Coonabarabran Times (digital) - 14.9.2023

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THURSDAY, 14TH SEPTEMBER 2023 COONABARABRAN – THE ASTRONOMY CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA

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Land Council locks down medical centre location ‘Maaruma-Li’, a Gamilaraay word meaning ‘to fix, heal or make better’ will be the name of a new Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) due to open in Coonabarabran’s former RTA building in Little Timor Street. by JIMMY WHALAN The suggestion to name the AMS ‘Maaruma-Li’ came from Abo r i g i na l E l de r a nd Coonabarabran Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) board member, Beryl Dowd. Maaruma-Li AMS cha i r pe r son, Pa ige Dowd said the decision to e s ta b l i s h a n A M S in Coonabarabran or iginated after local Aboriginal community members identified the need for a ser vice as part of the Community Land and Business Plan feedback, which is held every five years. “The feedback was provided in 2016 by local Aboriginal community members, however, it was acted on in 2019 by the previous CLALC chief executive officer, Monique Galvin, chairperson, Naomi Stanton, and two board members at that time, Beryl Dowd and Margaret Leslie,” Ms Dowd said. After obser ving th e Coo n a m b l e A M S fa ci l i t i es i n 2 019, t h e CL ALC then reached out to Paige Dowd in 2020 to seek advice from a health professional’s

point-of-view. The CLALC appointed and elected community m e m b e r s to a s s i s t i n developing the board of directors for the AMS in 2021. Since then, the CLALC and the MaarumaL i b o a rd of d i re cto r s have been wo r k i ng towa rd s e s ta b l i s h i n g the AMS, including three community meetings, with feedback provided guiding the e s ta b l i s h m e nt of t h e service. Current developments On 27 June 2023, Maaruma-Li was registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, and the organisation is now in the process of register ing as not-forprofit. As part of this process, Maaruma-Li has been l i a i s i n g w i t h n ot - fo rprofit, non-government organisations such as the NSW Rural Docto r s Net wo r k and local government organisations including the Western NSW Local Health District. “First People D i s a b i l i t y N et wo r k i s a national human rights organisation for

1 - Coonabarabran Times, Thursday, 14th September 2023

Australia’s first peoples with disabilities, their families and communities, and have been ver y suppor tive a n d w i l l co nt i n u e to ensure that the r ights of our Aboriginal community members are considered,” Ms Dowd said. “Maaruma-Li AMS is in the process of applying to become a member of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council and the next steps will be to apply for ongoing State and Fede ral fund i ng fo r wages and operational costs to enable us to employ staff and provide a holistic, culturally-safe service with specialised programs.” With a focus on i m p r ov i n g e q u i ta b l e access to pr imar y healthcare, Ms Dowd said the goal of MaarumaLi was to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members. Maaruma-Li and CLALC are now collaborating with stakeholder s and a re p l a n n i n g to p r ov i d e outreach programs. Ms Dowd said these

tailored outreach programs would enable equitable access to a va r iet y of special i sts, p r i m a r y h e a l t h ca r e services, and programs which are not yet accessible for Aboriginal community members. Location location Current CLALC chief

e x e c u t i ve o f f i ce r, Brandon Nixon said the service was originally to be located at the old police residence near Mary Jane Cain Bridge, however, an assessment of the site found that the building would not be suitable due to structural damage, and because

the building was unable to be made disability accessible. However, CLALC has since purchased the old RTA building on Little Timor Street, where MaarumaLi w i l l be estab l i shed in partnership with the CLALC. Ms Dowd and M rs

Stanton have strongly urged funding bodies w i t h i n t h e r e g i o n to partner with the CLALC and Maaruma-Li AMS to further assist operations moving forward. M e m b e r s h i p fo r m s to join the Maaruma-Li AMS are available at the CLALC office.

Coonabarabran’s former RTA building in Little Timor Street will be transformed into Maaruma-Li Aboriginal Medical Centre.


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