Mr Duffy says he is stepping up into a strong outfit as Ballarat Community Health chief executive officer, thanks to passionate leadership of Robyn Reeves who he will replace next month.

He is determined to keep building on good work and keep adapting to community needs. The right technology, Mr Duffy feels, can help reach a broader demographic amid an age of self-diagnosis and industry focus on preventative health measures.

Mr Duffy arrives at BCH from UnitingBallarat and with an extensive background in the health industry.

A former BCH board member, Mr Duffy said the chance to lead and shape Ballarat Community Health was both unexpected and a sound segue.

“I've seen the evolution in community health and the significant cross-overs in support services...these intersections are incredibly important,” Mr Duffy said.

“There can be a lot of support in early intervention where services already exist, for example providing community health to people accessing homeless services, or providing AoD (alcohol and other drugs) services where people are presenting to welfare.

“...That’s how you should design community services, with client interests most important.”

Obesity and chronic diseases are big issues weighing down the region as Mr Duffy steps into the community health space. Mental health is Mr Duffy’s particular passion.

A psychiatric nurse by trade, Mr Duffy trained at Aradale in Ararat in the 1980s before moving into acute mental health at Ballarat Health Services before working in Mildura, metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong.

It was in Geelong when Mr Duffy had the chance to run the city’s headspace, the youth mental health program, and he is keen to step back up his work with youth health. BCH has a lead role in a health and welfare consortium overseeing headspace Ballarat operations.

“I am also really interested in education in schools. It’s logical community health is supporting education and maternal child health nursing in accessing and influencing in health children at an early age,” Mr Duffy said.

While excited to be joining BCH, Mr Duffy is proud in the work his team at UnitingBallarat will continue in the wake of huge transition in an operations merger

“One of the things I am most proud of is that our clients and services shouldn’t have felt any major change in the disruption,” Mr Duffy said. “...Now the new incumbent can pick up and run from there.”

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