Health & Wellbeing

A Cootamundra man has vowed to use the pain of his own childhood and the skills learned at TAFE NSW to help light a new path for vulnerable people. A proud Worimi man, Ash Voll was taken from his parents and raised by his grandparents from the age of five after an early childhood marred by dysfunction. This exposed him...

WARNING: Readers are advised this article discusses suicide.  Wagga Wagga suffers from a higher number of deaths by suicide than any other region in the state's south-west, but a new service aims to support locals living in the Riverina who are experiencing suicidal thoughts or distress. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare monitors statistics on suicide and says more than 3000...

No-one supports people on the land better than the Country Women's Association (CWA) and when they combine that with another of their specialities, freshly baked scones, it's hard to refuse. This Friday night, 18 February, members of the Uranquinty CWA invite the community, near and far, to discuss an issue that touches many people in regional and remote Australia; mental...

In a year that’s already seen residents of Southern NSW battling massive storms, high-level rainfall and floods, now mozzies are the emerging threat. In recent weeks NSW Health has issued several warnings urging people to take extra precautions to protect themselves against mosquito bites and acquiring a mosquito-borne disease as high numbers of the insect are being detected by authorities. Murrumbidgee...

A new $20 million, purpose-built health hub in Batemans Bay promises to bring a range of healthcare services together under one roof, but there are concerns that without adequate staffing, the HealthOne facility could become a white elephant. Minister for Health Brad Hazzard, says HealthOne will be a one-stop, unique model of integrated care for the community, bringing together commonwealth-funded general...

Riverina farmer Julie Andreazza’s resilience and ability to overcome the challenges life has thrown her way were on show for the world to see when she won the 2018 NSW Farmer of the Year Award. It was a high point in Julie’s life, and recognition for years of hard work on and off the farm. What most people wouldn’t have...

A bunch of farmers jumping off their headers and hurling themselves onto pushbikes is proof enough that the Active Farmers program - with its roots in the NSW Riverina - is still kicking mental health goals in the rural sector. Bushies roaming around town in muddy utes laden with bags of dog food, drums of chemicals, old tyres and flash...

Floodlights are beaming into rural and regional NSW, lighting the way to better support for those with mental health conditions - starting with the addition of two new safe havens in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District. A recent announcement from NSW Mental Health Minister Bronnie Taylor has been a coup for the communities surrounding Wagga Wagga and Griffith; they are...

All that strenuous running and star-jumping and push-upping, but somehow, the bathroom scales still bear bad news. Just imagine if keeping fit and healthy involved nothing more than remembering to pop a pill every morning with your full-cream coffee. It's the elixir that humankind has lusted after since the dawn of time, but some local researchers say they might be...

Wagga Wagga’s new network of shared paths will be the focus of a joint research project to uncover what impact the city's Active Travel Plan (ATP) is having on the local community.  Wagga Wagga City Council Mayor Greg Conkey OAM has welcomed the research initiative, saying the 13 ATP links provide safe options for adults and children to cycle or...

The popular family-friendly and wellbeing event ReBoot in Bermagui is finally returning next month. It is the seventh time it will be held and this year it will be all about "rebooting" into summer after getting through the tough COVID-19 lockdowns. "We're pretty excited, we really pushed ahead with this. We cancelled it last year and we didn't want to...

It was at last year's Stromlo Running Festival in Canberra when Ryan Deale heard his team was dealing with a seriously ill patient. The founder of Get First Aid, the business Ryan runs from his Binalong home which provides medical services at major events, turned up to see his team in control, tending to the patient expertly. "I just stood...

When Julie Hartley watched her husband, Peter, battle prostate cancer, she knew the grim fight was one he shouldn't face alone. But when searching for support, the Narooma couple found the closest group was in Ulladulla – more than 125km from their NSW South Coast home. Julie and Peter considered starting their own support group and travelled the state to see...

The word cancer still strikes terror in the hearts of most of us but it's hoped continuing research will help reduce the fear associated with a diagnosis. Millions of dollars spent on breast cancer research have significantly improved survival rates and a diagnosis may no longer be something to dread. Julie (surname withheld on request) was living her dream life...

Cooma's Dr Hamish Steiner has been named 2021 Rural Doctor of the Year by the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) after stepping in to help save the only general practice in the town of Bombala, approximately an hour away. "There's lots of people who probably deserve it as much or more than me, but I got nominated and managed...

Moruya midwife Clare Immens has spent her career in the medical industry, volunteering as a midwife in developing nations. While she primarily works on the NSW South Coast, Clare's career has taken her around the world, from Mongolia to Ethiopia and Vanuatu to name a few. Volunteering as a midwife in developing nations has shown Clare first-hand the poor conditions...