Latrobe Regional Hospital

LRH’s switch to healthier café and catering menus coincided with a major expansion of the health service, which included a new cardiac service for diagnosing and treating serious heart conditions, a new emergency department and a new café. LRH also took over management of an existing onsite café around the same time.

LRH Chief Executive Peter Craighead said, “Our region has one of the highest cardiovascular disease rates in Victoria. If we are making a major commitment to treating heart disease, what are we doing to prevent it?”

“Our team felt we needed to do more to promote a healthier way of life to our community and our staff.”
Peter Craighead, Chief Executive, Latrobe Regional Hospital

The focus on staff health was included in LRH’s Statement of Priorities with the Department of Health and Human Services. And LRH is also working towards the Healthy Eating benchmarks of the Achievement Program.

LRH established a health and wellbeing committee which reports to the executive level. The committee is chaired by the General Manager of Support Services and includes key staff such as nurse unit managers, dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, mental health nursing staff, the WorkCover Coordinator and General Manager of Business Services.

Student dietitians from Monash University also assisted LRH implement the Healthy Choices guidelines during a 10 week placement.

LRH communicated changes to staff, patients and guests via the staff newsletter and flyers round the site.

LRH also built healthy eating into their recruitment process by requiring all new café staff to have an interest in promoting healthy eating, and providing them with training on the Healthy Choices guidelines.

As a result, all café staff are committed to promoting healthier choices, and can confidently talk to customers about the traffic light system.

LRH established a health and wellbeing committee which reports to the executive level. The committee is chaired by the General Manager of Support Services and includes key staff such as nurse unit managers, dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, mental health nursing staff, the WorkCover Coordinator and General Manager of Business Services.

Student dietitians from Monash University also assisted LRH implement the Healthy Choices guidelines during a 10 week placement.

There was some initial resistance to the changes from members of the hospital community, however the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. A survey by the student dietitians found that 72% of customers are pleased with the taste and variety of the food and drinks.

In fact the cafes have earned new customers, such as people without any connection to the hospital who make the effort to eat there, and one staff member who has been working at the hospital for 17 years who had never eaten from the cafe until Healthy Choices was implemented!

“Our staff and visitors have been pleasantly surprised by the menu and how affordable it is.”
Peter Craighead, Chief Executive, Latrobe Regional Hospital

LRH is fortunate to operate its own cafes, which gives the hospital greater control over the foods and drinks they provide. The hospital views the café as a service for staff and guests, so the financial objective is to break even rather than make a profit. This means LRH can make healthier options more affordable, which supports its commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles in the community.