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TAIHS Vaccination Day - 16th June 2023
14th June 2023
TAIHS Members Notice
17th January 2023
TAIHS Naidoc Week 2022
23rd June 2022
TAIHS Deadly Day Out
30th November 2021
The TAIHS Deadly Day Out was held on November 20, 2021. The event was held to help raise vaccination rates and to bring the community together, with more than 100 First Nations people getting their COVID-19 jab on the day.
New clinic in Ayr to help lift low COVID-19 vaccination rates
30th November 2021
New First Nations health clinic opens in Ayr and aims to address low COVID-19 vaccine rates A new health clinic has opened in Ayr and will spend its first three months of operations focused on COVID-19 vaccinations in the Burdekin district, as Queensland prepares to open its borders before Christmas. With recent figures showing that only 52 per cent of people in the Burdekin have been fully vaccinated, the Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service (TAIHS) has opened a new facility at 115 Queen Street to try and raise the rate. TAIHS chief executive Dr Stephan Hagan said they decided to open the clinic after speaking with community members who felt they did not have appropriate access to a local clinic or health facility. “That’s for a population of thousands of people, so we said we would like to assist,” he said. “It’s a milestone, a lot of these small towns are often overlooked.” Dr Hagan said the reasoning behind making the clinic a dedicated vaccination hub for the first three months of operation was so the community could be prepared when the QLD borders open next month. “There is an urgency in getting these vaccinations,” he said. “We want to prepare for it. We don’t want to be looking at ways we may need to hospitalize or treat people with COVID-19, we want to prevent it.” TAIHS chair Michael Illin said this clinic was an exciting new step for the Burdekin. “Our health needs to be looked at and we need a service that is local for our people in the Burdekin,” he said. “No matter what community you come from, people need to have ownership of their health needs and that includes their own health clinics.” Mr Illin said he also held concerns over the vaccine rate in the area. “I think, touch wood, that we have been very lucky that COVID hasn’t crept into our communities but I think opening the borders could be a gateway for COVID to come in,” he said. Ayr resident and clinic receptionist Threasa Zaro said she was grateful to have this new service here in the Burdekin. “Now I don’t have to travel to Townsville to see a doctor,” she said. “The vaccination clinic will help our people to receive the COVID injection without having to make an appointment; allow them to be a walk-in patient and to be welcomed by our TAIHS Ayr clinic staff.” TAIHS will be holding a community event this coming Wednesday November 10th to celebrate its facility’s official opening. The clinic at 115 Queen Street takes both walk-in appointments and bookings for anyone over the age of 12 years who wants to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination – all that is required are Medicare details.
Ken Wyatt Announces additional funding to combat the syphilis outbreak in northern, central and southern Australia
21st December 2018
On Monday 17 December, we welcomed Honourable Ken Wyatt MP, the minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health, where he announced additional funding to support to expand the Enhanced Syphilis Response to new sites across norther and Central Australia and extend existing ACCHS (Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services), funded under the first two phases, beyond the initial 12-months funding period. View the Federal Media release here. TAIHS has been one of the already funded sites, there has been increased testing numbers recorded through this initial phase. "We have seen a more than 100% increase in the number of pathology STI tests, including syphilis, requested in 2018. TAIHS recently started the syphilis testing program from June 2018 and we are offering this test to all patients aged between fifteen and thirty-nine who visit our Garbutt main clinic. This will to be rolled out to our other clinics from early 2019" said Dr Theunis Kotzee TAIHS Senior Medical Officer. Since the inception of this proactivity there has already been a reported increase of nearly 100% in the number of patients actively obtaining this yearly screening for Syphilis and STIs when compared to 2017 figures. With funding from the Commonwealth, TAIHS have been able to increase their staffing capacity, by employing two additional nursing staff and one Indigenous Health Professional for boost the STI screening capacity further for 2019. To view the media coverage, you can click here to follow on Facebook.