FREE heart tests to detect preventable underlying heart conditions are rolling out across the country, thanks to a new partnership with Gippsland’s private health insurer Latrobe Health Services, Wesfarmers, SiSU Health and the Shane Warne Legacy Trust.
Latrobe Health Services Head of Marketing and Business Development, Kate Jarvis, said the death of Shane Warne was a shock for so many Australians and cricket fans worldwide.
“Too many Australians are unaware of heart health risks,” Ms Jarvis said.
“Working with the Shane Warne Legacy Heart Test Campaign we can raise awareness of heart health and offer 23,000 free heart health tests before the end of 2023.
“We’ve been working with Wesfarmers Health and SiSU for 18 months delivering heart health tests across regional Victoria and are thrilled to have Shane Warne Legacy on board to really move this program forward.
“We’ve seen some interesting population level results in these tests, but more importantly we’ve seen that these tests have had life changing impacts for participants.
“In 2022 we saw a 38-year-old Sale man who presented to one of our testing stations at a shopping centre. The team there were immediately worried about his wellbeing and called an ambulance for him on the spot. The next day he had triple bypass surgery – saving his life.
“We’ve also had instances more recently where tests have identified individuals with diabetes or who are pre-diabetic – but did not know. These participants were referred onto their GPs immediately to begin a screening process.”
Some in the Gippsland community have already taken advantage of the free heart health tests, when Latrobe Health visited Farmworld, East Gippsland Field Days and a number of workplaces and shopping centres in the last 12 months.
The Shane Warne Legacy Heart Test campaign aims to make 23,000 free four-minute heart tests available to Australians before the end of 2023.
Next year, the partners will work together, aiming to provide 500,000 free heart health tests to Australians in an attempt to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and save lives.
“By providing access to free heart health checks to communities, we hope to raise awareness and understanding of heart health indicators and ultimately save lives,” Ms Jarvis said.
“It really hit home for me on the day we announced this new partnership, I was on my way to the funeral of a young man who died of a heart attack. Cardiovascular disease kills 43,000 Australians each year, if we can be part of reducing this devastating figure we will.”
Latrobe Health Services is a not-for-profit, for purpose, private health insurer. It has a strong focus on regional Australians and improving access to health care for its members and their communities.
For more information about Latrobe Health and its heart health program, go to: latrobehealth.com.au
Latrobe Health Services Head of Marketing and Business Development, Kate Jarvis LHS Chief Executive Ian Whitehead celebrate the new partnership with Shane Warne Legacy. Photos: Contributed
