Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia

For more than twenty-years, Melbourne based general practitioner, Dr Susan Lewis has travelled to Hopetoun - a small agricultural town in Victoria’s Wimmera Mallee region – to give women in the country the choice to see a consistent female GP, close to home: https://lnkd.in/gzd2rEm6 "The women are extraordinarily grateful for work that is fairly ordinary," Dr Lewis modestly summarises. "It’s really what women in the city would expect and I’m able to bring it out here and to use the skills I’ve developed in the city to bring to a rural community. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” she says. The long serving doctor is one of eight female GPs providing isolated Victorian communities agency over their health care through the Rural Women’s GP Service (RWGPS), operated by RFDS Victoria. The service is supported through funding from RWAV - Rural Workforce Agency Victoria and generous donors. 2-6 September is #JeanHailes Women's Health Week. This year's theme is: #YourVoiceYourChoice - an ethos central to the work of the Rural Women's GP Service. Read about the impact of the RWGPS on country women: https://lnkd.in/gzd2rEm6

Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Victoria is pleased to formally welcome Associate Professor Michael Ben-Meir as our new Chief Executive Officer. Michael is a senior healthcare leader and emergency physician with experience in the private and public sector. He comes to the Flying Doctor following successful roles as Director of Austin Hospital Emergency Department as well as the positions of ED Director and Director of Medical Services (Diagnostics and Pharmacy) at Cabrini Hospital. “I’m honoured to be trusted with this role,” explains Michael. “I have watched RFDS for a few years, and become increasingly impressed with its history, its scope, its people, and its innovation. I believe we have the opportunity to become an indispensable part of the fabric of healthcare in Victoria. “I’m looking forward to meeting as many of the staff, volunteers, donors, partners and stakeholders as I possibly can, as I know that the next chapter for RFDS Victoria lies in the ideas and experiences of everyone in the Flying Doctor family. I feel lucky and blessed to be here.”

A huge congratulations to our own Kristen Besant, who took out the Regional Award at the 2024 Gladys Elphick Awards in South Australia this week! For more than two decades, the Awards have celebrated the inspiring contributions of Aboriginal women in the SA community. Kristen is a proud Pitjantjatjara Kokatha woman. As an RFDS Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Kristen excels in providing not just primary health care but essential support for her patients, from managing chronic conditions to navigating healthcare systems. Her holistic approach encompasses cultural and spiritual wellbeing, respecting patients and their individual connections to Country. Previously Kristen worked at the Port Augusta Hospital as a trained Aboriginal Maternal Infant Care worker supporting Aboriginal women and babies. Beyond her professional role, Kristen is a mother, grandmother, dedicated community member involved in sports volunteering such as Nunga Carnivals, and a talented artist. Her artwork, seen on Port Augusta Hospital bassinets, surrounds newborn Aboriginal babies, their families and touches many lives. We’re incredibly proud of Kristen and this well-deserved recognition for the impact she makes every day! 📲 Learn more about one of Kristen’s most recent health initiatives — a 3-day Aboriginal women’s health camp in remote SA: https://lnkd.in/gutGJv3E

We were extremely proud to hear RFDS staff were involved in an impromptu community effort that saved a volunteer’s life at this year’s NT City2Surf. RFDS SA/NT staff Maureen Burns, Paul Campbell and Andrew Franklin were among the participants and bystanders who stopped at the scene and came to the aid of St John NT Volunteer Chris Trotter, who was experiencing a cardiac arrest. We thank our RFDS crew for going beyond their call of duty and to all those involved in rescuing Chris, who has since gained full recovery.

⭐ A career with the Flying Doctor is anything but ordinary. ⭐ This week Dr Sarah and Dr Angela attended the inaugural Rural Showcase to talk to around 200 GP Registrar delegates about the different career opportunities across regional NSW with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. 👩⚕️ With GP clinics in Broken Hill, Warren, Gilgandra and Condobolin, as well as opportunities out of our Dubbo base, our GPs help to deliver a wide range of comprehensive primary and preventive healthcare to regional and rural communities. 🩺 Setting us apart, our GPs also have access to a range of colleagues across primary health, dental, mental health and other drugs, and a dedicated team who specialise in emergency retrievals. ✈️ Learn more about open career opportunities here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gRC_H5i #flyingdoctor #rfds #ruralhealth #ruraldoctors

A bite-sized RFDS experience! 🦷 It was a pleasure to welcome Jessie Burling, an employee of RFDS national partner HCF Australia to experience a day in the life with our team. As part of our national partnership, Jessie won the unique opportunity through an internal competition at the not-for-profit health fund to join our Oral Health team during a clinic in the remote town of Andamooka in Far North SA. After spending a decade as a dental hygienist in a previous life, you could say Jessie was given the chance to go back to her ‘roots’! 🗣️ “It was an incredible and jam-packed 24 hours with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, seeing how they deliver medical interventions and preventative care to people out in the bush.” 📖 This National Dental Health Week, read Jessie’s journey: https://lnkd.in/g954cRxk

RFDS launched its brand-new Victorian Flight Simulator at last weekend’s Sheepvention in Hamilton, Victoria. A fantastic day celebrated with the help of local member Emma Kealy and Warrnambool Isuzu UTE ( Clinton Baulch Motor Group ), who joined us for the official launch. We can’t wait to share the new Simulator at Schools and community events across the state, with the ongoing support of our Major National Partner Isuzu UTE Australia #rfds #flyingdoctor #partnership Sheepvention Rural Expo

Celebrating 85 years in the NT! On this day in 1939, the Flying Doctor opened its Alice Springs Base — with one plane, one pilot, one doctor, one ground engineer and one radio operator. Today, the RFDS has more than 90 staff working at two bases in Alice Springs and Darwin. Together, we airlift 8 Territorians every day, as well as provide essential primary and preventative health care to remote communities. 📲 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gZjNpzcv

RFDS Victoria is excited to announce its 2024 Give Them Wings scholarship recipients. 🥁 Congratulations to Charlotte Foote, Eliza O'Sullivan, Georgia McDonald, Gypzi Read, Kate Kelly, Lara Corsini, Rebecca Huynh, Reuben Doyle and Tarnia Sheppard! This year the selection panel saw such an impressive cohort of applicants that our remarkable donors agreed to fund nine spots - making this year the largest cohort in the scholarship's history! The 2024 recipients were formally honoured with a ceremony where they had the opportunity to meet with our scholarship donors, RFDS Victoria Board Member Marianne Shearer, and RFDS Victoria staff. We would like to acknowledge and thank Senator Jana Stewart for attending the event. As a regional Victorian herself, growing up in Swan Hill, Senator Stewart spoke of the difficulty regional students face when choosing to study away from home and how initiatives such as this can make a real impact. For more than a decade the Give Them Wings scholarship has provided financial support and in-field experiences to university students connected to regional, rural and remote Victoria - with the ultimate aim to strengthen the rural health workforce. Find out more about the scholarship and our commitment to supporting the next generation of healthcare professionals: https://lnkd.in/gKDxmMXS

July marks 25 years since the RFDS commenced operations from Dubbo through the support of the Australian government and generous supporters. ✈️ The service began with one plane, three pilots, three nurses and one administration staff member in rented premises at Dubbo Regional Airport in 1999. At first, the RFDS primarily performed inter-hospital transfers and as needs grew, moved to conducting emergency retrievals and non-emergency patient transport. In the years since, it has expanded to offer primary health clinics to the surrounding regions, oral health care and mental health and alcohol and other drugs services, and now employs more than 130 people across this wide array of services. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gjttH9mH #rfds #FlyingDoctor #Dubbo #biggestwaitingroom