SCU Health Clinic opened and new mobile training unit announced

The Southern Cross University School of Health and Human Sciences had a lot to celebrate today with a new federally funded $1.4 million mobile training unit being announced alongside the official opening of the $4.2 million Southern Cross University Health Clinic.

The clinic was opened at the Lismore campus by Ms Janelle Saffin MP, federal Member for Page and University Council member and Southern Cross University Chancellor, The Hon John Dowd AO QC.

In opening the facility, Ms Saffin described the clinic as a great addition to local health services.

“This is about putting the focus on health rather than illness. Health is my number one priority and in our community so many people embrace the type of holistic health care services taught at the university. It is wonderful to have a facility at the university that not only trains our health workforce but provides a valuable service to the local community,” Ms Saffin said.

The purpose-built clinic offers consultations in naturopathy, osteopathy, massage, herbal medicine, nutritional therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, exercise physiology and nurse practitioner services to students, staff and the wider community.

Professor Iain Graham, head of the School of Health and Human Sciences said the new facility would ensure the university is keeping pace with global thinking on Health Practitioner education.

“Internationally there is a growing view that the clinical preparation for health practitioner students should become more central to the curriculum design. The clinic will help us achieve that goal. It also affords us the opportunity to allow academics to become engaged in practice thereby stopping the separation of theory and practice,” Professor Graham said.

“Southern Cross University was one of the first Australian universities to include complementary medicine as an option in its suite of health-related degrees. Holistic approaches to health and wellbeing have since become accepted as mainstream in the health care choices of people both in Australia and around the world.”

Also at the official opening today, the federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health, the Hon Mark Butler MP announced that Southern Cross University has been awarded an innovative clinical training grant worth $1.4 million to purchase a mobile simulation training unit.

“The unit will be able to travel around rural and regional northern New South Wales, particularly into indigenous settings, to provide simulation training opportunities to aspiring medical and health professionals,” Mr Butler said.

Professor Graham said the new mobile training unit would enhance the training opportunities available to students.

“Research has shown that facilities like this better equip students for delivering health care when they enter the workforce. This facility will be fitted out with some of the most up-to-date and effective simulation training devices – such as programmable mannequins - and offer our students access to training experiences that would otherwise not be available,” Professor Graham said.

The MC for the official opening was Professor Peter Lee, Vice Chancellor of Southern Cross University.

The SCU Health Clinic is accessed via Rifle Range Road, East Lismore and has plenty of parking, including parking for people with a disability.

Details about the facility and the full range of services provided are available online www.scu.edu.au/healthclinic, via email clinic@scu.edu.au or by telephone on (02) 6626 9131