Thanks to our wonderful supporters, the CQShines Foundation has awarded two healthcare scholarships to the Gemfields Community Support Association (GSCA).
Two recipients will complete a 12-month online course that includes a placement of 120 hours and is supported by the JCU Central Queensland Centre for Rural and Remote Health.
CQShines Executive Director Hannah Gardner said sponsoring the online course will provide the recipients with professional development in the healthcare areas.
“CQShines is proud to announce the first two scholarships for the year that will benefit the whole community in the future, including the elderly,’’ Hannah said.
“The aim is for the Gemfields community to be better serviced with health services and to have better health outcomes in the future.
“This will greatly increase the capacity of the GSCA to provide services to their clients. It also means the health needs of the community can be addressed locally, often saving people long trips.’’
The two recipients who are employed by Gemfields Community Support Association – Teresa Henderson and Lee Cotter – will complete the online course in their own time.
Teresa, 52 moved into the community around 11 years ago and is keen on working in the aged care sector. She is enrolled in the Allied Health Assistant Certificate IV qualification – Occupational Therapy assistant.
Lee, 39 has grown up in Sapphire – one of the four towns that makes up the Gemfields area and has worked at GCSA for seven years.
Lee will specialise in physiotherapy and is hopeful the investment in upskilling to provide a necessary service will alleviate some of the issues around medical care in a rural setting.
“I love the close-knit community and rural community that the Gemfields offers,’’ she said.
“I applied for this scholarship to enhance my skills and to provide a much-needed service to the local community.
“It can be very hard to access allied health services in a rural community as many residents need to travel up to 400kms to be able to access the medical supports that they require.
“The Gemfields community has an aging population, with that comes many obstacles one being transport/driving.”
Congratulations to Teresa and Lee!
