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COVID Positive Pathways
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About the program
The COVID Positive Pathways program provides targeted care and support for Victorians diagnosed with COVID-19 who:
- need support to recover, or
- experience barriers to accessing care.
The program is coordinated by our community health network partners:
How it works
The COVID Positive Pathways program is delivered by Victorian health services through community health services and hospitals, in collaboration with Aboriginal health services, other providers and coordinated by the Victorian Department of Health.
- All eligible Victorians who test positive for COVID-19 are contacted to determine their clinical and social needs. Where consent is provided, people are stratified based on clinical risk, severity of illness and social needs onto an adult or paediatric pathway or usual-care if deemed appropriate.
- Pathways for clinical monitoring and treatment as well as social support have been established by each Health Service Partnership (HSP) relative to the specific regional context of each catchment area.
- HSPs provide a regional escalation path and support for GPs, recognising the necessary integration and regional support available to support quality care for the community.
Eligibility criteria
COVID Positive Pathways program priority populations include people:
- who idenitify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
- aged 80 years or older
- living with a disability or a carer of a person living with a disability
- needing assistance to isolate safely at home
- living in rural isolated communities, and
- of refugee or asylum seeker status.
All people residing in Victoria who have tested positive for COVID-19 are in scope for the program, excluding:
- Residents of residential aged care facilities
- Department of Justice detainees (prisoners)
- People with COVID-19 in COVID-19 specific emergency accommodation where a service provides its own dedicated care and supports, such as:
- hotel quarantine
- alternative accommodation: for those clients who cannot self-isolate in their own home or are living in vulnerable circumstances
COVID Monitor Program
- The Community Health Network (CHN) deliver a support program for people with COVID-19 who need to stay home in home isolation. This program is called the COVID Monitor Program.
- In this program the CHN will ask you to use an online survey each day to tell us how you are feeling.
- A friendly and experienced staff member from the CHN will contact you if you tell us you need some help with staying at home or if you need medical monitoring.
What support can I get while staying at home?
The COVID Monitor Program can:
- provide you with health advice if your COVID symptoms worsen
- provide you with interpreters.
How long will I be cared for?
If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will be monitored by COVID Positive Pathways until the end of your isolation as instructed by the Department of Health.
Contact the program
COVID Positive Pathways
You can contact the program via our community health network partners:
Your Community Health
Phone: 03 8470 5969
Open hours: 9am to 4:30pm, Monday to Sunday
Banyule Community Health
Phone: 0497 409 597
Open hours: 9am to 4:30pm, Monday to Sunday
If your symptoms get worse
- Call 03 8470 5969 or 0497 409 597 (during open hours).
- Out of hours, visit the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (Northern Health).
- If you have shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or chest pain, call Triple Zero 000.
- In an emergency, request an ambulance by calling Triple Zero 000.
Community health contacts
Your community health centre can help you with urgent assistance relating to accommodation or homelessness, personal safety concerns and acute mental health concerns. For more information, contact your local community health centre.
Service areas
All people who live in the Austin Health catchment area who have tested positive for COVID-19 and meet the eligibility criteria can access the community health network COVID Positive Pathways program.
The Austin Health catchment includes people who live in the following postcodes:
3071, 3072, 3073, 3078, 3079, 3081, 3083, 3084, 3085, 3087, 3088, 3089, 3090, 3091, 3093, 3094, 3095, 3096, 3097, 3099, 3105, 3106, 3107, 3755, 3759, 3760, 3761.