Sunshine Hospital has opened a patient health information centre to help patients and visitors get actively involved in their own health care.
The $40,000 centre, made possible by the fund-raising efforts of Sunshine Hospital Auxiliary volunteers, is next to the main entrance of Sunshine Hospital.
It offers patients and visitors information on health issues through information sheets, flyers and a computer kiosk with preloaded health websites.
Users can talk to health professionals and trained volunteers on anything from how to quit smoking to battling depression.
Sunshine Hospital is the third Victorian hospital to open a patient health information centre.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Women’s Hospital run similar models.
Arlene Wake, an executive director of Western Health, said she first came across the model in the United States and was impressed by the focus on getting patients to engage in their own health care and treatment.
The patient health information centre will be open 9am-4pm weekdays.
