- Register for the 2024 NACCHO Members’ Conference!
- Good News Story: Kambu Health Women’s Retreat
- Elder Care Support: Community-led Pathways to Care
- Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Services celebrates 30 years of culturally safe, holistic healthcare
- Excellence in Continuous Quality Improvement Awards
- Sector Jobs
- Key Date: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Events and training
The NACCHO Sector News is a platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.
We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.
Register for the 2024 NACCHO Members’ Conference!
Registrations for the 2024 NACCHO Conference are now open – Register Here
This year’s event is being held at the National Convention Centre, on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country (Canberra), and the program will include the NACCHO Men’s Health Day, National Youth Conference, the NACCHO AGM and our two-day members conference.
Dates:
- Sunday 1 December: Men’s Health Day – this is a free event open to males (18+) working in ACCHOs or involved with the ACCH Sector.
- Monday 2 December: Youth Conference – to register for this, you must be between the ages of 18 and 26. This is a free event which includes complimentary entry to the Members’ Conference for the first 100 Youth registrants.
- Tuesday 3 December: AGM and possible EGM
- Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December: NACCHO Members’ Conference
The fees for the Members’ Conference are:
- Early Bird Special – register before 9 November 2024 – $1,200 plus GST
- Normal Registration Fee – register between 10 November and 22 November 2024 – $1,300 plus GST
- Late Registration – registrations received from 23 November 2024 – $1,500 plus GST
The fees above include complimentary admission to the Karaoke Dinner on Wednesday, 4 December 2024. The dress theme for Karaoke is the 1980’s including Country and Western.
Please contact conference@naccho.org.au if you have any questions.
For more information, go here.
Kambu Health Women’s Retreat
The Kambu Health Women’s Retreat from 18-20 October brought a profound sense of peace and connection, with participants creating a safe space to openly share and heal. Many women expressed how the retreat allowed them to open up about their experiences, forging connections that felt truly nurturing.
The weekend kicked off with an inspiring art class, where everyone painted beautiful Aboriginal designs on flowerpots. That evening, participants gathered around the fire pit, singing songs and listening to the powerful stories from Elders.
Saturday was packed with cultural richness and adventure! From traditional basket weaving to archery, every moment was filled with joy. The day culminated in a deeply moving Yarning Circle of Healing. One courageous young woman shared her journey, and through supportive dialogue, she began to envision a new narrative of strength and resilience. On Sunday, each woman shared their key takeaways—renewed strength, new friendships, and invaluable lessons from both the joyful and challenging moments.
Kambu Health wrote:
“Special thanks also to Dr. Lindsay Davidson, our Chief Medical Officer, for joining us to conduct 715 Health Checks and engage in meaningful conversations about Women’s Business.
“Here’s to the power of connection and the journey of healing!”
Elder Care Support: Community-led Pathways to Care
Have you heard about the Elder Care Support (ECS) Program?
It’s not always easy growing older, and the aged care system can be complicated and confusing. Throughout 2024, the ECS Program has been rolled out across the country, and our dedicated ECS workforce is now supporting and assisting Elders and older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mob to get the support they are entitled to.
The Elder Care Support Program is designed to provide support, connection, and coordination of access to aged care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We want to ensure that older people and their families receive the support they need to understand, navigate, and access aged care services.
To learn more about the Elder Care Support Program, go here.
Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Services celebrates 30 years of culturally safe, holistic healthcare
This week Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Services (PLAHS) will be celebrating its 30th anniversary. Over the past three decades, PLAHS has been dedicated to providing culturally safe, holistic healthcare, driven by the community and for the community.
Polly Paerata, South Australian West Coast ACCHO Network (SAWCAN) executive manager shared her reflections on this incredible milestone.
“For 30 years, PLAHS has been a beacon of strength and resilience, supporting local Mob with health services that are underpinned by Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. This anniversary celebrates not only the health and wellbeing of the Port Lincoln community, but also highlights the importance and strength of Aboriginal leadership and self-determination.”
Excellence in Continuous Quality Improvement Awards
This year, AMSANT ran an awards night to recognise the amazing work done in CQI over the year. There were five award recipients for ‘Excellence in Continuous Quality Improvement’ – four individuals and a group award. AMSANT’s Deputy CEO Erin Lew Fatt was there to congratulate each winner.
Excellence in CQI Award Recipients:
- Elizabeth Dhurrkay – Galiwinku Clinic AHP Team Leader, Miwatj – Elizabeth was nominated for her work in collecting chronic disease data, applying the information to PDSA cycles and feeding this information back to her community.
- Azeema Perkins – CQI Facilitator Top End Central District, NT Health – Azeema has gone above and beyond to increase compliance and efficiency through standardization of documentation, and was nominated for her invaluable work in the Tiwi and Belyuen communities.
- Jessica Gaddi – Manager Primary Health Care, Mala’la Health Service – Jessica led her team through an extremely effective PDSA cycle to improve the workflow for scabies treatment. The health service increased their 2nd recall completion by almost 20%, reducing severity in the community.
- Evelyna Dhamarrandji – AHP Trainee, Miwatj Galiwinku Clinic – Evelyna was nominated for her work in improving appointment attendance and delivery of healthy lifestyle programs, and for improving feedback data by assisting community members to complete surveys.
- Congress Child and Youth Assessment & Therapeutic Services (CYATS) Team – The CYATS Team were nominated for their amazing expansion project aimed at increasing diagnostic assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions and reducing time between diagnosis and treatment.
This story is from the CQI Quarterly Newsletter. To read the full addition, go here.
Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.
Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females have lower breast screening participation rates and are 1.2 times as likely to die from breast cancer compared to non-Indigenous women. Despite these statistics, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) sector is best placed to support community members through various initiatives to promote awareness of breast cancer and encourage screening to ensure women are healthy and can be around for their family and community.
LaVerne Bellear, CEO of AMS Redfern shares her breast cancer survivor story. She is passionate about being an advocate and champion for her community, promoting awareness of breast cancer.
LaVerne advocates for early intervention and screening to ensure early diagnosis. This means more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women will access treatment early, beat breast cancer and be here for their family and community.
For information on breast cancer screening, go here.
ACCHO Governance Workshops
Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025.
Registrations are now open for:
-
Broome: 24-25 October
The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:
- Delegation of powers
- Finance for Boards
- Governance documents
- Managing conflicts of interest
- Managing risk
- Principles of good governance
- Structure and role of boards and sub-committees
To register, go here.
For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.
