Health & Wellbeing

Isabella Plains couple Brian and Katie Meilak moved to Queensland in 2015 to access autism services for their son Zachary, but now a new autism hub in Canberra will mean families in the region will get the help they need here in the national capital. The world-class autism hub, with $3.5 million in capital funding from the John James Foundation and owned and...

Scoping is underway with work to begin mid-year on a $200,000 refurbishment of the Cootamundra Hospital palliative care unit. Cootamundra Hospital is one of 34 palliative care facilities across the state to be refurbished over the next two years thanks to NSW government funding. The rooms will include a kitchenette, ensuite, new floor coverings, paint and soft furnishings. Murrumbidgee Local...

Hospitals throughout the Riverina and South West Slopes will get an injection of new blood this year as 85 nursing graduates prepare to join the staff ranks. One registered midwife and 52 registered nurses are set to start in the regional and rural hospitals this month, while a further 33 registered nurses will start in August 2020. In making the...

After heavy rains earlier this week, there appears to be an abundance of water. But the combined effects of drought, fire and rain in the Bega Valley mean water quality in some areas is so poor, council is taking drastic steps to rectify it. "Extreme circumstances require extreme solutions and that is certainly the case with the work currently being done...

Time to express yourself about the health services in your town. The Murrumbidgee Local Health District is seeking feedback from the communities it services through the 2020 Community Survey, which has just been launched. This will be the third time the health service has undertaken a survey of this nature, with the first released in 2014 and the second conducted in...

For many of us living in areas close to bushfires this season, we've been compulsively checking that we are safe, overstimulated by alerts on our phones and worn down by the stress of the unknown. What does this do to our brains? Kalaru local Jenny Devine has been the recipient of a Mumbulla Foundation Grant to organise a speaker to present a...

Erica Dibden and her husband Nic run Tilba Real Dairy, deep in the green-hearted hills of Tilba, NSW. Erica, with her passion for nutrition and food provenance, has developed an intensive cheese-making workshop, which she runs in the kitchen of her farm's homestead, precisely where she taught herself these skills many years ago. As a wife and mother, Erica has...

"There's no colour," has been a common comment from residents after seeing their burnt properties. This week's rain should help introduce a bit of green back into the landscape but until then, Figtree Food Company at Mystery Bay is organising cuttings for fire-affected gardeners to replenish gardens on the South Coast.  "We are taking cuttings to restart gardens and give kids...

The hunt is on across the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) for enthusiastic people in the community to join their Local Health Advisory Committee (LHAC). Members are being sought in the Hilltops and Gundagai-Cootamundra local government areas, which include the towns of Young, Harden, Boorowa and Jugiong, as well as Cootamundra and Gundagai. MLHD’s Community Engagement Manager Setchen Brimson says...

At the ripe old age of 23, Young’s Ellie Burstal has seen more than her fair share of naked butts. She’d laugh if she read this. Her parents, both farmers, would look at each other and chuckle. But this modest young woman was just named Young’s 2020 Junior Citizen of the Year because she dared to step outside the norm...

There's no standard response or 'correct' reaction when people slowly start returning to their burnt homes or properties. The feelings and emotions are as diverse as the people. Some haven't been able to return yet and dread seeing the damage in person. Some have had friends or neighbours take photos so they can choose when to view the wreckage and...

Since bushfires started burning around my hometown of Bega a few weeks ago I, and everyone in our community and all communities hit by fire this season, have been in and out of normal life and an impending disaster zone. This summer, there's been a force that's bigger than us and bigger than our plans and invitations now come with...

When Frances Carleton started caring for the carers of Australian wildlife, she took an average of four calls a month. Since Boxing Day, she’s taken more than 70 calls. WildTalk is Australia’s first counselling service dedicated to the wildlife carers who pour their hearts and souls into looking after sick and injured wildlife. The level of distress has catapulted during...

Around the Bega Valley it's been hard to miss the increase in air traffic, like the huge MRH 90 RAAF choppers moving personnel and equipment, turning the Old Bega Racecourse into a makeshift airfield. Manning the gate at the racecourse site is Private McCready, originally from Canberra. "From this position here in Bega we are servicing our engineers and teams...

Could you go back to a 9-to-5 job after returning from the frontlines of an Ebola outbreak halfway across the globe? That’s the challenge that faced environment health officer Jody Clouten after working in countries like Zambia, Sierra Leone and Iraq, with organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Aspen Medical. Jody worked as a technical adviser in Zambia,...

Canberra-based charity Abundant Water's East Timor project has well and truly exceeded all expectations by providing more than 6,000 East Timorese with access to clean safe water in the two months since the project activated. Abundant Water was created by Sunny Forsyth after he saw the need for accessible, safe water filters first-hand while working in Asia. Building on Abundant Water's...