Geelong Early Parenting Centre to open soon

GEELONG’S first Early Parenting Centre (EPC) is almost complete, with the finishing touches being added ahead of its expected opening in about a month.

EPCs are a free primary health service and provide specialist support for Victorian families with children from birth to four years old.

Located at the McKellar Centre in North Geelong, the Geelong EPC will have 10 residential family units and four day-stay places, providing both short-term and longer residential stay programs to improve the health, wellbeing and developmental outcomes of children.

The new centre will give parents and carers with the advice and care they need, including support with sleep and settling, feeding and extra care for babies and toddlers with additional needs.

The centre is being delivered by the Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA) in partnership with Barwon Health, and builder Bowden Corporation, and will be available to parents and carers across the Geelong region.

The Tweddle Child and Family Health Service will help establish the new service.

Geelong MP Christine Couzens, Lara MP Ella George and Bellarine MP Alison Marchant toured the nearly-finished centre earlier today (Thursday, February 29).

Ms Couzens was part of the state Parliamentary inquiry that led to the establishment of the centres across Victoria, and said she was very pleased with the final outcome in Geelong.

“It’s the ideal spot [for the Geelong EPC]; they looked around for a little while.

“Tweedle were the only services in the state [previously], so through the inquiry, we established the high demand for this sort of service in the regions.

“The advisory committee was established a few years ago to actually look at what it would look like, and this is the end result of that, and it’s incredible.

“It just goes to show what good government policy does.”

Barwon Health plans to run an open day at the Geelong EPC ahead of its official opening in late March.