Services & Departments

Community rehabilitation is offered as part of Barwon Health’s Sub-acute Ambulatory Care Services (SACS). Our aim is to provide rehabilitation for people:

• Following a recent event that has resulted in injury or hospitalisation
• Who are recovering from illness
• Who have had medical or surgical intervention
• Long-COVID (post-COVID conditions)

Community rehabilitation is time-limited and all clients attending will have a rehabilitation goal.   

Barwon Health provides community rehabilitation from three centres:

• Belmont Community Rehabilitation Centre: 1-17 Reynolds Road, Belmont 3216
• McKellar Community Rehabilitation Centre: 45-95 Ballarat Road, North Geelong 3215
• Sunrise Centre: GMHBA Stadium, Kardinia Park, Geelong

Rehabilitation can be provided in a centre, in a client’s home or in the local community.

We work in teams made up of allied health, medical and nursing professionals from the following backgrounds: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, exercise physiology, recreation therapy, social work, clinical psychology, neuropsychology, nursing, dietetics, podiatry, rehabilitation medicine and geriatric medicine.  Clients may work with one or more health professionals depending on their needs and goals for recovery.

Our rehabilitation teams cover all areas of rehabilitation including:

• Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and multi-trauma rehabilitation – McKellar Centre only
• Amputee rehabilitation – McKellar Centre only
• Burns - McKellar Centre only
• Cardiac Rehabilitation Program – Sunrise Centre
• Concussion – McKellar Centre only
• Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) (including pulmonary rehabilitation)
• Neurology Rehabilitation (including stroke, brain tumour and progressive neurological conditions)
• Oncology Rehabilitation – Sunrise Centre
• Orthopaedic Rehabilitation
• Paediatric rehabilitation – see Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service (VPRS)
• Spinal Injury Rehabilitation – McKellar Centre only
• Vestibular Rehabilitation

Eligibility

Community rehabilitation is for people who are recovering from an accident, injury or illness or who have had medical or surgical intervention and have rehabilitation goals.

Community rehabilitation is time-limited and directed by goals that the person develops with their rehabilitation team.

Please note: Community rehabilitation does not provide assessment for the purpose of Disability Support Pension (DSP) or National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) applications.

Cost

There is no out of pocket cost for appointments. 

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and WorkSafe will cover the cost of rehabilitation for people with an approved claim.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) may provide funding for appointments and equipment for people who are registered and have an approved plan.