Swan Hill District Hospice Committee Scholarship Program

The committee continue to ensure ongoing education of staff through scholarships and for aesthetic support for improved personalisation and professionalism of care for all patients. The Committee advertise annual scholarships within our local area for a Doctor and Nurse to apply for so that our local health workers can be more intensively educated in the area of palliative care. This will ensure the patients in this area can receive the same treatment and support as patients in larger cities, allowing them to remain within their support group for as long as possible.

Patients in this vast region that require access inpatient hospice care have to travel to Bendigo or Echuca when their community palliative care is based in Swan Hill. To be able to stay with the people they have built a relationship with through the illness would be less stressful than having to travel to other areas for hospice care. Having locally educated staff would help keep local patients as close to home for as long as possible during such a traumatic time; and for symptom management to occur closer to home reducing travel.