Health & Wellbeing

Last week, two women from the NSW South West Slopes joined a distinguished circle of scholars who have, for 55 years, been intent on bettering the world. Danielle Allen, of Greenethorpe, and Bernadette Zanet, of Tumut, were named among 112 Australians who are now proud recipients of the prestigious 2020 Churchill Fellowship. The memorial Fellowships were developed as an expressed wish...

Brent Hall tells me he didn’t sleep well last night as we take a seat in the living room of his Crookwell home. It’s not often the 63-year-old receives a visit from a journalist. “It’s silly, I know," he says. "I don’t know what I’m actually worried about.” Brent has experienced anxiety and depression for most of his life, attributing...

The Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) has teamed up with Eurobodalla Shire Council and Snowy Monaro Regional Council to ensure regional women can access the breastfeeding support they need in a COVID-19-safe way. The project will provide sponsored places at Breastfeeding Education Live sessions, and 12 months ongoing support via membership for up to 15 women in the Eurobodalla region, and up...

As COVID-19 numbers reduce across NSW, Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) is relaxing visitor restrictions for residential aged care facilities as well as paediatric patients in the region. From Wednesday, 30 September, aged care residents will be allowed two visitors per day aged 16 years and over. This is an increase from just one visitor for a total of one hour, which...

Last week, the Southern NSW Local Health District announced details of a restructure that has been in the making for four years. In a press release on Thursday, Chief executive Margaret Bennett said there will be no forced redundancies. However, staff and union representatives say they are very concerned about the changes being put forward, which will see 53 full-time...

Two years on from his appearance on Love Island and Canberra electrician Grant Crapp still receives death threats on Instagram. "To this day, I have people telling me I should end my life for what I've done to women, that I shouldn't be breathing," he told Region Media. "I had one yesterday that said they wished they could drag me behind...

Spring may be here but beneath the wondrous green and gold patchwork landscape, with wafts of jasmine and fruit blossoms, hides a multitude of irritants that induce tears, sneezing and wheezing in many people in the community. Spring also means thunderstorms – of a sudden nature – which can also trigger asthma. On Thursday 3 September, Murrumbidgee Local Health District...

The pandemic is a running topic at the office, around the dinner table, and in news bulletins, but are we talking enough about the social impact of COVID-19, particularly for those separated from their families by state and international border closures? A survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that three in four Australians had weekly face-to-face contact with...

A young Broulee mum is emerging from winter full of vigour and vim thanks to an online wellness program being offered free of charge to drought and bushfire-affected residents of the Riverina and South East NSW. It was a Facebook post that caught Jess Buffier's eye in May, at a time when she was feeling particularly negative. She - like...

The free COVID-19 testing clinic in Yass has been relocated from the hospital to the former Landmark building at 1-5 MacDonald Street. The new site is a drive-through clinic, providing easier access for the community, and is open from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 12 pm. Yass resident Allie McClure visited the new clinic last week after feeling unwell. "It...

Women all over Australia have been asking for homebirth for decades, but have largely been hindered because of the difficulty and high cost for private midwives to purchase indemnity insurance. Homebirths account for less than 1 per cent of all births across the country, although that number is on the rise as cities have begun to roll out publicly funded homebirth...

A Crookwell doctor is on a mission to mask up her NSW regional town to prevent the spread of COVID-19 before cases spike. Dr Johanna Kovats has started the Mask Up Crookwell campaign with the support of the town’s four other doctors. They want everyone to consider wearing a face mask in the same way people practice hand washing, social...

It takes a steady hand at the tiller to steer a vessel through a storm, and right now, in the southern reaches of NSW, the health of 250,000 people depend on it. One person who has held unwavering eyes on the horizon is Jill Ludford, especially recently as the blustery tempest that is COVID-19 skulks on the border of NSW...