Health providers, who are providing new and innovative treatments for their patients, have been recognised through a suite of Primary Health Network awards.
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Rural fit, the University of New England Health Centre, and many others have overcome the multiplicity of challenges in rural health to nonetheless provide exceptional health support for a wide variety of patients.
The UNE Health Centre was declared the winner of the patients first award, which recognised them for going above and beyond in patient-centric service.
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General manager of operations for UNE Life, which manages the health centre, Benjamin Bible said they took the initiative to work very closely with the community during the pandemic.
"We put ourselves in the eyes of the community. We knew that lack of access to vaccines was a leading cause of vaccine hesitancy," he said.
"We just tried to remove as many barriers as we could to people accessing the vaccine."
The team at the UNE health Centre had to get creative in overcoming negative perceptions of the vaccine program when travelling out to places like Moree.
"We teamed-up with the police station up in Moree. They were absolutely incredible the community engagement team up there," he said.
"We had a dedicated GP just to be able to walk the line and communicate any concern. And there were some really touching moments."
Not to be outdone, Rural Fit also took the initiative to get creative in providing health solutions, and were named a finalist for the primary care leader service provider award.
Last year Rural Fit took on movement disorder nurse, Jo Lavelle, in a first for the region as part of the movement disorder pilot program.
Since coming on board, Mrs Lavelle has run everything from art classes to St Patrick's Day games to make treatment just that bit more enjoyable for their patients.
"They involve very much a holistic approach to support services," she said.
"We did some painting up at the botanical gardens with a cellist, having music as therapy.
"We had fun at dancing because dancing's good for being able to manage symptoms.
"And we've actually got on Friday, a meditation session."
She said the sessions have also allowed patients to vastly improve their social life.
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Mark Kriedemann
I take a particular interest in industry, environment, science, and technology subjects. Besides studies in media, my tertiary education covers genetics, as well as International Relations. I therefore strive to draw links between these varying disciplines to give a comprehensive analysis of developments in industry, agriculture, and the associated politics.
I take a particular interest in industry, environment, science, and technology subjects. Besides studies in media, my tertiary education covers genetics, as well as International Relations. I therefore strive to draw links between these varying disciplines to give a comprehensive analysis of developments in industry, agriculture, and the associated politics.
