Overview
The Day Stay Program:
- Runs two-three days each week for four families
- The day stay centre is a communal setting with shared bathrooms, dining and play spaces
- All families are allocated one child’s room that they will use for the day
- The program is a mix of group sessions and individual support to enable parents to work towards their identified goals
- The program supports parents with strategies for achieving their parenting goals in areas such as sleep and settling, child behaviour and parent and child health and wellbeing
- The Day Stay Program will include assessing your family’s needs, and developing a care plan in partnership with your family that responds to those needs, goals and preferences
- Each staff member cares for two families
- While you are staying with us you will be responsible for care of your child/children. Staff will guide, support and provide individualised care while acknowledging that you are the expert when it comes to your own child
- All Mercy Health facilities are smoke, alcohol and drug-free
- Families will be supported to transition out of the program with links to maternal and child health services and other and community services.
We offer the following related services for families:
Getting here
Find us at:
34 Anchorage Drive
South Morang Victoria 3752
For more information on getting here, visit Woi-wurrung-yagila-wulumperi, Whittlesea Early Parenting Centre (WEPC) .
Location details
34 Anchorage Drive, South Morang, VIC
On-site signage and indicators
Look for the Woi-wurrung-yagila-wulumperi, Whittlesea Early Parenting Centre signs on-site.
How can people get access?
All entrances are closed after hours. Please ring the doorbell at the main entry and a staff member will open the door for you.
Your appointment
What to do before
After we receive your referral, an assessment and intake staff member will call you to discuss your referral and ask you some further questions. You will be sent an email with the date of your Day Stay and more information about what to expect. You will be sent some forms in the post that you will also need to fill in and bring with you.
Before you come in
Before you attend our Day Stay program, it is important that all family members are well enough to participate in the program. Please notify us if your family are unwell in the seven days prior to admission. This helps us prevent the spread of infections at the centre. If you, or a member of your family become unwell on the day of the program, please let us know. If you are unable to attend, your booking will be rescheduled
Allergies
Please inform us if you or your child has an allergy to food or any other substance before you come to WEPC. If you or your child needs an allergy management plan or an EpiPen, please bring it with you. WEPC has a nut minimisation policy. Please do not bring any nut products to WEPC for the safety of everyone in our care.
What to bring
What you will need to bring
- Food for you and your child for the day (no food is provided at Day Stay)
- Your Medicare card
- Cot sheets and linen for your child’s sleeping needs. Please bring whatever your baby normally sleeps with, for example wraps, blankets or sleeping bags. Please do not bring any weighted blankets or weighted sleeping bags
- Play mat for the floor
- Child’s sipper cup if required
- Toys
- Any clothing and toiletries you may need throughout the day
- Disposable nappies, wipes and nappy bags (please note that cloth nappies cannot be used at OFC)
- Personal items to help comfort your child such as a dummy or favourite toy
- Breast milk and breast pump if required
- Formula and bottles if required
- Pram or stroller
- Anything else you might need for a day away from home.
What to expect on the day
The Day Stay program runs two-three days per week from 8.30am–3pm.
There is no cost for the Day Stay Program.
More information
Team Composition
The multidisciplinary team working in the Day Stay program are:
- Maternal and child health nurses
- Registered nurses and midwives
- Early parenting practitioners
What questions should you ask
When you are arrive, you will be asked to sign some documents, including privacy and public hospital admission forms. Staff will discuss what each form means for you. Each staff member cares for two families.
You will be responsible for the care of your children while participating in the program. Our staff will guide, support and provide individualised strategies, with an understanding that you are the expert when it comes to your own child.
Discharge information
You will be given a written summary of the day to take home.
Additional support
After discharge from your Day Stay Program you will be referred back to your community supports like your Maternal and Child Health nurse or GP for ongoing care.
Who to call if you have concerns afterwards
Please call your Maternal and Child Health Nurse, GP or your other community health professionals for support after discharge.
For health professionals
Referrals to WEPC can be from a health professional or the family can self-refer and complete the referral form themselves.
Procedural information
All families who have been referred to us receive a phone call from the Assessment and Intake Team.
A risk assessment screening is also carried out.
Early Parenting Centres provide a short-term intervention service for families and as such, we are unable to provide ongoing support following discharge. Families are referred back to their community providers once they have been discharged.
What/when you should refer to us
The Day Stay Program will benefit parents who have challenges with:
- Becoming a parent
- Feeding issues
- Sleep and settling
- Managing multiple births, e.g. twins or triplets
- Toddler behaviour
- Child development and behaviour
- Mental health and wellbeing.
What/when you should not refer to us
We are not a crisis service or an inpatient psychiatric parent infant unit. Clients may wait between one-three months from the day we receive the referral until participating in the program.
For the wellbeing of other participants, all families must be healthy when they attend our programs.
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