Kathleen runs a vaccination clinic in Blackwater which runs at least monthly. Blackwater is a small, rural, predominately Indigenous community with only one GP, who does not bulk bill for vaccinations. Visiting child health nurses do not vaccinate. Kathleen travels over one hour each way in her own time on her days off from her permanent job at Springsure Hospital to provide these clinics. Most of the babies she sees are months or years behind in their vaccinations as their parents can’t afford the GP or travel to the closest public health service which vaccinates.
Kathleen works with the local Indigenous Liason Officer Jaime to organise rides for families to come to her clinic, organises Panadol and other necessities post vaccination and educates families on the importance of keeping up with vaccinations. She also screens what other needs mums, babies, and other family members might have and what services she can link them into. Over the past 12 months Kathleen has vaccinated about 150 babies through her clinics, with the majority being Indigenous and at risk of serious health conditions if they weren't vaccinated.
Kathleen is passionate about protecting children from serious, preventable illnesses in her mob. She’s referred family members who come in with babies to chronic disease services, allied health services, nurse navigators, helped with accessing patient travel and worked to ensure the families are getting access to healthcare services that they need.
“I enjoy my time in Blackwater and the stories I hear there. I enjoy being with the families. I wasn’t really brought up in an Indigenous community but being in the community there and seeing how family orientated they are just makes me happy. I’ll never see the same person bring the baby in, it might be an aunty this week, it might be a cousin the next week – you just see how close-knit these family units are. These kids grow up with so much love.”