‘Memory Van’ visits Ballina, Mullumbimby, Byron Bay and Ocean Shores
March 7, 2010
Are you worried about your memory?
The Alzheimer’s Australia NSW Memory Van is a mobile education resource that travels statewide to help raise awareness on the importance of brain health and dementia risk reduction.
The Memory Van provides communities with information designed to help educate and assist people living with dementia, their carers and health professionals.
Staff can also assist with enquiries about memory loss.
The Memory Van is fully equipped with Help Sheets, Fact Sheets, DVD and video resources and a Nintendo Brain Game.
MP takes breast-screen petition to parliament
February 24, 2010
Ballina MP Don Page has submitted a petition to the NSW Parliament containing over 1300 signatures of local people opposed to the removal of mobile breast screening on the Far North Coast.
The terms of the petition brought to the NSW Labor Government’s attention: Read more
Closing the Gap: Outreach workers for Lismore and Grafton
February 19, 2010
Page MP Janelle Saffin says the Federal Government’s efforts to close the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation will be helped by two outreach worker placements in her electorate.
Ms Saffin said two of 83 new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander outreach workers nationally will join the Lismore-based Northern Rivers General Practice Network and Grafton’s Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation by the end of June.
“These organisations are dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Indigenous people in the region, and these outreach workers will help increase community engagement with primary health care services,” Ms Saffin said.
“The Federal Government’s $805.5 million Indigenous Chronic Disease Package includes $42 million to fund a total of 160 such positions to build the capacity of the Indigenous health workforce over four years.
Linear accelerator machine arrives at Lismore Base Hospital
February 18, 2010
Member for Page Janelle Saffin today welcomed the arrival of Lismore Base Hospital’s first linear accelerator as a major boost in enhancing cancer care services on the North Coast.
Ms Saffin and State Member for Lismore Thomas George inspected the near-completed Integrated Cancer Care Centre at the hospital, where they received a briefing from North Coast Area Health Service CEO Chris Crawford.
One of Ms Saffin’s major election commitments was $15 million in Commonwealth funding to fast-track the cancer care centre so that it will be operational from the end of May this year. The NSW Government’s contribution is $12 million.
Lismore MP to join the ‘teal team’ during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
January 28, 2010
The Nationals Member for Lismore, Thomas George, says it’s time to join the teal team and wear a ribbon during Ovarian Cancer Australia’s Awareness Month in February.
Mr George said politicians will be joining the cause and wearing their teal ribbon on Wednesday 24 February 2010 to support sufferers and raise the importance of prevention.
“There are 1500 women in Australia diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and more than half will die from the disease,” Mr George said.
“The goal of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month is to see that every woman in Australia knows the symptoms of ovarian cancer because an early detection significantly increases the chances of a full recovery.”
Saffin turns first sod in $19.7 million Grafton Base redevelopment
January 28, 2010
Grafton Base Hospital early next year will boast three new operating theatres and an Emergency Department ‘equal to the best in Australia’ after Federal Page MP Janelle Saffin turned the first sod for the $19.7 million project today.
Ms Saffin said: “I am delighted to be able to turn the first sod for the long-awaited Grafton Base Hospital redevelopment work. It is an election promise to our Clarence Valley community and today’s sod turning with the immediate start of works that can be seen by the community makes it a seeing is believing reality.
“This is an election commitment made by me, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Minister for Health Nicola Roxon that gives me the greatest of pleasure. The people of Grafton fought hard for this and I am delivering.
20-year-old student involved in groundbreaking research
January 7, 2010
When 20-year-old Amy Coy enrolled at Southern Cross University, she had no way of anticipating that she would be involved in groundbreaking research on a new way of measuring blood pressure.
But Amy, a Lismore-based second-year student studying for her Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science in the School of Health and Human Sciences, has had her first research project supported by a Summer Scholarship from the Heart Foundation.
Lahey Constructions wins tender for Grafton Base Hospital upgrade
December 18, 2009
Page MP Janelle Saffin has welcomed a joint Federal-State announcement that Lahey Constructions Pty Ltd will start the main building works for a major upgrade of Grafton Base Hospital in the New Year.
Ms Saffin said she was delighted that work on one of her key election commitments – new operating theatres and a new emergency department – was expected to start in January 2010, and if all went according to plan, would be completed by early 2011.
Ms Saffin today joined Federal Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon and NSW Minister for Health Carmel Tebbutt in announcing this milestone in the project, which has a total cost of $19.735 million.
“My original election commitment was for $18 million, and I convinced project managers Health Infrastructure NSW to direct $1.2 million in interest earned to further consolidate this very important project for Grafton and the Clarence Valley,” she said.
Gerry Mopez reports on this year’s fourth annual Morning of the Mo …
November 28, 2009
Shellywatu, Ballina, November 21st, 2009. – Despite previous years’ crowd favourites such as Bunker Freckles (Bali) and Steven Radical (Austria) unable to attend this year’s gathering, the bar was still raised to new found levels of fun and participation.
The draw of 110 surfers from as far south as Victoria’s West Coast to the hot North of Noosa Heads rocked out in the sun to 70s whaling guitar riffs, riding pre-80s surfboards and proudly wearing their groomed moustaches, all in a bid for the most sought-after piece of iconic surfing meMOrabilia, the 2009 ‘STYLEMOSTER’ modallion.
From the 7am meet at Lighthouse carpark, Ballina, where prizes are awarded for the best arrival, it was on!
Starting with Moses and his 10 comMOndments, loudly interrupted by the 4-mo strong Mo Mads (Bikey Gang) muscling their way through the crowded carpark hurling eggs and abuse to the onlooking surfers, Evil Monevil soon stunt-rolled his way through the carpark after rolling in from the top of the hill on a kids bike that stopped traffic and resulted in a fire-extinguishing.
Mobi Wan Kenobi used the force of his 62 EJ Holden riding in on the roof, cape flowing and lightsaber drawn.
Rollerbladers wearing G-Strings and carrying single fins also put in an entry but it was Mo-Joe Hudson’s literally back-scrapping entry into the carpark covered in blood after an unsuccessful attempt at bombing the hill on his skatey that took it out!
Page, Richmond in top 10 electorates for dementia prevalence
November 25, 2009
The Far North Coast Federal electorates of Page and Richmond have been identified in the top 10 electorates for dementia prevalence, and will be affected by a ‘dementia tsunami’ as it becomes the disease of the century, according to Alzheimer’s Australia NSW.
New figures mapping the impact of the dementia epidemic in NSW were presented to Federal parliamentarians representing NSW Federal Electorates at Parliament House Australia this morning.
The NSW coast is expected to be the area hardest hit in the State by dementia, according to the figures, prepared for Alzheimer’s Australia NSW by Access Economics.
This means that a large proportion of the respite, support services, community care and aged residential care needed for people with dementia will fall outside the metropolitan areas of NSW, said the CEO of Alzheimer’s Australia NSW, John Watkins.
