BUSHkids Annual Report 2018-2019

From: Shannon Smith < SSmith@rna.org.au > Date: 31 October 2019 at 7:07:58 pm AEST To: " Susan@bushkids.org.au " < Susan@bushkids.org.au > Subject: An 'UPDATE' from the 2019 RNA 'High Tea' Fundraising Committee

BUSHkids Clinical Services Manager Susan Harrison addresses 450 guests at the RNA’s ‘High Tea’ fundraising event. Image from RNA’s “SHOWBIZ” Spring 2019 magazine.

The RNA’s Jane Thomas said that “BUSHkids was chosen as this year’s beneficiary. It is planned that all profits raised will contribute to the purchase of ‘telehealth Home Kits’ for families in geographically isolated areas.” Our Clinical Services Manager Susan Harrison gave the event’s guests a snapshot of the roles played in providing services to regional, rural and remote areas of Queensland: “BUSHkids has worked with children, families and communities for more than 80 years. Our aim back in the 1930s is still what we strive for today – that all Queensland children have every opportunity for a great future, regardless of the postcode their family lives in. “The Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme – BUSHkids – was established by Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, then Governor of Queensland, in response to the conditions he saw children experiencing in Western Queensland due to prolonged drought and the depression. In the early days, we brought children to our coastal homes for a holiday and nutrition and medical, dental and therapy services. “We now have 140 staff and more than 50 volunteers providing services from 35 locations across Queensland, from Mount Isa to Inglewood. BUSHkids provides a range of services including Allied Health – speech pathology, occupational therapy, psychology – and early childhood intervention, parenting and family support and eKindy pods. “All BUSHkids services are provided free of charge to families. There are high levels of need for services for children in regional, rural and remote areas of Queensland. BUSHkids aims to provide services locally and we continue to have the majority of our workforce based in regional, rural and remote locations. “We have undertaken research with The University of Queensland to develop a telehealth framework for BUSHkids, ensuring that our services are effective and suit the needs of children and families. Telehealth provides the opportunity to supplement face-to-face services and reach more geographically isolated families. “The funds raised here today will be used to create a loan library of in-home teleHealth kits so that therapy can be provided directly into the homes of geographically isolated children and families. We have started piloting this approach. On behalf of everyone at BUSHkids and most importantly the children, families and communities we serve: thank you for your support.” Jane said the RNA is “looking forward to liaising with BUSHkids and relaying back some of the interesting outcomes On behalf of the RNA and the ‘High Tea’ Fundraising Committee, I would like to update you about the Ekka’s 2019 Fundraiser. This year we again reached our maximum number of 450 guests. The ‘Live’ Auction was another huge success and final figures show we raised just over $40,000. As you know, we stage this event in line with the RNA’s charter of helping and educating rural youth. We will be liaising with ‘BUSHkids’ and the outcome of our assistance towards the purchase of more ‘Tele Health Home Kits’ will be announced at next year’s function. The Fundraiser Committee is most grateful for the administrative backing it receives from the RNA. We wish to share with you the ‘Ekka TV’ videos, which the RNA’s Com unications Department produced for us and which are included in the following links: To watch the 2019 Ekka TV Fundraiser episode please click here To read the ‘Fundraiser Article’ on pages 15-22 of the RNA’s Showbiz magazine please click here The RNA and its Fundraiser Committee now look forward to planning next year’s event to ensure metropolitan communiti s understand how difficult the conditions are in the bush and how our nation needs to continue rallying behind our farming families and rural communities. We hope you may be able to attend our 2020 event. Looking forward to seeing you there. Sincerely Mrs Jane Thomas Dear Susan,

RNA recognition — and astonishing reward BUSHkids was recognised by the RNA (Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of QLD), organiser of the annual Brisbane ‘EKKA’ as the beneficiary of its 2019 EKKA ‘High Tea’ fundraising event. We had proposed a teleHealth pilot project in association with the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) . The work involves providing BUSHkids teleHealth ‘kits’ to families to enable them to participate in therapy from home when they don’t own the equipment needed. The kits include an iPad, resources and apps installed on the iPad and a wireless headset. To be eligible for consideration, BUSHkids was required to prove the concept worked, and to meet special criteria with a focus on increasing access to services for families in Western Queensland. It was also required for the pilot that families be drought- or flood-affected (to provide support where it was truly needed) and that they already had access to the NBN. The pilot project is based in our Emerald Centre where staff are experienced with BUSHkids teleHealth . The project’s ‘kits’ approach is an ongoing one and — as with the initial research work over the past three years — will inform our later assessment of the practicality of providing kits to families on a wider scale across Queensland. By the end of 2020, BUSHkids hopes to have a bank of two teleHealth kits at each of our service locations, available for loan to client families when needed. Meanwhile, the results of the RNA’s ‘High Tea’ Committee’s astonishing fundraising efforts in 2019?

22

$40,000

that this year’s fundraising efforts will produce” and we look forward to reporting back on the exciting plans we have for BUSHkids teleHealth in 2020!

On behalf of kids and families all across rural, regional and remote Queensland, thank-you, very much!

A N N UA L R E P O R T

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