Showcase- Healthy Communities Plus

Consulting informed
by experience

OUR EXPERTISE

Healthy Communities Plus is a social enterprise of the Healthy Communities Foundation Australia. With over 20 years experience as an organisation working with rural, remote and Indigenous communities on community and economic development, addressing social determinants and sustaining local health care, we bring to the table expertise informed by practice experience.

COMMUNITY FACILITATION & ENGAGEMENT

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

ORGANISATIONAL
STRATEGY

HEALTH & HOSPITAL SERVICES, REVIEWS & EVALUATIONS

DIGITAL HEALTH, HEALTH LITERACY AND DISEASE PREVENTION

COMMUNITY FACILITATION & ENGAGEMENT

The one thing we know about rural, remote and Indigenous towns - when you have seen one, you have seen one. Working with communities every day we understand the critical importance of having on-the-ground experience to the success of community and government initiatives. We are trusted by rural, remote and Indigenous people because we take the time to understand how each community makes decisions, how to facilitate in the context of complexity and how to build ownership and accountability.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

Community development is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. Genuine community development requires a detailed understand of people in their place. We support communities to be aspirational and ambitious, but also bring to the table a practical understanding of what is realistic and achievable based on the strengths and assets of a community. This way we are better able to help communities build realistic expectations and timeframes for development. We work across community, business, tourism, health and economy to create comprehensive plans that are achievable.

ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY

Like rural, remote and Indigenous people, the organisations that support them and advance their interests are unique. We apply a strategic planning approach that reflects the organisation in its context bringing staff, stakeholders and communities together around achievable goals.

HEALTH & HOSPITAL SERVICES REVIEWS AND EVALUATIONS

We started 20 years ago working with communities to design and deliver sustainable community-based health and hospital services that build on community strengths and assets. Over 20 years we have supported 17 communities to establish, sustain and grow local healthcare as other towns lost their services. In recognition of our expertise, we were invited to Partner in the federally-funded Centre for Research Excellence in Sustaining Remote Healthcare in Australia. We partner with leading universities including Charles Darwin University, the University of Sydney and Menzies School of Health Research to enable us to continuously innovate in the design of healthcare to support accessible healthcare for all Australians.

DIGITAL HEALTH, HEALTH LITERACY & PREVENTION

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! Our focus on health literacy, disease prevention and digital healthcare has made us a leader in addressing the social determinants of disadvantage. We lead the federally funded National Rural and Remote Suicide Prevention Program with our mates from the National Rugby League, as well as the Rural and Remote Neurodiversity Screening Program with the University of Sydney and Sydney Children’s Hospital. Our focus is on how we can work with communities to prevent disease by building health literacy and improving access to healthcare using digital technologies when this is appropriate. We have a commitment to the use of digital health to improve the sustainability and attractiveness of rural, remote and Indigenous healthcare to on-the-ground medical and health workers because we know that is what our communities want.