Club Meeting 31 October 2012

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Albury Wodonga Rural Clinical School

Dr Peter Vine, Director of the Rural Clinical School, based in Albury gave us an up-date on the growth and success of the school in its formative years.  A very satisfying outcome with huge prospects for advancement in the future. Peter mentioned that already a number of original students who have completed their residency and additional studies are working in our area.

The Rural Clinical School Campus The Rural Clinical School Campus at Albury Wodonga started in 2000 when the then Greater Murray Clinical School, the first Rural Clinical School in Australia, was established by the Federal Government Department of Health and Ageing in Wagga Wagga and Albury Wodonga. Since then the School has flourished and two additional campuses were added at the Mid North Coast. Over the years the School has gone from strength to strength and the Campuses are recognised as excellent environments in which to complete the final years of the course. The Clinical School Campus has become the focus of both undergraduate and postgraduate education since it opened and students are invited to participate in all the activities. The Albury Wodonga campus is located at 559 East Street Albury which is adjacent to the Albury Hospital. The campus accepts full time students in Years 4, 5 and 6.

Location Strategically located on the major inland Sydney to Melbourne corridor – the Hume Freeway. With the impending opening of the last bypass, the freeway will be double divided highway from Sydney to Melbourne. – Albury Wodonga is three hours from Melbourne and Canberra and six hours from Sydney by road. Albury Wodonga is on the main rail line between Sydney and Melbourne and Regional Express , Qantaslink and Virgin Australia have ten flights daily to Sydney return and three return flights daily to Melbourne. By air, Sydney is approximately one hour and ten minutes away and Melbourne is 45 minutes.

Medical Education The Albury Wodonga campus offers students access to:•             5 Major hospital facilities•             100 plus GPs with 25 GP clinics in Albury/Wodonga with additional clinics in the outlying areas•             Low student/patient ratio•             More than 90 specialists including: Anaesthetists; ENT Specialists; General Physicians, with interest in Renal Medicine, Cardiology and Gastroenterology; Cardiologists, General Surgeons; Gynaecologists; Reproductive medicine; Medical Oncologists; Neurologists; Obstetricians; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon; Ophthalmologists; Orthopaedic Surgeons; Plastic Surgeon; Paediatricians; Paediatric Surgeon; Pathologists; Psychiatrists; Radiotherapist; Oncologists; Radiologists; and Urologists.

Phase 2 Twelve students per year are allocated to the Campus to do their Clinical Coursework in phase 2. This is the same program as is run in the metropolitan area. The teaching program is run over two semesters and consists of courses in Society and Health, Oncology, Adult 1, Adult 2, Beginnings Growth and Development and Aged Care.With the input of the visiting specialists and the local specialists, the clinical programme of Phase 2 can be provided very successfully at the Albury Wodonga campus.

President’s Message

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 On Wednesday, Howard will be updating us about our   International Project – the Kitende Preschool in Tanzania. There is a   detailed report in the Bulletin. We have made great progress with the project to an   almost successful commencement. We are very close to turning what was   initially an idea from Deborah into reality. Do you remember her presentation   to us, and showing the extreme living conditions these little children and   their families had to endure, yet all had a lovely smile and a kind of   contentment with life despite the hardship they endure?  Terry has been canvassing other clubs in our area for   support and we expect responses soon. Howard has been seeking persons to become   Class Sponsors to the project by making a donation of $310 each year for two   years. At present we have 16 sponsorships including 4 from our club members.   He also has found a benefactor – who wishes to remain anonymous – who has   offered to match on a “dollar for dollar” basis the amount committed by 10 of   our club members for the two year period. This   is an extremely generous offer which will bring us to success with sufficient   offers from another 6 of our members. If you feel you are able to donate $310   each year for two years to this project , please contact Howard.

Club Meeting 24 October 2012

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Project Manager for the Albury Wodonga   Regional Cancer Centre, Greg Pearl, gave us a detailed report on progress so   far. The centre, designed by architects Billard Leece   Partnership, will be built facing Borella Road on the Albury hospital’s East   Albury site.  Plans are for a   three-storey centre, built around two courtyards. The ground floor — for radiotherapy   treatment — would have three linear accelerator bunkers, with space for a   fourth.There will also be meeting, seminar and conference rooms, treatment   and consulting rooms, a wellness centre and a cafe. Clinical trials will be conducted on the   first floor where there will also be doctor and specialist consulting rooms,   a pharmacy and a day-oncology unit. The unit will have 30 chemotherapy chairs   in “pods” of seven.Chemotherapy treatment bays, along the north and east   walls, will give patients an outside view. There will be two paediatric chemotherapy   chairs in the children’s ward. The 30-bed inpatient ward, on the second   floor, has 15 public and 15 private beds. All rooms, around two v-shaped spaces, have   courtyard and garden views. Greg said the plan was “about ensuring the   cancer centre would be in the right place without compromising the site”. He said the plan took in the views of all   groups involved.  “We are now in design development, looking   at every room and signing off every piece of equipment and furniture,” he   said. “That will be complete in December. “The amenity of the centre has been a   driving factor, the light it receives from the north.”  He said the building would promote a “multi-disciplinary-team   approach that is patient-centric, providing a one-stop shop for diagnosis and   treatment”. He said the centre would encourage   “translational research” and offer respite and non-clinical services such as   support and advice and education for patients and community.” There would be a foyer on the northern side   of the building and 140 car spaces to the west behind a landscape buffer.   Trees in the buffer and courtyards will reflect seasonal change. “Generous waiting spaces will offer some   privacy.,”  “We   have aimed to get away from the usual institutional feeling of hospitals by   softening clinical spaces.”

President’s Message

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A very timely presentation last week by Greg Pearl of   Albury Wodonga Health about the new design concept and facilities that will   be in the new cancer complex at the Base Hospital. It certainly looks as   though it is going to be a great building with all state of the art   equipment. On Friday of last week, Nicole was a judge at the   Wilson Transformers  Schools’ Solar Car   Challenge design competition at Wilsons Transformers Race complex at Wodonga.   It was an excellent competition where the schools’ own design solar driven   car had to complete as many laps as possible in one hour. The overall winner   was Wodonga TAFE, with our Club sponsoring the most Innovative Car design   classification which was won by Belvoir Special School in Wodonga. Some of   the speeds these vehicles reached was really surprising when the sun was   fully out. The Club had a busy weekend doing BBQs at Harvey   Norman, and one on Sunday for the inaugural Walk for Type 1 Diabetes at   Hovell Tree Park. I’m hopeful we have  a reasonable return for the Fight Diabetes   Foundation. It was certainly hectic for about half an hour at changeover   time, with crowds placing orders for ten, eight or six at a time.  I’m sure all our thoughts at this time are with Anne   McNaught who  had to deal late last   week with the shock news of the financial situation at Banksia Securities.   Whilst it is in no way Anne’s fault, the very fact that she is such a well   known local identity and through her local networking skills would have   attracted such a lot of local custom must be affecting her . So Anne if you   are reading this, our thoughts are very much with you. You know you have all   our thoughts , love and good wishes of the club members. For club members   information Anne requested a few weeks ago,    and was granted Leave of Absence by the Directors  until year end for health, family and   business reasons. I understand that her daughters are currently giving her   great support at this time, and I will contact her again during the week to   make sure she is bearing up etc. I received a lovely phone call last Thursday from RC of   Yarrawonga/Mulwala  advising that they   are going to donate $500 to the John McDonald Medical Scholarship  following a presentation to them about six   weeks ago.

River of Stories 2012

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A packed library foyer of Parents, Principles, English teachers, Sponsors. Library personnel, Rotarians and distinguished guests took part in this our tenth River of Stories.  It was Fantastic to see the joy on the faces of the students as they received their prize. 27 Dymock book vouchers to the value of $50 each were awarded to the school winners and the 4 outright winners received $200. The winning schools received $500 towards their library.