The DELIVER Program, together with Western Alliance and The Grampians Region Health Service Network, recently launched an evaluation of the Grampians Residential-In-Reach Program, an initiative designed to improve access to specialist healthcare for older adults living in residential aged care homes across rural and regional western Victoria.
The event showcased the Grampians region health services’ innovation and commitment to sustainable, evidence-based care, and celebrated the collaboration between health services and the academic sector to drive improvements in health. We were delighted that The Hon. Sam Rae MP, Minister for Aged Care and Seniors was able to join us at the launch. Minister Rae spoke about the importance of us working together to support evidence informed decision making.
This evaluation is particularly crucial in regional and rural care settings, where transfers to emergency departments and emergency care centres can strain limited ambulance resources, and challenges are prevalent relating to staff shortages, internet connectivity issues, and long distances between health services and residential aged care homes. Research to build more evidence for the design and implementation of programs in these settings is highly significant.
A/Prof Kate Huggins, DELIVER Program Director, said “This trial grew from a shared commitment to research for better healthcare closer to home. The health services wanted to make sure their new service model could be properly evaluated not only to demonstrate its effectiveness, but to generate the evidence needed to guide future funding decisions. We worked together from the start, designing the research alongside the service so it truly reflects rural healthcare needs and can be more rapidly embedded into practice to support lasting change.”
The evaluation trial will run until June 2026 and will assess the effects of the Resi-In-Reach program on user experience, time spent in hospital and cost-effectiveness.
