Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

Portland District Health

Portland District Health provides an integrated health service which comprises acute, primary health and

aged residential care service. Our Service provides:

24-hour, 7 days a week Urgent Care Centre (Emergency Dept)

69 registered inpatient beds

2 operating theatres

8-bed day procedure unit—Plus chemotherapy/Dialysis/sleep studies

30 residential aged care – Harbourside Lodge

Comprehensive range of Primary Community and Home Care services

GP Superclinic (Active Health Portland)

PDH Specialist Centre (Visiting specialist centre)

Portland District Health is accredited with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, the Aged Care

Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd and Home and Community Care National Service Standards.

PDH has an operating budget of around $24.4m and employs approximately 435 staff (260 EFT)

Portland’s health services are steeped in history with land set aside in April 1858 for an asylum for the

benefit of the afflicted or distressed inhabitants and sojourners for the time being of and in the said Town

and neighbourhood and for no other purpose whatsoever. The trustees who reserved that land were James

Blair, Charles Arthur Dodd, Francis Henty, Thomas Must and Thomas Finn.

As a Benevolent Society outdoor relief was distributed to “worthy objects” in the form of food, clothing, fire-

wood and small sums of money. Those in need of nursing care were lodged with private families. In 1912

permission was granted to convert the institution to a district hospital and it continued to operate from the

original blue stone building until 1954 when the needs of Portland and District outgrew the facilities. The

bluestone buildings were demolished and replaced by a new facility.

Today, Portland District Health is a public health service established under the Health Services Act 1988. Our

health service was formed on 1 July 2003 through the amalgamation of the Portland and District Community

Health Centre and the Portland and District Hospital.

The amalgamation, expansion and creation of these services have seen an improvement in patient, client and

resident access to a wide variety of services. It has, in effect, created a “one stop shop” health delivery ser-

vice where the community’s needs are streamlined efficiently and effectively.

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

VISION, MISSION AND VALUES STATEMENT

In December 2012, the Board endorsed the revised new vision, mission and values statement recommended to

the Board by PDH’s staff.

Vision:

To be a leading rural health service

Mission:

Portland District Health is committed to the health and wellbeing of its community

Values:

Respect

Is a willingness to show consideration to ourselves and others

Compassion

Is to acknowledge each other’s humanity, be understanding and care

Partnership

Is working together to achieve a common goal

Excellence

Is aiming to exceed expectation in the standards of health care, making best use of our

available resources

Equity

Equity is about fairness, justice and trying to do the

right thing.

Portland Harbour

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

Portland District Health in

Background

What are our Priorities for the future ?

Appropriate service delivery: To deliver services that meet community and stakeholder needs

Workforce: To attract, retain and develop human resources to effectively deliver services

Financial stability: To be financially sustainable

Governance: To strengthen the governance of Portland District Health

Systems and infrastructure: To ensure business continuity through the provision of reliable, appropriate and current technology

and infrastructure

Partnership and engagement: To engage key stakeholders and the community

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

Discover Victoria’s Birthplace, Portland, a place where charming

coastal life marries with the serenity of National Parks.

The combination of coastal, rural and low density urban areas

makes Portland a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family.

Live by the sea, in town or on a farm - the choice is yours.

Located half way between Adelaide and Melbourne, Portland’s magi-

cal history is peppered with tales of great whalers, hard working

graziers and the inspirational Saint Mary MacKillop. Today Portland

enjoys more contemporary popularity derived from tourism.

Fishing is the obvious pastime with a choice of breakwater, surf or

river fishing with the harbour boasting one of the best boat ramps

in Victoria. Portland is becoming renowned for tuna fishing with vis-

itors coming from all over Australia to fish in our waters.

View of Harbour

Bridgewater trail walk

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

Portland hosts one of the deepest ports in Australia importing and

exporting various commodities such as logs, grain, live stock, alu-

minium ingots, wood chips, mineral sands, fertiliser, wind compo-

nents and servicing of oil rigs.

Portland Aluminium commenced in 1986 and today the smelter pro-

duces approximately 358,000 tonnes of aluminium a year. Alcoa is

Victoria’s largest exporter and nearly all of the aluminium produced

at Portland Aluminium is exported to the Asian market.

The smelter provides more than 600 direct jobs, as well as a con-

tractual workforce of around 150. Portland Aluminium injects over

$100 million into the Portland region each year.

Water sports on offer include yachting surfing, sail boarding and

wave riding, canoeing and water-skiing with the avid motorcyclists

catered for on forest routes through nearby mountain locations.

Whales are still popular, and throughout the winter months, can be

viewed from a very close distance during the annual migration to

warmer waters.

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland

Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

SPORTING ACTIVITES: Mountain Bike Riding

Horse Riding

Polocrosse

Football

Netball

Basketball

Tennis

Hockey

Soccer

Indoor / Outdoor Pool (YMCA -Aquatic Centre)

Health Fitness (YMCA)

Swimming Club

Little Athletics

Runners Club

Squash / Racquetball

Surf Life Saving

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

Some of Portland's other attractions include:

The Portland Cable Tram;

The Portland Botanical Gardens - One of the first public gardens to

be established in Victoria and feature a bluestone Curator's Cot-

tage, croquet lawns and 1300 dahlias planted each year;

Fawthrop Lagoon - A permanent wetland area set in natural bush-

land on the city fringe. It is home to many birds, plants and

aquatic life as well as having an excellent walking track;

A lavender farm and wineries from the Henty Wine region;

The WWII Memorial Lookout Tower - Built in an obsolete water

tower, the museum displays memorabilia connected to the war

and its many steps will lead you to a fantastic 360 degree view of

Portland;

Portland's Powerhouse Motor and Car Museum - the 4th largest in

Australia has a unique collection of veteran, vintage and classic

cars, motorbikes, tractors and engines.

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street,

Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

Portland is considered "Victoria's Birthplace" because in 1834 Victoria's

first permanent European settlement was established. Portland's Euro-

pean history began with whalers and sealers who seasonally inhabited

the area. In 1834 Edward Henty arrived from Tasmania in search of good

grazing land and established the Portland settlement. It wasn't until

1835 that Melbourne and other areas followed suit.

A short drive will take you to National Parks, including Mt Eccles National

Park, Discovery Bay National Park, Cape Nelson State Park, just to name

a few. For true historians, set your sights north-east, on Lake Condah

Aboriginal Mission, and learn about the history of Victoria’s indigenous

people. Or if in pursuit of a good drop of red or white, once again, head

north-east to the Coonawarra Wine District.

Heading east take in a coastal journey and the intrigue of the Shipwreck

Coast towards the famous Great Ocean Road….discovering little seaside

hamlets along the way. If the lure of the city is your thing, Geelong, or

Melbourne could be your ultimate destination for a weekend away.

The area is rich in maritime history and Portland's Maritime Discovery

Centre showcases many maritime artefacts as well as highlighting the

many ships that came to grief in the treacherous Southern Sea.

Portland has astounding geothermal energy, which helps heat many of

Portland's buildings including the Portland Leisure and Aquatic Centre's

indoor swimming pools. The water is also cooled for further domestic

consumption.

Bridgewater

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street, Portland Vic 3305

PH: 03 5521 0322 FAX: 5521 0358

If you enjoy watching wildlife, the "Discovery Coast" is a great place

to live. View Australia's only mainland gannet bird colony and nesting

site at Point Danger, take a boat ride to see the Australian fur seals at

Cape Bridgewater or be lucky enough to spot a Southern Right Whale

in Portland Bay in the winter months.

The Portland area also encompasses the spectacular scenery of the 3

bays Portland Bay, Bridgewater Bay and Discovery Bay. Cape Nelson

Lighthouse, built in 1884, is perched on the tip of Cape Nelson over-

looking Portland Bay and the treacherous southern ocean. Bridge-

water Bay is significant for its wonderful beaches, seal colony, and

Petrified Forest, while the mountainous sand dunes of Discovery Bay

will leave you spellbound.

Portland's historic past has left a legacy of more than 200 historic

buildings, many dating back to the 1800's. 48 of these buildings can

be seen on the pleasant 2-hour Self-Guided Historic Buildings Walk.

Bridgewater Bay

Portland District Health, Bentinck Street,

Portland Vic 3305

Several educational institutions are available for both Primary and Secondary

school options:

Private Primary Schools:

All Saints Parish School

St Johns Lutheran Primary School

Public Primary Schools:

Bundarra Primary School

Portland Primary School

North Portland Primary School

Portland South Primary School

Bolwarra Primary School

Portland Secondary Schools:

Portland Secondary College – Public School

Bayview College—Private School

Specialist Schools:

Special Development School

Nearby Private Colleges:

Hamilton College

Monivae College

Hamilton Alexander College

Good Shepherd College

Tertiary Education:

South West Tafe

Deakin University Warrnambool

RMIT University Hamilton

Portland District Health,

Bentinck Street, Portland Vic

3305

PH: 03 5521 0322

PORTLAND IS A GREAT PLACE TO:

LIVE

WORK

RAISE A FAMILY

SOCIALISE

ENJOY OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AND;

LIVE IN A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY