Communications | Injury Matters

Program Update: Know Injury Summer 2016

A team from the Injury Control Council of Western Australia’s, Know Injury program, travelled to beautiful Esperance last month to talk to those based in and around the region about all things injury prevention.

The visit is part of the organisation’s ongoing commitment to those in regional and remote WA who may not have the same access to training and events as counterparts in the Perth metropolitan area

The team was hosted by the Western Australia Country Health Service (WACHS), Esperance Population Health from Wednesday 23 November to Friday 25 November allowing them to meet with practioners and health workers operating in and around the area.

Know Injury delivered evaluation training, met with local health and community workers to discuss injury and safety and also find out what’s happening in their shire.

The evaluation training was delivered by experienced health promotion practioner, Dr Stacy Waters, and as well attended with representatives from WACHS, Escare and the Esperance community arts centre.

Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive from those who attended the training.

‘Both inspired to improve and slightly intimidated by how much better we can do. Thank you!’ and ‘Excellent, timely, presenter very knowledgeable, interesting, needed, informative, thank you!’.

The Know Injury team also took time to meet with representatives from the Shire of Esperance to find out what their safety priorities were in the region, as well as to talk about injury prevention and community safety.

Know Injury also hosted the bi-monthly regional network group meeting where Andrea McGill, health promotion officer from WACHS delivered a presentation on behalf of the Roadwise committee which looked at their new campaign ‘Slow down and enjoy the ride’.

The campaign is an excellent example of a local injury prevention program, delivered at a community level by passionate community volunteers and representatives.

As part of the campaign the committee created a short video to [EA1] complement the key messaging and themes. The video was uploaded to their Facebook page and has since been shared 4700 times, with 221 000 views.

The visit to the region was a success with health professionals and community workers upskilled, new partnerships developed and old partnerships strengthened. It was also a great opportunity to showcase some of the great work the region is already doing in injury prevention and promote it to the rest of Western Australia.

Changes to the ICCWA Board, Ambassador Launch and AGM

Following the Injury Control Council of WA’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday November 17th at the Bendat Community Centre in Wembley, a number of changes to the board were determined.

Board President Stacey Waters announced that she would be stepping down from her position and Vice President David Beattie was elected to take her place, effective immediately. Stacey said that while she is sad that her formal association with the organisation has come to an end, she is proud of the way ICCWA has begun to transform, with a new strategic plan, new leadership and a new name and brand identity expected in 2017. Watch this space!

While we are sad to be farewelling Stacey after five years as a board member, and two as President, we thank her for her commitment and dedication during this time. ICCWA is excited to welcome and congratulate David who brings a wealth of experience in general and financial management and is the chairperson of the board of WA-based not-for-profit, One Tree Community .

Other Board Changes

After five years of service, Amberlee Laws also announced she would not re-nominate as an ICCWA board member. Amberlee is currently on maternity leave from Act Belong Commit and we wish her every success in her future endeavours. Both David Beattie and Bruno Faletti were re-nominated to their board positions unopposed. They will be joined by new board member, Dr Melissa Stoneham who is currently the Deputy Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute of WA. Melissa has considerable professional and board experience across the public health and health promotion sectors and is currently the Chair of Healthway’s Sports Sponsorship Committee.

ICCWA would like to thank both Stacey and Amberlee for their years of dedicated service as ICCWA board members.

ICCWA Ambassadors

Our new ICCWA Ambassadors, seven time open water marathon swimmer Shelley Taylor Smith and Royal Australian Navy Marine Technician Mark Daniels, shared their inspiring stories of overcoming injury and adversity to achieve professional and personal success. Their passion and drive aligns strongly with ICCWA’s aspiration to ensure all West Australians live a life uninterrupted by injury and to support their recovery to live rewarding lives.

We are excited to welcome Shelley and Mark as ICCWA Ambassadors and look forward to the passion, energy and skills that we are sure they will bring to the role.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Volunteer Alma Digweed was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her years of dedicated service at ICCWA. Alma is our longest serving volunteer and has worked tirelessly as a peer educator since 1999 delivering falls prevention messages across the community with great passion, gusto and humour. Both the board and staff would like to thank her for her commitment to the organisation and for her ongoing efforts giving back to the community.

Annual Report 2015/2016

ICCWA’s latest Annual Report was also unveiled, highlighting the achievements of its three flagship programs, Stay On Your Feet®, Road Trauma Support WA and Know Injury, and its renewed focus on regional and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. The report showcased another successful year of program delivery, impact and success. You can read the ICCWA Annual Report here.

We wish to acknowledge the custodians of this land, the Wadjuk (Perth region) people of the Noongar nation and their elders past, present and future.

Thank you and we look forward to sharing with you a new and exciting year ahead in 2017!

Road Trauma Support WA commemorates the 2016 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in Fremantle

Road Trauma Support WA marked the World Day of Remembrance (WDR) for Road Traffic Victims at Fremantle Sailing Club on Sunday November 20.

The event has been marked across the globe each year on the third Sunday in November to remember the millions killed and injured on our roads each year, together with their friends, families and loved ones and the many others impacted by road trauma across WA.

It is also a day in which we thank the emergency service personnel who attend incidences of road trauma each and every day in the course of their day-to-day working lives and recognise the incredibly challenging work that they do and the impact it has on them both professionally and personally.

Road Trauma Support WA Manager, Sandy Lukjanowski , was joined by WA Minister for Police and Road Safety, the Hon Liza Harvey MLA, RTSWA patron and Director of Trauma at Royal Perth Hospital, Dr Sudhakar Rao and Road Safety Commission WA Director of Governance, Teresa Williams, to mark the occasion with clients and their families and friends, key stakeholders, staff and the broader community.

Ms Lukjanowski said the impact of road trauma was far reaching and often violent, traumatic and instantaneous, causing a ripple effect across both suburban and regional communities throughout WA.

“All too often the victims are young and in almost all of the cases where lives are lost or shattered, these crashes can be prevented,” Ms Lukjanowski commented.

“The impact is long lasting and often permanent and sadly each year, hundreds of families are added to the list of those whose lives have been irreparably changed in a single instant.”

So far this year (*) 161 people, 101 from regional WA, have lost their lives on WA roads, up from 136 at the same time last year, a trend which is sadly being reflected across Australia and the world.

“This special day highlights the loss and suffering of the many thousands impacted each year as well as the social and economic cost of road trauma,” Ms Lukjanowski added.

In addition to addresses from the Minister for Police and Road Safety and the Road Safety Commission, those gathered were moved to hear a personal reflection from one of RTSWA’s clients as well as a musical performance and minute’s silence.