Improving and Integrating Urban Indigenous Health Services

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Yarnin’ Disability: August 2024 edition

We had a great time meeting up with clients at NAIDOC events held across the Moreton Bay and West Moreton Regions. It was an incredible week of celebration. Our community came together to honour and celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The team hosted a disability information stall at each event and had engaging craft activities for all, including painting and stencils. 

It was heartwarming to see so many new faces and reconnect with familiar ones. The spirit of NAIDOC Week and the sense of community and unity was seen as we shared stories, laughter, and moments of reflection, strengthening the bonds within our community.

It’s a great reminder of the importance of staying connected and continuing the celebration of our shared history and culture throughout the year. Together, we can keep the fire burning – Blak, Loud and Proud.

Kindy kids and families celebrated NAIDOC Week at the Deadly Kindies Ball on Thursday, 25 July. We had a wonderful time connecting with the community and celebrating our jarjum at this fantastic event. It was a great opportunity to engage with families, share information about our services, and join in the festivities that honoured the achievements and growth of our youngest community members. We loved seeing everyone there and celebrating together! We look forward to next year’s event. Shout-out to our amazing Deadly Kindies team – thank you for including us in this deadly event!

We are thrilled to announce that our Disability Services Support Coordination team is expanding to Kalwun on the Gold Coast! This means we can provide essential support to our Gold Coast community. Our commitment to walking alongside Mob on their journey remains strong, and we look forward to fostering strong connections and delivering personalised, culturally-informed services in this vibrant new location. Stay tuned for more updates as we settle into Kalwun and begin this exciting journey together.

To refer into these services, please complete the expression of interest form.

We are delighted to welcome four new members to our team!

Julie Nicholson joins us as an NDIS Child and Family Therapy Assistant, bringing her passion for early childhood development and family support.

Sue Ellison steps in as our new Support Coordinator, ready to assist our clients to navigate their NDIS plans with her extensive experience.

Emily Veamatahau takes on the role of Team Leader – Support Coordination, where her leadership and expertise will guide our team to keep improving our services and support for clients. 

Finally, we are thrilled to have Max Jessop join us as a NDIS Occupational Therapist, providing valuable therapeutic services to our clients. Welcome, Julie, Sue, Emily, and Max! We are excited to have you on board and look forward to the incredible contributions you will make to our community.

The new NDIS child and family therapy assistant program in the Moreton Bay region has started. Under the guidance and support of our allied health professionals, Julie is eager to support jarjum and their families in achieving their goals through personalised, early intervention services, by focusing on each jarjum’s unique needs and strengths. We aim to foster their development and wellbeing, ensuring they have the best start in life. We look forward to working closely with families in the Moreton Bay community and making a positive impact together.

If you care for a jarjum under the age of nine with a disability, and you’re in the Moreton Bay area, please complete our expression of interest form.

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Yarnin’ Disability: July 2024 edition

We want to know if there is community interest in a potential new service specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with a disability.

The new service would use the Early Childhood Education Intervention (ECEI) Key Worker model to ensure that we provide services aligned with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways, in a culturally safe environment and framework. Our team would work with families to identify the needs and priorities of their children and to connect them with the community and services.

We are seeking expressions of interest from carers of children under nine years old with a disability who would be interested in accessing this service, or finding out more about it.

We joined forces with HELP Enterprises and All Abilities to employ two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduate interns on three-month contracts as part of our focus to support Mob into employment.

Both interns will finish their contracts at the end of June with on-the-job experience and ready to secure employment either within the IUIH network or in the wider disability services sector.

This is what Jade had to say about the experience:

“My working experience in the disability team has been amazing. Especially since it’s an entirely new work environment for me. The girls were so lovely and helpful when needed. I’ve really enjoyed my placement and being able to go out and see/connect with Mob and see what other business units also do. Last week I was on placement in reception and had a ball! The girls were so nice and explained things very well. I wasn’t expecting to be taking phone calls the first day, but I just jumped in and had a go, which went really well. I think my favourite part of this internship is being able to work with the disability team and being able to help them with their tasks. I’ve learnt so much working besides Temika, she’s great at explaining things and very helpful with any questions I have. I’ve definitely learnt so much about IUIH and the NDIS and hope to continue to learn more.”

– Jade (pictured)

We’re excited to be part of some upcoming community events:

  • 5 July – Buranga Widjung Justice Group – Caboolture NAIDOC event
  • 17 July – NAIDOC for Jarjums
  • 13 September – Burpengary School and Community Expo
  • 25 September – Kyabra Family Fun Day – Kyabra Community Association.

Throughout July, we are coming to a clinic near you! The IUIH Disability Services team will visit each clinic across Moreton ATSICHS and Yulu-Burri-Ba to provide information about the NDIS and the services available. Ensure you have your questions ready to ask!

Check with your local MATSICHS or YBB clinic to find out when the disability team will next be there.

We are sure that you have noticed the chill in the air! Now is the time to get the flu shot.

Our public health physician, Dr Jacqui Murdoch, was recently on DC Radio, talking all things flu. Click the picture on the right to hear it!

Book in to your local clinic to get your flu shot today.

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Yarnin’ Disability: May 2024 edition

IUIH publishes the May edition of the Yarnin' Disability newsletter

May 2024

Our deadly Disability Services team was at the Brisbane Disability Connection Expo last Friday, 2 March and Saturday, 3 March, promoting all things disability. 

Over two days, we connected with many people keen to use our service. If you know anyone who could use our Disability Services for Mob, encourage them to contact us for a yarn.

A Support Coordinator and a Plan Manager are two different roles performed by two different people. In some cases, an organisation may deliver both support coordination and plan management services however, the two services are separate to ensure there is no bias in how the funds are managed and roles are performed.

Support coordination: Support coordination is funded within your NDIS plan and helps build your capacity to navigate services and pursue your goals. A Support Coordinator connects you with NDIS providers and other services, and helps build your confidence and skills to use and coordinate your services independently. The IUIH Disability Services team offers support coordination.

Plan management: Plan management is funded within your NDIS plan and helps manage your funding by ‘paying the bills.’

The Plan Manager is responsible for paying your providers for their NDIS-related support. They also provide you with a budget report so you have oversight of your remaining funds.

Support Coordination Advocacy

The IUIH Disability Services Team offers a unique service to Mob who have NDIS plans, but no support coordination funding allocated. Our team provides support to advocate for participants who identify the need for support coordination funding in the NDIS review process. There is a cost to you for this service, which you can claim from your Capacity Building budget.

For more information on this service, reach out to our deadly Support Coordination team.

IUIH now offers exercise physiology support to Mob with a NDIS plan. Services can be delivered in your home or community. It’s available weekly on Fridays (excluding public holidays). For more information on this service and how to access it, reach out to the Disability Service Allied Health team.

Now is the time to get your flu shot. The flu shot is safe and free for Mob and can prevent you from getting super crook. The flu shot helps stop the spread of flu in Community, especially to our Mob most likely to get crook, including our old people, jarjums under five, pregnant mums and anyone with a chronic condition.

Book in to get your flu shot today.

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Yarnin’ Disability: A newsletter

IUIH launches monthly newsletter for our Disability Support Service

March 2024

Our deadly Disability Services team was at the Brisbane Disability Connection Expo last Friday, 2 March and Saturday, 3 March, promoting all things disability. 

Over two days, we connected with many people keen to use our service. If you know anyone who could use our Disability Services for Mob, encourage them to contact us for a yarn.

Support Coordination

A Support Coordinator supports you to understand your plan and connect you to services and programs to enhance your health and wellbeing. They will work with you and your family to identify what services you want and need. Your Support Coordinator will find you appropriate services, provide you with multiple options to choose from and then connect you with those services.

Allied Health

Do you have Capacity Building funding in your budget for Improved Daily Activities?

Our specialist disability allied health professionals can help you in a range of areas including: Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Dietetics and Exercise Physiology.

Our allied health team are here to support you in your wellbeing and make sure you are able to live your life to the fullest.

Access

Do you have a disability and are unsure about how to access the NDIS?

Our specialised access department can help you to navigate the pathway to the NDIS. We can help you to assess your eligibility under the NDIS, to gather your supporting evidence, to submit your application to the NDIS and to walk alongside you and advocate with you in gaining access to the NDIS.

In home supports

Most NDIS plans include a Core Budget. Within this budget, you may be able to access supports to help you with your everyday life activities like meal preparation, cleaning, household chores or personal care such as showering and dressing.

Community Access can also be provided under a core budget; we can help you go shopping, use public transport, and attend appointments or social/community events.

This service is delivered in the Moreton Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (MATSICHS) area only.

Have you heard of PACE?

PACE is a new client management system that has been designed to make it easier for NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) staff, partners, and providers to deliver a quality experience to you.

The staggered rollout of PACE across Australia began in October 2023 and is expected to take 18 months. People new to the NDIS will start using PACE, while people already in the NDIS will migrate onto the system as your plan dates renew.

Registered providers will have access to your goals and nominee details. However, IUIH Support Coordination clients need to ‘endorse’ IUIH (provide consent) to view plan details. Without this consent, IUIH will be unable to provide effective support to you. To provide consent, you will need to open the ‘my NDIS provider portal’ and record IUIH as your Support Coordinator. If you are unable to do so via the app, you can contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110 and provide consent over the phone.

When you endorse a provider, NDIA will know that the provider can make claims against your NDIS plan when they deliver support. Endorsing a provider also means allowing them to see plan details, including personal information, budget, and goals.

Over the course of your plan, you may want to change providers for any of the services you are receiving. Below is some information you need to know to do this.

Just follow these steps to switch:

Check service agreements for notice periods.

You would have signed a document known as a ‘service agreement.’ Within the agreement, there is a heading that explains the process to cease your service with the provider. In most cases, this will be 14 days, however with some providers, they will only require seven days’ notice.

Be aware of funding that still needs to be paid in that change-over period.

When you contact the provider to stop services with them, any service provided within the cooling off period/changeover period, such as support coordination, therapies etc will still be invoiced by that provider. Any service delivered outside of those dates will be invoiced by your new provider.

Email to provide notice to the existing service provider.

To end their service, you will need to provide written notice to the provider. Outline that you wish to cease service effective from a specific date (provide the last date of support).

You can change your endorsed providers by calling the NDIA.

Download the template.

Things to note:

If you end your service with a provider and they continue to send invoices for services ‘completed’ after your last date of service, you will need to follow up with them directly. You can also seek assistance from IUIH as your new provider, support coordinator, or Local Area Coordinator to resolve this issue. 

Flu season is coming. In April, this season’s flu shot will be available at your local AMS. 

People with chronic conditions should get the flu shot, as you’re more at risk of getting seriously crook. 

It’s safe and it’s free.

It’s important to get the flu shot in April, well ahead of winter. It takes two weeks for the flu shot to work, so you want to make sure you’re well protected. 

Do you find loud noise and bright lights challenging?

Coles has expanded its dimmer lighting, low-noise shopping experience, Quiet Hour, to five days a week, at a time that better suits many customers and working parents, from 6.00pm to 7.00pm, Monday to Friday.

The changes customers will notice during these times include: the radio turned down to the lowest volume, reduced register and scanner volume and team members refraining from using the PA system, except in emergencies.

Some Aldi stores offer Quiet Hour on Tuesdays between 8.00am and 10.00am and Saturdays from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. Woolworths offers Quiet Hour on Tuesdays, between 10.30am and 11.30am.