On Thursday, June 10, 2021, The Remote Area Health Corps (RAHC) officially celebrated the launch of our new head office located in Darwin, Northern Territory.
Over the last 13 years, RAHC has placed more than 7,000 healthcare professionals in Aboriginal communities across the Northern Territory. This achievement represents 28,000 weeks of service or 700 years of healthcare provided and was only possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Health Professionals (HPs) based across Australia and New Zealand.
“The Northern Territory (NT) is where many of the Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) are and is the homeland for many Aboriginal Peoples.
The approval and endorsement of Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) and the ACCHS mean everything to RAHC. With their support, we have successfully delivered RNs, Midwives, GPs, Oral and Ear Health specialists to the communities that needed them.
That’s why the RAHC Head Office is where it should be, up here in the Territory,” said The Chair of RAHC, Patricia Anderson AO.
Ms Anderson AO officially opened the event and was joined by a close-knit group including RAHC board members Glenn Keys AO and Erin Lew Fatt, as well as Luke Gosling OAM - Member for Solomon, Hon Warren Snowdon - Member for Lingiari and associates from AMSANT, Department of Health and Department of Social Services.
RAHC would like to also personally thank Ms Jeanneen McLennan, from Larrakiah Nation, who gave a beautiful Welcome to Country to open our event.
To take our first step within the Northern Territory, RAHC asked artist Norma Benger, our Cultural Trainer, to adorn the space with a mural and a native floral arrangement, pictured in the image below. Norma is a proud Marathiel/Murinpatha woman who originates from the west Daly River Region. In this piece, Norma has told the story of RAHC, referencing the communities our Health Practitioners travel to and the hands that make it happen.
RAHC is excited to use this space to provide an opportunity for learning and the continuation of support and service provided to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.