About the Ovens Murray Public Health Unit
Contact details:
Email us:
OMPHU@awh.org.au
Phone us:
(02) 6048 1000
The Ovens Murray Public Health Unit (OM PHU) was established in January 2021, initially to oversee the organisation’s role in responding to the global pandemic, COVID-19. It was formerly known as the Albury Wodonga Public Health Unit.
It is directly responsible for the public health response for five local government areas, namely Alpine, Indigo, Towong, Wangaratta and Wodonga, and provides an independent operational function to the community.
Upon inception, the unit’s priority was to implement the Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccination program, in addition to testing and rapid response, contact tracing, case and outbreak management.
Within the first 10 weeks of operation, the OM PHU vaccination team established the region’s first major vaccination hub in Wodonga. It also provided critical region-wide outreach programs to all public aged care facilities and created a second “sub-hub” in Wangaratta.
Since inception the OM PHU has evolved into providing key health messages to stakeholders by using local knowledge and community-based relationships.
The OM PHU effectively crafts and delivers public health initiatives and responds swiftly to incidents and issues in the local catchment area.
The teamwork with local councils within the five catchment areas to develop health initiatives and programs as well as providing public health advice during outbreaks of communicable diseases.
The OM PHU work under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and the Wellbeing Regulations 2019 which aims to achieve the highest attainable standard of public health and wellbeing.
The team do this by protecting public health and preventing disease, illness, injury, disability and early death and provide information to the community about maintaining their health.
The OM PHU works to help reduce public health and wellbeing inequalities throughout Victoria.
- To download a fact sheet about the OM PHU, click here