Earlier this month, Karen Dixon, JCTS Regional Manager (VIC/TAS) and Robbie Ahmat, Cultural Educator, visited Rumbalara Aboriginal Cooperative to meet with community members and plan for an upcoming GP registrar on country day.
Rumbalara was established by the community as a place where community could meet for cultural and social activities, and provide education, information and support in areas of special need such as health, housing, welfare and culture.
The health service is growing at a rapid rate, recording 1,400 new patients over the last two years and a significant increase in the number of GPs on site.
Rumbalara is one clinic that advocates for the Deadly Choices program. Deadly Choices encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to access their local Community Controlled Health Service and complete an annual ‘715 Health Check’.
Having an annual health check means a clinic can build a picture of health and measure changes in a client’s wellbeing – helping to prevent chronic disease from becoming a reality, and reducing the impact of existing chronic disease, and providing ongoing health management and support.
For Rumbalara, this program has been a huge success, with 164 patients completing 715’s in the first month alone.
For further information, visit the Deadly Choices program.
Pictured: JCTS VIC team with Uncle Lance James and Aunty Cheryl Bourke