Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation ABN: 67 006 943 078 ICN: 1044 P.O. Box 1256, Grafton NSW 2460 131-133 Bacon Street, Grafton NSW 2460 Phone: 02 6644 3500 Fax: 02 6644 3599 Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation was established in Grafton in 1990 to provide Health Services to the Aboriginal communities of the Clarence Valley. The Clarence Valley Council LGA with approximately 50,000 people located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Its boundary has located within it the traditional country of the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl people. There are also five Local Aboriginal Land Councils located within the Clarence Valley Council area. These are Birrigan Gargle (Yamba), Yaegl (Maclean), Ngerrie (Grafton), Baryulgil Square (Baryulgil), and Janna Ngalee (Malabugilmah). According to the 2006 census there are approximately 2,252 people of Aboriginal descent residing within the Clarence Valley Council area which is around 5% of the total Clarence Valley Council area population. There are 2,307 Indigenous people out of a total population of 48,146. (ABS Census 2006). 1
Service Delivery Area Clarence Valley - Grafton is a residential and industrial area surrounded by rural areas. Urban areas include the main town of Grafton, South Grafton and the smaller townships of Copmanhurst, Jackadgery, Junction Hill and Ulmarra. Clarence Valley - Grafton with an Indigenous Population of1,252 (ABS 2006) Outreach services are provided to: Yamba Angourie Woolowyah with an Indigenous Population of 228 Maclean - Townsend Gulmarrad with an Indigenous Population of 328 Rural North West, including the community of Baryulgil with an Indigenous Population of 152 2
Service Area Population Clarence Valley (A) - Balance 288 Clarence Valley (A) - Coast 783 Clarence Valley (A) - Grafton 1252 Clarence Valley Council 2306 Grafton 478 Grafton Surrounds 163 Iluka - Woombah 66 Maclean - Townsend - Gulmarrad 312 Rural Coast 168 Rural North West 163 Rural South West 131 South Grafton 605 Yamba - Angourie - Wooloweyah 237 Characteristics of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the area. The population is characterised by over 30% children and infants under 12, and as typical of other communities a low percentage of people in the upper age groups, unlike the large retired nonindigenous population of the region. 3
Index of social disadvantage for the region South Grafton 856.5 Rural North West 902.8 Maclean - Townsend Gulmarrad 905.1 Clarence Valley (A) Coast 939.5 Grafton 940.0 Auspice Service Areas The Casino Aboriginal Medical Service began operation in February 1999. The Service is based in Casino with Outreach programs to Coraki, Box Ridge, Jubullum Village and Muli Muli. Casino AMS is an AGPAL accredited Medical service. Armajun Aboriginal Health Service Incorporated at Inverell in the Kamilaroi area of north-west NSW. This AMS is part of the Kanyani Vascular Collaboration, a research project carried out through 12 sites across the country. Armajun is in partnership with Hunter New England Health. Bulgar Ngaru Bulgarr Ngaru was established initially to screen the ex-asbestos miners and their families who lived and worked in Baryulgil. The service is situated at 131-133 Bacon Street, Grafton and provides outreach clinics to Baryulgil, Malabugilmah, Yamba and Maclean communities. Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation employs 25 full-time staff, two full-time and three part-time GPs based in Grafton. The function of Bulgarr Ngaru - Aboriginal Medical Service is to deliver a culturally sensitive and effective health care service to the Aboriginal people of the Clarence Valley. This includes outreach medical and dental services, providing preventative health programs and clinics and health promotion and education programs as well as substance use, lifestyle education, mental health, adult and child dental services, community transport and screening services for hearing, diabetes and asbestos. The AMS provides a number of services which include: o General Practitioner Clinics o Adult Dental Services o Children s Dental Service (including Orthodontics) o Optometry o Dietitian o Audiometry o Visiting Respiratory Specialist o Visiting Paediatrician o Visiting Endocrinologist 4
o Visiting Psychiatrist o Visiting Psychologist Other Programs: o Mental Health o Drug & Alcohol o Sexual Health o Women s & Men s Health o Diabetes o Nutrition & Exercise Programs o Cardiovascular o Otitis Media Bulgarr Ngaru also provides services to Acmena Juvenile Justice Centre and the Grafton and Glen Innes Correctional Centres. Bulgarr Ngaru has partnership arrangements with a number of services including Corrections Health, Justice Health, Probation and Parole and the Northern Rivers Area Health Service. The service is mainly funded by the Federal Government Department of Health and Ageing Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and the New South Wales State Health Department. The Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation works in partnership with the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON), Sexual Health Clinic (Coffs Harbour), Community Health and PLWHA (Northern Rivers) to deliver a sexual health program. Bulgarr Ngaru Aboriginal Medical Service looks forward to an expansive capital works program to purchase and outfit additional premises to house its expanding health service and workforce. This is funded from existing resources. Our workforce will be expanded in the near future with a new practice manager. This is in addition to a position for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Outreach Worker, recently announced for the service and is part of the Closing the Gap Chronic Disease package The capital works funding for Bulgarr Ngaru Aboriginal Medical Service will allow it to enhance its high-quality health services to more than 2,700 clients. 5