The Western Australian Department of Health will hold a stakeholder briefing on the new Incidence and Cost of Injury in Western Australia 2012 report at Grace Vaughan House in Shenton Park on Tuesday March 28th from 8:30am to 10am. Director Chronic Disease Prevention Directorate Denise Sullivan, Winthrop Professor Fiona Wood and Curtin University Senior Lecturer Dr Delia Hendrie will analyse injury rates across WA and its impact on the WA health system. The briefing will look at the report from a research, policy and practice perspective and speak about how the data can be understood and applied for advocacy and program development.
Author: Communications
ICCWA Ambassador Mark Daniels talks about redefining disability at the Grassroots Falls Festival Take Two in Fremantle
ICCWA and Road Trauma Support WA Ambassador Mark Daniels spoke in front of more than 270 health pracitioners and falls specialists from across WA and Australia at the recent Grassroots Fall Festival Take Two in Fremantle on February 16 and 17.
The two-day conference looked at some of the grassroots falls prevention programs being rolled out across the country and for many introduced a new, fresh perspective on falls prevention.
Mark shared his own inspiring story of recovery from injury and gave those present food for thought in terms of redefining what it means to be disabled and not backing away from a challenge.
You can read more about Mark’s presentation and his own story in the Community Newspaper.
The Road Trauma Support WA team heads to Bunbury to work with our First Responders
A specialised team from the Road Trauma Support team will head to Bunbury on Thursday March 9 to deliver a specialised workshop for emergency services personnel from Bunbury and the surrounding region.
“Working with Grief, Loss and Trauma: How to Support Yourself and Others – is a specially tailored one day course which has been developed in conjunction with WA Charity Sirens of Silence, WA Police and Curtin University.
The course will help those on the front line understand how to appropriately respond to those impacted by grief, loss and trauma, understand the impact working in this area can have and assist attendees to develop appropriate self-care strategies to prevent burn out and the onset of post traumatic stress disorder.
It will be interactive and give those present the opportunity to share stories and experiences in a safe, non-judgemental environment and to assist them to integrate resiliance strategies into their daily working and personal lives.
Please see the attached flyer for more information and registration details.
The RAP Roadshow moves to Bunbury!
The ICCWA team, with expert guidance and assistance from Ingrid Cumming and the Code Switch team move from Merredin to Bunbury as part of our 2017 Reconciliation Action Plan Road Show.
We will be in Bunbury on Tuesday March 7 and would like to hear from you!
Our RAP planning workshop will be fun, engaging and family friendly and will give you the chance to tell us how we can work with you and have a yarn and a feed at the same time!
Please view or download the attached RAP flyer and share it with your networks! We look forward to seeing you there!
The ICCWA RAP Roadshow is heading to Merredin
The ICCWA team, with expert guidance and assistance from Ingrid Cumming and the Code Switch team will soon hit the highway for our 2017 Reconciliation Action Plan Road Show.
Destination Merredin! We will head to Merredin on Wednesday March 1 and would like to hear from you!
Our RAP planning workshop will be fun, engaging and family friendly and will give you the chance to tell us how we can work with you and have a yarn and a feed at the same time!
Please view or download the attached RAP flyer and share it with your networks! We look forward to seeing you there!
Join us and help shape our Reconciliation Action Plan!
Planning for ICCWA’s Reconciliation Action Plan, with guidance and assistance from Ingrid Cumming and the Code Switch team is now well underway! We have secured venues and dates for consultation meetings with stakeholders in Perth, Merredin and Bunbury and would love you to join us for a chat and to hear what you would like from us to help shape our RAP.
The workshops will be fun, engaging and family friendly and will give stakeholders the chance to tell us how we can work with you and have a yarn and a feed at the same time!
Please view or download the attached RAP flyer and share it with your networks! We look forward to seeing you at the Perth RAP workshop on February 21.
Stay On Your Feet to launch new Fuel Your Body campaign on February 1, 2017
Older adults are at risk of malnutrition as a result of the body’s natural ageing process as well as a range of socioeconomic factors that can result in a poor diet and insufficient nutrition.
The new Fuel Your Body campaign, which is due to be launched by WA’s leading falls prevention program, Stay On Your Feet® early in 2017, will look at ways of addressing these concerns and ensuring that Western Australians over the age of 60 are informed about what a balanced diet looks like as they age.
The campaign will be launched on Wednesday February 1, 2017 at the National Lifestyle Village Lake Joondalup by the Hon Paul Miles MLA, Minister for Seniors, Local Government and Community Services and the local member for Wanneroo, as well as City of Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts and Shadow Minister for Seniors Margaret Quirk as well as a host of special guest chefs, nutritionists and health professionals.
The Stay On Your Feet® program aims to reduce the incidence of falls in older adults in the community, which is the leading cause of hospitalisation of adults over the age of 65 in Australia and costs the WA Health System on average more than $100,000,000 each year.
Injury Prevention Manager Rachel Meade said that the new campaign was designed to give older adults living independently in the community some basic information around food, alcohol and water consumption that were simple to follow, cost effective and age appropriate.
She said malnutrition in older adults was a problem in the community that can lead to impaired muscle function and potential decreased bone density and increases falls-related morbidity and mortality rates.
“This can be as a result of physiological changes in the body, chronic diseases, the side effects of medication and a loss of appetite as we get older.
“However there are other factors to consider like deterioration in quality of life, or a lack of motivation to cook healthy meals for those who may be living alone after the death of a partner for example,” Ms Meade explained.
“This can have a whole lot of repercussions, from the mental to the physical state, which can greatly increase the risk of falls, hospitalisations and the ability of individuals to continue to live independently in the community.”
The Fuel Your Body campaign also highlights the importance of drinking water to avoid complications from dehydration and drinking less alcohol to keep your brain and body healthy.
The three-month campaign launches on February 1 and runs until April 30, 2017 and targets older adults over 60 living independently in the community.
For more information about the Fuel Your Body campaign or for tips on how you can stay active and alert to reduce your risk of falls contact Stay On Your Feet® on 1300 30 35 40 or visit www.stayonyourfeet.com.au.
Reconciliation Action Plan Consultation Plan
Injury Matters is proud to be embarking on its inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan journey under the watchful eye of Ingrid Cumming and the Code Switch team.
Planning commenced in the latter stages of 2017 with a workshop for all staff to have a look at what reconciliation means to us both as individuals and as an organisation and what we would like to see achieved during the RAP process.
After several consultations it was decided, that rather than put the onus of those outside the metropolitan area to come to us with their input and feedback, the process would be better served if we go to them.
A plan was soon mapped out which identified significant areas we would like to target and so the ICCWA RAP Roadshow was conceived. Further information, dates, destinations and times can be found below.
A Not-for-Profits’ RAP Journey
About ICCWA
To start with, I think I should make it clear that before we embarked on this process we felt we didn’t know what we were doing or where to start when it came to developing a RAP – or Reconciliation Action Plan.
What we do know is, that as an organisation and as individuals, we think it’s an important part of the reconciliation process.
I also thought that if we, as an organisation don’t know how to go about this process, then perhaps other agencies may not either. So we decided to share our organisation’s journey down the path of developing our Reflect Reconciliation Plan from the beginning in the hope that it may shed some light on the process or perhaps inspire others to start their own journeys.
I’d also like to add that I am not a blogger! So if f you came here looking for a literary masterpiece, unfortunately you won’t find it here! Instead this blog will be an open and honest account of our journey as a not-for-profit agency as we work towards developing an organizational Reconciliation Action Plan – something that we have talked about for a long time and are finally commencing now.
A Guiding Hand
I think to begin it’s important to let you know that we are not embarking on this journey alone. We are very fortunate to be working with the very lovely and patient Ingrid Cummings from CodeSwitch who is helping us along our path. Ingrid is an extremely knowledgeable and passionate woman dedicated to achieving reconciliation in Australia and will be guiding ICCWA on its own path towards creating our very own RAP. A small step for mankind perhaps but if we were all doing it…
Ingrid has facilitated cultural understanding sessions to our team in the past and as a result we have seen a positive professional relationship blossom over time.
This relationship has been an integral part of the RAP development process and Ingrid has made us feel comfortable and safe in discussing issues of a potentially sensitive nature (or simply ask questions may have been too scared to ask elsewhere). Fortunately, with Ingrid, there is no such thing as a stupid question (well almost no such thing), and indeed all questions were encouraged during our discussions.
The Start
We began the process of developing a RAP with a kick-off meeting between a small group of ICCWA staff and Ingrid, to discuss where we as an organization are coming from and where we would like to be in the future. We identified what strengths and weaknesses the organisation could both harness and be mindful of during the development and implementation of our RAP, which opportunities we could utilize and also the threats we could tactfully avoid along the way.
During that initial meeting it also became apparent that we needed to bring together a core group of staff who would champion the RAP internally and make sure we stayed on track to achieve our goals in a timely manner. We also decided to hold an internal workshop, inviting all staff to learn more about the process of developing a Reconciliation Action Plan and to begin brainstorming where opportunities for reconciliation action may lie for ICCWA.
One of our next steps was to pencil in an external workshop to consult with members of the Aboriginal community and other stakeholders on what was important to consider in the development of our first RAP.
So with some important decisions made, we are off on our journey. Now to find my RAP champions!
Stay tuned to find out more about the next step in our RAP journey.
Program Update: Road Trauma Support WA Summer 2016
On Sunday 20th November 2016, Road Trauma Support WA held a commemorative event for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, at the Fremantle Sailing Club.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year, to remember the millions killed and injured on our roads across the globe. It is also a day on which we pause to thank our emergency service personnel for the amazing work they do and to reflect on the tremendous burden and cost of this daily continuing disaster to families, communities, organisations and governments at all levels.
We were honoured to have many distinguished attendees who also recognise the importance of supporting all of those affected by Road Trauma and the people who work alongside them.
Deputy Premier, The Hon. Liza Harvey MLA, Ms Teresa Williams Director of Governance and Finance at the Road Safety Commission, Dr Sudhakar Rao Director of Trauma Services at Royal Perth Hospital and Patron of Road Trauma Support WA, Bev Abela Volunteer Educator at Road Trauma Support, Janet Augustinsen Multi faith officer from Curtin University and most importantly our clients and their families who have all been affected by road trauma in some way.
Road Trauma Support WA has held this this event each year since its inception in 2014 and we would like to thank all of those who took the time to come together at this very special event and to wish them a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.