General News
9 May, 2023
TDHS celebrates launch of new bus
THE wheels on the bus will definitely be going round and round in Timboon.
THE wheels on the bus will definitely be going round and round in Timboon.
On Friday, community members were invited to the launch of the Timboon and District Healthcare Service’s (TDHS) bus – which has been aptly named Joy.
Residents were given the opportunity to have a look inside the bus at a celebration in the main street of Timboon.
TDHS chief executive officer Gary Castledine thanked those who attended the launch.
“We love our new bus and it was a great opportunity to share the excitement and show how grateful we are,” he said.
“It also gave us the opportunity to show the extra feature our new bus has, which is a wheelchair lift.
“This means that community members who experience limited mobility, can join our Social Support Group and increase their community involvement and reduce their sense of isolation, which supports their physical and psychological health.”
The bus, which has been on TDHS’s wishlist for some time, was funded thanks to community support through annual fundraising as well as corporate sponsorship from Beach Energy, Lochard Energy, Cooper Energy, SEA Gas and the APA Group.
TDHS community engagement officer Sabine McKenzie said it was amazing to see the local gas plants/operators working collaboratively to allow the community to “finally be able to get our long-awaited bus”.
“To finally have our own bus is amazing and offers so many possibilities for our clients,” she said.
“And such a fitting name. Finniss, a Timboon P-12 School student, has done such a great job in picking the name ‘Joy’.
“We had some amazing entries for our bus naming competition and we would like to thank all the grade one and two students from Timboon P-12 School, Nullawarre and District Primary School, Cobden Primary School and Simpson Primary School for participating.
“Finniss chose the name ‘for having fun’ and we also think our bus is laughter, happiness and a richer life on wheels providing increased access to our Social Support Group, including bus trips for reconnecting, reminiscing and be reminded of all that’s good about our lovely part of the world.”
Ms McKenzie said the new bus was another great example of TDHS working together for a healthy community.
“We’ll make sure we keep everything informed via social media about all the ‘joy’ful adventures our clients experience on their daytrips with Joy, thanks to our wonderful community,” she said.
TDHS board chair Frank Carlus said TDHS was “grateful to our community and corporate sponsors for their amazing generosity”.
“It is such a great asset for the whole service and our clients who will be using it and we thank all our generous donors for recognising the importance of having this bus and helping turn the vision into a reality,” he said.
