BreastScreen Victoria

Last week we came together to acknowledge National Reconciliation Week. 🫶

Our CEO Rita Butera was joined by by Vicky Peters, a proud Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta woman and our inaugural First Nations Board member as well as Meriki Hood, proud Kurnai and Gunditjmara woman who is also our First Nations Community Engagement Coordinator.

There were discussions about what this year’s theme, ‘All In’, looks like in practice within our organisation – emphasising that meaningful, everyday participation in reconciliation requires awareness, action and a willingness to learn. ✨

Thank you Vicky and Meriki for joining us.

May was an impactful month for our community engagement team, focusing on raising awareness about our program and supporting communities to access our free service. ✨ 💗

We attended the Women's Health Forum, hosted by Melissa Horne MP, held multiple information sessions at Box Hill Institute through the Adult Migrant English Program, held an information session at Craigieburn library and Morwell Neighbourhood House, and held group bookings for multicultural clients in partnership with Compassionate Hands Inc and Latrobe Community Health Service.

Thank you to our partners and communities who help make these engagement activities happen! 🫶

This month, there were two Beautiful Shawl Project visits in partnership with Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation! Our mobile screening van visited both Morwell and Sale. 🫶 💗

We’re so thankful for VACCHO, the ACCOs and Aboriginal-led services who continue to support this work and help make breast screening a more culturally safe experience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Victoria

We recently partnered with Glen Eira Adult Learning Centre to deliver an engagement session on the importance of breast health and screening with new migrants learning English.

After the session we chatted with students Zora and Lai Quing to hear what they took away from the session, and we were even able to help them take the next step by booking their breast screen appointment.

A simple reminder that access makes all the difference.

We are proud to announce we have officially opened our new clinic in Caroline Springs. We now run our service from 56 clinics across Victoria! 🤩

We are located at Unit 4/1042 Western Highway, inside the Lake Imaging building as part of the Westsprings Central shopping mall. There is plenty of free 2 hour parking, and additional parking is available across the road outside Spotlight, including disabled spaces.

The new location will serve the City of Melton community, making it easier for thousands of women to receive care closer to home. 🫶

This National Volunteer Week, we’re celebrating the incredible contributions of our Consumer Advisory Group Co-Chair, Sue! ❤️

We sat down with Sue and she shared how she first got involved in the program- and it was all through a sign at her local BreastScreen service 18 years ago.

When asked to sum up her role as co-Chair of the Consumer Advisory Group, Sue chooses three words: “inclusive, listening, and impact.” It’s a fitting snapshot of someone who has helped ensure consumer lived experiences shape both the present and future of the service. 🫶

Thank you for all your contributions to the program, Sue! 👏

If you would like to hear more from Sue, listen to episode 1 of our podcast Behind the Screen, where Sue, CEO Rita Butera and Dr. David Speakman discuss the importance of breast screening.

Listen now: https://bit.ly/4dhEOkP

Last week, our Mobile Clinic Nurse Coordinator Elise and Nurse Practitioner Louise presented at the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Conference about the Women’s Health Mobile Clinic, delivered in partnership with the Victorian Department of Health.

It was a fantastic opportunity to share the impact of the Women’s Health Mobile Clinic and highlight how women in rural and regional Victoria often face challenges accessing essential sexual and reproductive healthcare close to home. We also loved hearing from the other speakers and connecting with so many passionate clinicians. 💗

Thank you for having us- we loved being part of the conversation! 🫶