CRANA+ Weekly Update

Dear CRANAplus Members,

Only 5 days until conference! The weather prediction is for clear skies and sunshine and the CRANAplus prediction is for an informative, educational and fun conference. If you haven’t signed up yet then come join us as we launch our new brand.

As mentioned over the past few Flyers, we are happy to receive any raffle items you think would be of interest to delegates with all monies going to a charity decided by delegates. There are a few seats available still for the remote site Hermannsburg day tour on Sunday October 18th at a cost of $50. Get in quick!

The release this week of the ‘Save the Children Report’ again highlights CRANAplus as the voice of remote health.  Organisation president, Christopher Cliffe was being approached by the media to comment on the damning finds. Click here to find the report in the The Advertiser.

Are you interested in being a State Rep? We’re calling for expressions of interest from members in Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. CRANAplus has long had a wonderful network of members who advocate on our behalf, often act as representatives of CRANAplus at interstate events and keep CRANAplus abreast of policy changes within their state. If you feel you would like to contribute in this role email me at business@crana.org.au for more details.

We look forward to seeing many of you next week in Alice Springs!

Regards,
Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie Borchers
Business Manager
CRANAplus
 

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Meetings & Conferences

Women’s and Children’s Hospital Australasia 2009 Annual Conference
Brisbane, QLD - 9-13 November, 2009

The conference theme is The Times they are a-Changin’: Engaging in Health Care Reform. The week begins with a Clinical Forum on Perineal Trauma & Incontinence. Tuesday 10th is the first day of the 3 day WCHA Conference. A Clinical Forum on Integrating Hospital & Community Care will be held on the Friday.

The Conference attracts delegates from Australia, New Zealand and the wider international community and from a wide variety of disciplines from hospitals and community sectors.

We invite anyone with an interest in the health care of women, babies and children to attend this exciting Conference.
 

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Scholarships Available

Pink Pony Scholarships

The scholarships will be awarded for further study or attendance at conferences to improve the care and support of women diagnosed with breast cancer in rural, regional and remote areas. Nurses and community health workers providing care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are encouraged to apply. Information on how to apply for a scholarship, and the application form can be found on the NBOCC website Applications close: Friday 30 October 2009

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Educational Opportunities

Diabetes Care at the Centre: the How’s, Where’s and Why’s
Alice Springs, NT - October 30-31
The objective of the Symposium is to provide health care practitioners in the region with the opportunity to learn more about the latest treatments and interventions for people with complex diabetes and to debate the challenges of preventing and effectively managing diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Central Australia.

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND TREATMENTS IN THE AFTERMATH OF DISASTER IN RURAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES: LESSONS FROM RECENT EVENTS
Canberra, ACT - November 2 - 3, 2009

The Australian Rural & Remote Mental Health Symposium at the National Convention Centre, Canberra (2nd - 3rd November) program is now available online.

The Symposium features 40 presenters including keynote presentations by:
Prof Beverley Raphael - Australian National University
Dr Helen Stain - University of Newcastle
Prof Don Gorman - University of Southern Queensland
A/Prof Sabina Knight - Centre for Remote Health in Alice Springs
Prof Peg Le Vine - Monash University
Prof Gavin Andrews - University of New South Wales
Dr Keith Miller - Flinders University
 

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Articles of Interest

Death Rate Shame
AUSTRALIA'S indigenous children are dying before their fifth birthday at a rate comparable with some of the world's poorest nations, a new report shows.
The report by child rights agency Save the Children found Australian indigenous children are three times more likely to die before the age of five than non-indigenous children.
Poverty, a lack of health services, poor housing and poor nutrition were blamed for the mortality rate.

Indigenous Health Lags Behind
Australia is largely a migration success story, but the toll on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has been high, the author of the UN Human Development Report, Jeni Klugman, said.
''It clearly had large and unacceptable costs for indigenous people,'' she said. Indigenous children in Australia were three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than the rest of the population, a separate survey by Save the Children showed yesterday.

Kits to Combat Indigenous Eye Disease
The International Centre for Eyecare Education has launched a new project to combat eye disease in Australia's indigenous communities. The "I see for Culture" project involves educational kits sent out to 150 remote communities. The kits explain the importance of regular eye checks Blindness rates amongst Indigenous adults is six times higher than the non-Indigenous population.

Australia Encourages Indigenous People to Pursue Health Careers
The Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Services Delivery, Warren Snowdon was in Brisbane today at the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association’s (AIDA) Annual Symposium to launch the new AIDA publication – ‘Journeys into Medicine’.

New Wellbeing Centre Opened in Tiwis
A new wellbeing centre has been opened on Bathurst Island, north of Darwin today. The Wurrimiyanga Centre will bring education and community health programs under one roof.

Cash Needed to Curb Indigenous Smoking
The Heart Foundation is calling for the financial support of the Federal Government to help lower the smoking rate in Aboriginal communities.

Sessions Shed Light on Aboriginal Aged Care Plan
About 30 people attended information sessions in Shepparton yesterday about a controversial proposed Aboriginal aged care facility.The Rumbalara Co-operative wants to build the $35 million facility, with aged care, student accommodation and independent living units.

The Territory Government Says it Wants 3000 More Indigenous People to Join the Workforce by 2012
The target and a goal of 200 new Indigenous businesses are part of a four year Indigenous Economic Development strategy launched in Alice Springs this morning.

It Feels Good to Lift Every Voice: Healing Power
`SINGING makes you feel good and it's beautiful,'' says Joyce Chalkey, 70, a retiree who recently signed up for chamber group Musica Viva's Music for Life program, in which seniors from the sleepy West Australian town of Mandurah come together and sing in a choir.

Truancy Program at Risk
A FEDERAL government trial linking school attendance with welfare payments in six Northern Territory communities is being compromised by a critical lack of resources available to schools that are charged with implementing the policy. The principal of Tiwi Islands' Murrupurtiyanuwu Catholic School at Nguiu said yesterday teachers were only able to follow up with a fraction of families who did not send their children to school.

Police 'refusing access' to Diversionary Programs
NORTHERN Territory police are denying Aboriginal youth offenders access to diversionary programs, according to a group of Darwin legal advocates. The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency said a recent study on youth crime highlighted the "appallingly disproportionate" contact Aboriginal people had with police compared with non-Aboriginal people.

Wadeye Plans its Own Future
IT is the great exception. Remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory are supposed to be passive, broken places.
Wadeye, the former Catholic mission of Port Keats, 400km by road southwest of Darwin, is quite the opposite: rebellious, outspoken, full of life and purpose, breaking the usual pattern at every turn.

Backflip on Condemned Houses
Houses previously marked for demolition may be refurbished under the nation's biggest Aboriginal housing program, as fresh allegations are raised that large amounts of money are being spent on administration fees.

Swine Flu Outbreak Prompts Vaccination Call
About 50 residents at the indigenous community of Aurukun on Cape York in far north Queensland presented with flu-like symptoms over the weekend.

More Deadly Injuries in Bush
Australians living in the bush suffer much higher rates of fatal injuries - including taking their own lives - than those in the city, research shows.

Two Extra Theatres as 1800 Await Surgery
About 1800 people are waiting for surgery in the Territory - and some of them have been kept on hold for up to 18 months. Now, two operating theatres at Royal Darwin Hospital have been upgraded as part of an attempt to slash elective surgery waiting lists.

250 Flee in Terror as 'Snake' Slithers In
A 'SNAKE' in the Alice Springs Convention Centre caused the evacuation of hundreds of people yesterday. About 250 people were at the Indigenous Economic Development Forum in the Alice Springs Convention Centre when a brown-looking "snake" appeared on the speaker's stage. A forum attendee said it appeared from the spinifex displays on the stage.
NT Minister, Karl Hampton had just finished his speech when a snake-looking thing crawled out of the spinifex used as a stage decoration. It went back in (but) there were a few people that were getting nervous. The culprit that caused the evacuation of a conference in Alice Springs - a 20cm-long Burton's legless lizard.

CRANAplus comment -  Lenny Cooper has been assigned critter patrol duties for the 27th Annual CRANAplus Conference.

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