far from the operating theatre — she was a “shampoo girl” in a hair salon throughout high school. Then, almost by accident, she stumbled across theatre tech training, decided to give it a go, and hasn’t looked back since.

What started as a leap into the unknown has become a career Brit genuinely loves.
Outside of work, Brit is a mix of creativity and footy energy.

When she’s not kicking a ball around or watching an AFL game, she’s often in her workshop building guitars, a skill most people would never guess she has.

And when life gets noisy, she finds her grounding in the garden, where the pace slows and everything feels a little more centred.

Despite the cold temperature behind the theatre doors, Brit says the team culture is one of the warmest parts of her workday.

It’s this sense of camaraderie — the friendly faces, shared humour, trust, and respect — that makes her proud to be part of GSHS.

Brit’s seen firsthand how quickly everyone pulls together during emergencies, moving seamlessly and efficiently as one unit. Those moments stay with her.

As a theatre technician, Brit’s role is all about preparation, coordination, and timing. One of her favourite parts of the perioperative process is setting up the theatre and getting a case underway.

When everything is organised, efficient, and flowing well, Brit feels in her element.
And yes, the theatre almost always has music playing in the background, providing a quiet soundtrack to the controlled chaos.

Working in a regional health service gives Brit something unique: connection.
There’s a genuine community feel to caring for local people, and she loves being part of a service that so directly supports the region.

When unexpected situations arise in theatre, Brit narrows her focus: trust your knowledge, trust the person beside you, and get on with what needs to be done.
It’s this clear-headedness, paired with her ability to multitask, that makes Brit such a steady force within the team.

Two years in, Brit still describes herself as lucky to have found this career.

And for GSHS, we’re lucky she found her way here too.

14/11/2025

Perioperative Nurses Week 2025: Spotlight on Kate

There’s a calm confidence about Kate…

The kind that instantly reassures you the moment you step through the theatre doors.

As one of GSHS’s ANUMs & Acting Clinical Educator, she’s spent almost two years shaping the patient experience and the rhythm and culture of our perioperative team.
Kate’s journey began far from the bright lights of theatre.

Back in 2009, she was juggling university with shifts at KFC and a local pizza shop while completing her Bachelor of Nursing at Monash. Even then, she knew where she was headed.

Perioperative nursing was the path she’d always imagined for herself — a blend of technical skill, compassion, advocacy, and the privilege of caring for patients at their most vulnerable moments.

Outside of work, Kate is happiest nurturing her garden or feeling the sand between her toes.

She finds balance in gardening, exploring bush tracks, spending time at the beach with her family, or checking on her beehives.

And when the weather, tides, and calendars magically align, you’ll often find Kate beside her dad, fishing rods in hand.

What grounds Kate through the harder days is simple: gratitude. She describes her life — her family, friends, and colleagues — as her anchor.

It’s this deep appreciation that shapes the way Kate connects with patients, always taking a moment to place herself in their shoes.

Being a patient advocate is something Kate’s incredibly proud of, whether that means easing a nervous smile, offering a warm blanket in a cool theatre, or gently holding a hand as someone drifts off to sleep.

One of the most unforgettable parts of Kate’s career has been witnessing caesarean births. Even after many years in perioperative nursing, watching a new life enter the world still brings tears to her eyes.

Kate’s love for her work is echoed in the way she speaks about her team.

Theatre at GSHS is a place where colleagues greet each other with genuine care and respect. Their daily morning huddle sets the tone: reviewing the day’s cases, anticipating challenges, and ensuring everyone is connected and ready.

When unexpected moments arise, the team leans on closed-loop communication, clear roles, and the strength of their shared experience.

And when Kate needs a moment to steady herself, she thinks of the example set by her role models — Karen and Jordy — and breathes.

Living and working in a regional community adds another layer of meaning.

Here, the faces are familiar, the stories shared, and caring for patients often feels like caring for neighbours. That connection — that privilege — is something Kate never takes for granted.

Behind the theatre doors, much of the magic happens quietly: meticulous preparation, technical skill, split-second teamwork, and a whole lot of heart.
And every day, Kate is right there in the middle of it, helping to ensure every patient’s perioperative journey is safe, supported, and filled with kindness.

14/11/2025

When services work together, families stay safer.

Stronger together. The new MARAM Model of Alignment helps organisations benchmark and improve how they meet their legal obligations under MARAM.

It introduces a continuous improvement cycle and supports diverse services — including Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations — to apply MARAM in ways that respect culture and community voice.

Because every connection counts, the goal is simple: the right support, at the right time, across a connected system.

🔗 See how MARAM strengthens collaboration: vic.gov.au/maram

13/11/2025

When you’ve worked somewhere for three decades, the walls start to feel a little like home.

For Kim Hopkins, that’s particularly accurate.

As the Theatre Clerk at GSHS, Kim has been a familiar, steady presence for 30 years, supporting both patients and staff through some of their most significant moments.

Kim’s journey in healthcare began in dental nursing. It was there she discovered her love of patient care — the small conversations, the reassurance, and the sense of purpose that comes from helping people through vulnerable moments.

When Kim joined GSHS, she brought that same warmth and understanding, and over time helped shape her current role from the ground up.

“Setting up the new role from scratch is something I’m really proud of,” Kim says.
Her days are filled with coordination, communication, and care (that happens quietly behind the theatre doors but keeps everything running smoothly).

“People might not realise how much workload there really is behind the scenes,” she admits. “But our team — the nurses, surgeons, and doctors — all support each other every day. It’s pretty special.”

It’s that collaboration that keeps Kim grounded.

“When things get tough, it’s my amazing, supportive team that gets me through,” she says.

“Every day makes a difference to each patient.”

One memory for Kim always stands out — supporting a family who had just received life-changing news.

“I still get messages from them to this day,” she reflects. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”

For Kim, working in a regional health service means more than just knowing faces, it’s about knowing stories.

“You understand and support each person beyond their medical condition,” she says.

“You see the human side of care.”

Outside of work, Kim’s world is full of family, laughter, and now, a new kind of joy — her first grandchild, Ernie.

“Spending time with my family and with Ernie is the best way to unwind,” she smiles. And if you’re wondering what else might surprise you about her?

“I’m one of eight children,” she laughs. “So maybe that’s where my love for teamwork started.”

This Perioperative Nurses Week, we celebrate Kim and the many others like her — the ones whose compassion, organisation, and quiet strength keep the heart of theatre beating every single day.

13/11/2025

Perioperative Nurses Week 2025 Spotlight: Melanie Kulinski

Behind every smooth-running operation,

is a team whose precision, care, and calm under pressure make all the difference.

For Melanie Kulinski, an Enrolled Nurse in Scrub/Scout and the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD), those moments of quiet focus and teamwork are what she loves most about her 17 years with GSHS.

Melanie began her nursing journey at Koorooman House, caring for aged-care residents before stepping into the fast-paced world of theatre nursing.

It was a leap she made out of curiosity:
“I wanted to try something new,” she says, “and I was fascinated by what was involved in different operations.”

When then-Theatre ANUM Sue Hanily offered her the opportunity to train as a scrub/scout nurse, Melanie embraced it wholeheartedly.

It’s a role that demands not only technical skill but also trust and teamwork.
Melanie recalls those early days learning alongside a surgeon who was calm, patient, and kind, a combination that left a lasting impression.

“It made it so much easier to learn my role and responsibilities,” Melanie says.
“That experience really shaped how I work today.”

For Melanie, her work in the CSSD is just as rewarding as her time in theatre.

“We’re responsible for ensuring every patient gets the best possible outcome from the instruments used for their case,” she explains.

“I always think, what if this was for one of my relatives? Working in a small community means it could be someone you know.”

It’s that perspective, a mix of personal care and professional pride, that defines her approach.

Whether preparing trays, assisting in theatre, or staying back late to ready the team for the next day, Melanie’s dedication never wavers.

“People might not realise how often staff stay back to complete a list and prepare for tomorrow,” she says. “But we all want the same outcome for our patients.”

Outside of work, Melanie finds her calm in gardening, crafts, and calligraphy; quiet pursuits that balance the intensity of her days in theatre.

And when things get tough?
“Coffee,” she laughs, “and knowing that I’ll eventually get to go home.”

During Perioperative Nurses Week, GSHS celebrates nurses like Melanie, whose skill, commitment, and compassion ensure that every patient who comes through theatre receives the safest and highest quality care possible.

13/11/2025

It takes all of us to keep families safe.

And knowledge? It saves lives.

In the past year, 19,046 MARAM and information sharing training modules were delivered across Victoria. This ongoing education equips professionals in health, community and justice to identify risk early, share information safely and coordinate care effectively for families in South Gippsland.

Together, we’re building a more confident, connected and responsive system of care across our region.

🔗 Learn more: vic.gov.au/maram-training

11/11/2025

Too often, commemorative days become routine:
Brief services, polite silences, and then we move on.

But for our aged care residents, these moments carry deep personal meaning.

At 11am, residents and staff at Hillside Lodge, Alchera House and Koorooman House gathered to honour Remembrance Day with reflection, respect, and shared memory.

A minute of silence — solemn and unifying — was followed by The Last Post.

At Hillside, the haunting ode was performed on violin instead of bugle.

Across all three homes, poetry was read, memories of the fallen members of the former Woorayl Shire were shared, and conversations about courage, loss, and legacy continued after the service ended.

For our residents, remembrance is more than tradition.

It’s connection — to each other, to history, and to the stories that built the communities we call home.

Lest we forget.

11/11/2025

💙 Perioperative Nurses Week 2025 💙

This week, we’re celebrating the incredible nurses, technicians, and support staff who work tirelessly behind the theatre doors.

Our perioperative teams are the heartbeat of every surgery — working with precision, compassion, and calm under pressure to keep patients safe before, during and after their procedures.

From preparing the theatre and monitoring vital signs to supporting patients through recovery, their teamwork and expertise make all the difference.

Today we say a heartfelt thank you to our fabulous perioperative team.

Your dedication, skill and the care you provide is often unseen, but always felt.

Gippsland Southern Health Service

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