University Hospital Geelong, Barwon Health

[Text displayed on screen] Ingrid Swain, Dietician, University Hospital Geelong. 

[Ingrid Swain, Dietician, University Hospital Geelong] Darwin Health and University Hospital have made some major changes prompted by the Healthy Together Achievement program.  

We’re using the Healthy Choice guidelines, which is based on a traffic light system of red, amber and green. This helps our staff identify healthy choices and it makes it a lot easier.  

And this has been across our catering menu in our county and our vending machines.  

[Text displayed on screen] Rosa Marino, Cafeteria Manager, University Hospital Geelong 

[Rosa Marino, Cafeteria Manager, University Hospital Geelong] We’ve made major changes in the cafeteria. We’ve reduced all our soft drinks, our juices were reduced in size and also our confection is being cut right back.  

[Text displayed on screen] Annie Smith, Cafeteria Chef, University Hospital Geelong  

Annie Smith, Cafeteria Chef, University Hospital Geelong] We’ve been involved in the traffic light system since 2010.  

The traffic light system is 50% green, 30% amber and 20% red. We’ve tried to go above that, if we can, by changing our recipes and adapting them to the traffic light system.  

We’re using low fat milk, we’re using more vegetables, and we’re trying to modify a lot of our recipes so that they become green.  

We’ve also discouraged deep frying. We use that very limited. And we’ve also been in contact, working with our distributors to try and encourage them to introduce more low fat products to help us out.  

At the moment, a lot of it, we’re still centralized on fast foods and we need to get out of that way of thinking.  

[Rosa Marino, Cafeteria Manager, University Hospital Geelong] With the support of the dietitian, we’ve changed a catering order form to assist with the meetings that are held across Farewell and Health to offer more healthy choices like sandwiches, wrapped sushi, fresh fruit, yogurt. 

[Ingrid Swain, Dietician, University Hospital Geelong] Darwin Health is very keen to support healthy eating within the workplace.  

A committee has been set up to encourage this and as a consequence, we’ve been able to introduce a workplace policy for healthy eating. 

[David Ashbridge, Chief Executive Officer, Barwon Health] I’m really pleased to advise people that we have introduced food choices, healthy food choices into both our cafeteria here as well at the McKellar Center.  

We’ve done that for two reasons having a healthy workforce is really important to the productivity of the health services in Geelong.  

But more importantly, health staff have a significant role in role modelling good behaviour and good food choices. And this is going to improve the health of our community.