A NEW preventive health partnership has been established to take a collaborative approach to improving the health and wellbeing of people across the Murraylands.
The Murraylands Preventive Health Partnership is a collaborative project involving Mid Murray Council, the District Council of Karoonda East Murray and the Rural City of Murray Bridge.
The councils have also partnered with the Murraylands and Riverland Local Government Association (MRLGA) and Preventive Health SA.
A new preventative health officer role has been created and will be key to delivering the program. 
Applications for the role closed on 14 March. 
The position will be hosted by Mid Murray Council, and based within its Community Services team at Mannum. 
In a joint media release, the organisations involved with the initiative said the program will support the planning, implementation and evaluation of preventive health action and advocacy based on local needs. 
“It will tackle key health and wellbeing priorities, including obesity prevention, alcohol and drugs, tobacco and vaping, mental health and wellbeing, and suicide prevention,” the councils and MRLGA and Preventive Health SA said. 
The preventive health officer will drive co-ordinated efforts with partners, implementing and evaluating evidence-based preventive health actions to improve the physical, social and mental wellbeing of local communities. 
Mid Murray Mayor Simone Bailey said the Murraylands Preventive Health Partnership was a shared commitment to creating healthier local communities. 
“Council is excited to be part of the Murraylands Preventive Health Partnership, which will create more opportunities for the support of health and wellbeing across our region,” she said.
“Preventive health programs play an important role in improving health outcomes and we believe this program will make a valuable contribution to enhancing the physical, social and mental wellbeing of our communities. 
“Projects like this are often difficult for regional councils to achieve on their own, so we welcome the support of the State Government and our project partners.
“We’re also looking forward to working with the Murraylands community to determine what areas of health and wellbeing they consider to be the most important for the project focus on.” 
The Murraylands Preventive Health Partnership builds on insights gained through nine Wellbeing Hubs developed in partnership between the State Government’s Preventive Health SA and regional and metropolitan councils over the past four years.