24 minute read
Physio & Health - Aaron Hardaker
by Focus
focus_contributor.
Pregnancy and Post-Natal Recovery – How Can a Physio Help?
with AARON HARDAKER
Are you pregnant and suffering with back pain? Have you just had a baby and unsure about how to help your body recover? Are you wanting to get back to exercise and not sure when it’s safe, or whether your pelvic fl oor is up to it? Pelvic health physios are an integral part of the healthcare team through pregnancy and the postnatal period. But what exactly can they help with? We caught up with Sarah Brown, pelvic physio at Mid North Coast Physio in Woopi, to fi nd out more.
What can pelvic fl oor physio help me with during my pregnancy?
Pregnancy is a time of enormous physical change in the body. Pelvic physios are full of information about the changes that occur and what it means for you as you progress through pregnancy. We have post-graduate training in the ways pregnancy affects the various systems in your body – particularly the impact of pregnancy and childbirth on your pelvis, pelvic fl oor muscles and pelvic organs. We can guide you through the role of the pelvic fl oor muscles, help you prepare for labour and delivery, assist in managing pain such as Pregnancy-Related Pelvic Girdle Pain and Low Back Pain AND help you manage any symptoms of pelvic fl oor dysfunction (e.g. urinary incontinence).
When should I see a physio during pregnancy?
It’s a great idea to have a chat with your pelvic health physio and run through some birth preparation as you progress through your second and third trimesters. It’s also helpful to check in at any time if you have specifi c questions about exercise in pregnancy, have a history of pelvic fl oor dysfunction prior to pregnancy or are experiencing any aches and pains.
What about after I give birth?
After either a vaginal delivery or caesarean, you should see a pelvic health physio at the 6-week mark as you do your midwife/GP/ obstetrician. This is where pelvic health physio can address any birth injuries (perineal tears, pelvic organ prolapse, C-Section scars), assess the function of the pelvic fl oor muscles and help you get back to physical activity safely. Pelvic physios will be able to provide advice, guidance, and a plan for rehabilitation after giving birth.
What services do you offer at Mid North Coast Physio?
ALL OF THE ABOVE! I work with women through pregnancy offering birth prep consultations, 1:1 exercise sessions, and run hydrotherapy classes (which are great for relieving pain, reducing swelling and offl oading pressure as bub grows in pregnancy).
I also provide individual postnatal reviews from the 6-week mark where we discuss any concerns you have after giving birth, and start to work towards your goals!
Thanks Sarah. To book your pregnancy assessment, post-natal review, or Healthy Mums Hydro class with Sarah, call the friendly admin team at Mid North Coast Physio on 1300 273 747.
COFFS COAST SKIN
CANCER CLINIC
Coffs Coast Skin Cancer Clinic aims to provide evidence-based skin care and will guide you through all treatment options available.
Tell us about the history of Coffs Coast Skin Cancer Clinic…
Dr Giovanni Urbani, wife and young family were looking for an adventure. An opportunity presented itself in May 2018 to relocate from the west to the east coast to take over Coffs Coast Skin Cancer Clinic.
CCSCC was an established skin cancer clinic with a history of delivering a high level of skin cancer care.
The team has changed, the clinic is perked up from a cosmetic point of view, but our main focus has never changed in terms of doing our best identifying skin cancers and managing them to give the best clearance rates and cosmetic outcomes.
Who makes up your team and what roles do they play?
We are a tight, committed team of doctors and nurses supported by friendly and efficient reception staff.
We have three doctors. Dr Giovanni Urbani (principal), Dr Luke Bookallil (very experienced and has been at this clinic for over four years) and we are excited to have on board Dr Dorothea Eburn.
Jodeen is our registered nurse and heads up the practice management and administration team.
Elvy RN is a local girl who commenced her nursing career in the operating theatres of Sydney. She, along with Andrew (often mistaken for Super Man!) provides valuable surgical assistance to our doctors during skin cancer procedures and also provides post-operative wound care, suture removal and photodynamic therapy.
Bec EN is our newest nurse who we’re very happy to have join us.
Selina and Shenae ensure the day-to-day smooth running of CCSCC. Together with Rachel they are the first people you meet. These lovely ladies answer your phone queries and schedule appointments.
What services do you offer?
Comprehensive skin examinations - full body and spot checks.
Biopsy done under local anaesthetic may be required if a suspect lesion is identified during examination, this is then sent for histology. This is the gold standard used to identify or exclude a malignancy.
The result usually becomes available in less than a week. Further management is then defined by the type of lesion, its size, location on the body and whether it’s an aggressive subtype or not.
Treatment options may include cryotherapy as a spot treatment for premalignant lesions in lower risk areas, to field treatments of premalignant lesions with topical creams and Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT).
Surgical treatment may be required for thicker lesions, or lesions for which topical treatments may not give an acceptable cure rate. This may vary from simple elliptical excisions to complex flaps and skin grafts.
Occasionally referral to a tertiary institute is required for advanced skin cancers.
Additionally to this, cosmetic procedures may be offered for benign lesions such as intradermal naevi and seborrheic keratosis to name a few.
Tell us about the importance of booking in for a regular skin check.
Two out of three Australians will develop some sort of skin cancer during their lifetime.
Most skin cancers are curable if caught early by an experienced and qualified GP. It is important to regularly check your own skin, but also give yourself peace of mind with a full skin check appointment.
How has the technology changed over the years?
The primary tool of examination is a dermatoscope which is a handheld magnification device that is used to assess the pigment structure of the individual cells. This requires in-depth knowledge of skin anatomy and features of benign and malignant lesions upon magnification.
What makes your business stand out?
In the region, both Dr Giovanni Urbani and Dr Luke Bookallil are the only Fellows of The Skin Cancer College Australasia. Fellowship is the highest achievable level of primary skin cancer education and as such are recognised as leaders in skin cancer medicine in general practice. They attend national conferences and remain up to date with the latest advancements and techniques.
How can we get in touch?
Give us a call on 6652 2277 or send an email to info@coffsskincancer.com.au No referral required.
TROY
ROBINSON
Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation is a local not-for-profit community organisation that all started with their Goori Learning Centres; a er school education support, tutoring and mentoring for Aboriginal students, and have now expanded into many other programs. We spoke to Troy Robinson about the importance of this initiative.
Hey Troy, can you tell us about Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation and the programs you run?
We have a few programs that we run in schools as well as in the community.
Our Goori Learning Centres are our afterschool programs, at 3 locations around the Coffs region (Boambee East Community Centre, Yarrawarra Cultural Centre and Wongala Estate Coffs), providing our Goori kids with tutorial support as well as catching our kids up on assignments and assessments etc. Once they have spent allocated time with our tutors (Community volunteer members) we run culture activities, such as fire making or dance workshops.
Our GLC’s are what got us started. Clark (my boss) and his wife Kamla wanted to make a difference for our youth, to have a support service in place for them. They volunteered their time, this led to more wanting to be involved (including myself), then with hard work and dedication led to the forming of BMNAC for local kids and Community, which has been running for over 10 years now, which is super rewarding for all involved.
Two of BMNAC’s main Two of BMNAC’s main in-school programs are at Coffs Harbour in-school programs and Narranga Public are at Coffs Harbour School, where our staff and Narranga Public members run successful School, where our educational and cultural sta members run activities. successful We also have our educational and Language Classes in cultural activities. Preschools, Schools as well as Community gatherings, roughly amounting to 10-14 Language classes a week. Kulai Preschool is now a Bilingual School, with Staff and Students being heavily involved in our classes.
We do 3 community language classes where we encourage the community to come along and learn language.
We work closely with youth organisations providing cultural activities such as dance, fire making, coolamon cutting workshops, or just walking country (tour) and sharing dreaming stories.
We also connect with neighboring areas such as Nambucca, Bowraville and Macksville in two programs that work hand in hand together. Nyanggan Giirrwaa (Solid Mob) looking at staying active and healthy through culture, and Maaning Barrmarrany Duguula (Bringing Families Together) Social and Emotional Wellbeing Program, which provide amazing experiences with taking students on country as well as work in/with the community.
A healing festival will be organised this year for the Nambucca Valley to bring Mob together, we can’t wait.
We work closely with Wajaana Yaam (Country mine), in providing an amazing standup paddle boarding cultural experience which is truly an unforgettable experience. Giingan (Peaceful) Tours – We run our tours every second Saturday of the month and provide dance performances connecting to country, sung in Gumbaynggirr Language, bushtucker, catering, walks, dreaming stories that have been passed down since time and memorial and a friendly smiling face.
Café Nyanggan Gapi (Strong Coffee) and catering service – We provide a delicious catering service for the community to book that helps with meetings or conferences, big or small events, as well as tours and on country events.
We have two cafés – a coffee trailer on our work site in Bray St, and our actual Café set up at Sealy Lookout, running on the weekends and school holidays, which provides strong and hearty coffee but also lovely bushtucker muffins and cakes provided from our amazing catering team.
How important is it to you to give back to your community?
Giving back is so important for our community, especially our Youth. The way I see it, get a good education, the best you can get, find your passion, then go out into the real world, with your identity and culture embedded into you.
Make a living for yourself and be the best you can be.
Then come back to your community after all that you’ve done and become someone that sends a positive ripple effect into the community; become something to aspire to for our younger generation. Seeing positive role models and leaders only gives a positive outcome.
Tell us a bit about the kids who take part in some of the programs, and what do you think they take away from the experience?
The kids are amazing. I feel the kids take a lot away from our programs, to be culturally grounded is so important to our Aboriginal youth, to feel a sense of belonging speaks volumes for young people and their growth.
We also create employment options through the education period for our youth, to build confidence and experience for future employment after their schooling. A range of experiences such as tour guides for many of our tours, language teachers, mentors or tutors, café barista and catering hand, accounting and general administration duties and responsibilities as well as provide further study options.
What have been a couple of success stories that have come out of the programs?
I think every day is a success story with our work. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I can’t believe that I get to experience this amazing opportunity to change people’s lives, give them strength and instill in them respect, resilience and empowerment.
Culture is being shared, Gumbaynggirr language is being revitalised and our communities are coming together, that’s all we’ve encouraged and supported.
As an organisation the most rewarding part would be seeing our youth complete their education, come through our employment option, and be proud of their culture, talk their language and have protocols instilled in them when walking in western society.
Thanks Troy.
Kristy Hodges Love2Live
Sawtell born and bred, Kristy Hodges has a passion for life and her community and brings this zest for life to clients everyday. Inspired by her love of life and a connection to community grass roots initiatives, Kristy has created Love2Live, a client support service that is based on connection and life experiences that supports clients and their families to live their best life. Kristy’s mission for Love2Live is to work with clients and families to build quality relationships and connections that build enriched and meaningful lives. Kristy believes that it is essential to deliver care with professionalism, respect, dignity, and compassion, whilst also providing reliable and high-quality service. Positive and open communication is a must for Kristy as well as focusing on a person-centred approach. By genuinely listening to clients and their families, Kristy can support a positive journey towards achieving small daily triumphs and big life dreams and goals. Kristy has all necessary qualifications and workers checks and has over 10 years experience working within Disability and Community services. As an essential worker Kristy is also offering support during Covid Lockdown and is fully Covid Safety Trained.
Welcome
DENTAL
Dr Sharon Marinucci on why she loves Welcome Dental and Urunga
Welcome Dental just celebrated its fi rst birthday on 10th August. It has been an amazing fi rst year and we are so grateful to have received such unbelievable support from both the local community and further afi eld with patients regularly coming from South West Rocks and Maclean. Our new patient visits are up 6 fold from when the business was purchased last year. In that time, our team has grown from 10 to 22 including clinicians and support staff and is able to provide the community with a full range of dental services. It really is lovely to have so many familiar faces around us – both staff and patients.
We are exceptionally lucky to be in Urunga, especially in these COVID times to have a big airy space with lots of windows and natural light, and even a front deck overlooking the garden where people can sit and enjoy the day while waiting for their appointment.
The surgery is a bright, cheerful, place. Our walls are covered with beautiful artworks, mostly by local artists and people sometimes come in just to look around.
I think one of the reasons many people don’t mind coming so far to see us is because Urunga itself is such a wonderful place. Everyone knows about its beautiful beaches and boardwalk but it has lots of other assets.
The community run Art Space is always worth a look and especially at the moment as it is home to the Urunga Small Sculpture prize which is currently showing. This is a $5000 prize and as such has attracted great submissions from around the country. Our team here like to frequent some of the great places to eat, like Embers Italian restaurant and Pomegranate Café on the main street and the Liberty Providore up in the old highway as a start. We also love Lindsays Oysters and Fresh Seafood which not only sells fi sh and great local oysters, but what my husband is sure are the best shuckers in the world. I’m told they are hand made by a guy in Mackay and are a beautiful and inexpensive gift for anyone who likes oysters. And the Urunga butcher is great value for great produce!
We’ll turn that frown upside down.
Services. Late nights Open Saturdays Online bookings Orthodontic treatments Childrens therapist Bulk billing CDBS AirFlow Meet The Team. Dr Sharon Marinucci Dr Margaret Kleinig Dr Mindie Nguyen Dr Oleg Pushkarev Dr Tony Kershaw Wendy Summerill Jessica Cantrill Susan Waldorf
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon. Our phone number remains the same but our email address has changed. Phone: (02) 6655 5800 Email: info@welcomedental.com.au Website: www.welcomedental.com.au
HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY
WE HAD A CHAT WITH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CHRIS WORBOYS TO TELL US ABOUT HOW IT ALL BEGAN…
On 21st July 1991 I started Key Employment. In those days it was Key Personnel and we worked out of a hovel behind the original Pizza Hut. The first person I hired was Rhonda Mair who is now a director on the board of Key Employment. We had 2 computers (which I “borrowed”) using an operating system called DOS and no one had ever heard of a user-friendly database for client records. We were funded to find work for 18 people who were working at the then “sheltered workshop”.
We moved from the hovel to a small but much better office with 5 staff in Coffs and 1.5 in Grafton. I changed our name to Key Employment. I was a consultant, clerk, bookkeeper and pay person. Fortunately, my wife Michelle, who worked at the Coffs RSL managing the biggest private payroll in the region with over 400 weekly pays, did the pays for Key at night.
Jodi, my daughter, was 8 and used to come to work with me and do some filing. She is now Key Employment’s CEO.
There have been some funny and interesting moments over the years. Rhonda worked hard to get a young chap a job as a roustabout on a remote outback property. His parents reluctantly agreed. She put him on the bus, but he didn’t get off. No sign of him for 3 days. Police, parents, crisis. Lad walks into the office as if nothing had happened. Took a bit of a holiday - thanks for the bus fare.
A client with neurodiversity started with a bus company cleaning the outside of buses with high pressure hoses. The boss was impressed and asked him to clean his brand-new Mercedes inside and out. Yep… took to it with the hoses - inside and out.
Most of our support was given on the
job and with only 4 consultants between the Coffs and Grafton offices I did my fair share of onsite support. I picked lettuce and scrubbed concrete. Life was so much simpler then.
Some of our first clients are still with us. Some in the same jobs for over 25 years and others advancing their skills into great careers. Sad to say many of these people were not given much support from those close to them as they were expected to never find a job. It’s a matter of great pride for me that arguments I had with parents and teachers about their potential have been proven right.
There have been too many highlights to list here. Watching young people with no confidence and struggling at school get a good job, make new friends and achieve their best possible role in the community certainly rates at the top. Also watching the development of my team to become the absolute gold standard for quality and care for our participants.
Another thrill for me was the historical moment the Gillard Government introduced the NDIS. Now we are delivering services under this fantastic initiative and have achieved national recognition as an accredited provider. We have over 30 NDIS support staff and we are changing lives every day. We have been a part of a huge cultural shift in Australia over these 30 years as people have started to understand the talents, skills and potential of people with disability. I like to think we were part of this shift and helped influence the change.
Finally, as I look back on the past 30 years, I am proud of what I started, grateful for all the support and optimistic about the future. The future of Key Employment is in the hands of my daughter Jodi and her team and there is no reason she won’t be talking about Key’s achievements in another 30 years.
it t
IN YOUR WORKPLACE TODAY
Join Key Employment’s 100 CLUB!
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS IN THE COMMUNITY!
Did you know only 48% of working-age (15-64) people with disability are employed, compared with 80% without disability. This means there is a huge number of potential employees being excluded from the current labour market. We think we can do better than this on the Mid North Coast and we are setting the local business community a challenge to diversify their workplace and employ a person with disability today. Join some of our region’s leading businesses and become a part of Key Employment’s 100 club – a community initiative designed to increase employment and inclusion of people with disabilities on the Mid North Coast. Kicking off on 1st September 2021 we are aiming for 100 businesses to commit to hiring a person with disability to help us create a more inclusive community. We know that a truly diverse workforce drives growth, innovation, brand awareness and ultimately profitability. It also makes good business sense; research shows that workers with disability have fewer workplace injuries, better attendance records and show greater loyalty and productivity than other workers. We urge all local businesses to focus on ability and help us create a more diverse and socially inclusive community. Employ a Key Employment client today and become a part of the #achieve anything movement. To sign up to the challenge or for more information contact Todd Kadwell on (02) 6691 9999 or email jobs@keyemployment.com.au
Kicking o on 1st
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS IN THE COMMUNITY!
30YEARS 30YEARS INTHELOCAL INTHELOCAL COMMUNITY COMMUNITY
On behalf of the Key Employment Board of Management, CEO, Staff, clients and Key friends we would like to congratulate and thank Key Employment Founder and Executive Director Chris Worboys for his life time of passion, hard work and inspiration focused on improving the rights of people with disability. Chris has directly impacted thousands of lives and made an incredible difference in the disability industry. He has spent the last 3 decades building a company on the values of family with loyalty, respect, humour and love. We could not be prouder of our fearless leader and only hope we can continue his legacy with as much dedication and passion into the next 30 years.
CHLOE TIA LAUREN
When it comes to choosing "the one" for a style cut, trim, balayage, bouncy blow-dry, or a complete makeover picking the right hair salon is a big deal.
Tucked away in the heart of Jetty Strip, Living Doll is the boutique salon that is heaving with local talent. With a standout team of premier stylists, when you step through their door, understand you are going to be well looked after.
Living Doll is the Coffs Harbour holy grail of hair salons. Being an environmentally sustainable salon working with Sustainable salon network to be 95% recyclable. The salon colour specialists use ammonia-free hair colour L’Oreal and Australian owned styling and sulphate-free products Eleven, another big tick so you can indulge in a makeover without worrying about any harsh chemicals.
Living Doll Premier Stylists has been a hair institution for over a decade now. The team here is renowned for nailing natural yet fashionforward looks and they’ve been donned as one of the best salons in the Mid North Coast mostly due to the stellar talent they have colouring and cutting on the regular. On one side you’ve got Lauren Vestey, the other Chloe Sozou and now the return of one of their best Premier Stylists Tiarnah Ward. Nailing every hair trend is what Tia does best. Specialist in colouring, she goes a step above the rest creating a personalised colour based on your complexion and style. “I believe in personalising each client’s experience with a complimentary consultation and taking them on a journey to create the perfect look for them and help reach their ultimate hair goals”, says Premier Stylist Tia.
Tia has been working at a renowned salon in Brisbane City, where she has cultivated a great following, with her amazing skills. You just have to have one look at her Instagram to know she is a stand out talent. (#coffs_harbour_best_ blondes) Her time away has allowed her to learn new colour hair techniques, working with world class brands such as L’Oreal, Matrix, Kerastase, Gold Fever & Mr Smith to enhance her skills. Recently you would have seen her work in Vogue Australia. Tia’s unbelievable styling abilities were showcased on such a beautiful bride Natasha Chipman #natashaschweitzer and
I believe in her stunning bridesmaids. What an opportunity personalising each to work with such amazing teams of creative client’s experience with people when living in Brisbane. How lucky are a complimentary we (Coffs Harbour) to get such a talent back. consultation and taking Tia has a wonderful clientele from the past, them on a journey to returning to her already and she would love to create the perfect look welcome all past clients and new to come and and help reach their see her at Living Doll. ultimate hair goals. With these current times, Living Doll always has the client’s safety as their number one priority. Everything is in place to keep everyone safe and looking their best. Tia works by appointment Tuesday and Wednesdays late nights to Saturday. Please give the salon a call on (02) 6699 2122 to secure yourself an appointment today.
