Salt sprinkled across region
The appointment of Robyn Salt as primary services director at Wimmera Health Care Group has provided an example of Grampians Health sharing its expertise.
Ms Salt has worked for more than two years as Edenhope District Memorial Hospital primary health manager.
She has accepted an offer to jointly take the reins at Wimmera Health Care Group, part of a Grampians Health collective.
Campus leading executive officer Catherine Morley said Ms Salt’s appointment was important for many services under a primary care banner.
“It’s great to have Robyn’s expertise and knowledge available to help our team,”she said.
“We advertised for the role extensively and it’s really great that Grampians Health had the experience and knowledge within the health service and that there’s a way we can look at supporting campuses across the service,” she said.
“This is a great opportunity for Grampians Health to look at how it can share expertise and resources across the western sector of the health service and support us all to focus on increasing access to care and services, supporting staff and making sure our community receives appropriate and timely health services to keep them well at home.”
Ms Salt said she was looking forward to learning how the Wimmera group provided primarycare services.
“I want to see what is being provided and then look at areas we can make any improvement on because I believe the future is actually community-based care,” she said.
“Between Edenhope and Horsham, we can have a more co-ordinated approach to health care and use our resources more effectively.”
Ms Salt said her first week had seen a collaborative approach to Covid-positive pathways, using the COVID Care Monitor Ballarat supports.
“There is also an arrangement for allied health professionals to assist with sub-acute patients who can be transferred to Edenhope, should there be a surge of COVID patients hospitalised at Horsham,” she said.
Ms Salt is originally from Kaniva and started her aged-care career in a 10-year stint at Bacchus Marsh.
She also worked at Ballan before getting an offer to work in a carer-respite program at Ballarat Health Services. Ms Salt said she loved that role. “It actually opened my eyes to the other side of caring for somebody who was actually aged or had dementia or a physical disability,” she said.
After caring for her cancer-stricken parents, Ms Salt returned to the workforce in an assessment role with City of Ballarat Aged and Disability Services before managing the aged and disability services program at Moorabool Shire for 10 years.
Her next role was as regional development coordinator for a Grampians Sector Development Team where she introduced 38 health, local government, multicultural and Aboriginal centres to a new method for providing services.
While in a consultative role at Edenhope, Ms Salt took on a primary health manager job, accepting the position on the proviso that she had a mentor she could train on the job to take over when her three-year commitment ended.
Ms Salt said she expected her role at Edenhope and the new position at Horsham to end on June 30 and she would alternate them weekly until there was a structural decision on future requirements.
“My role at Edenhope is more of a business role and finding the money to help us meet the targets so we can do the right thing by the community,” she said.