St John of God Murdoch Hospital spearheads health initiative at Binar Futures basketball camp

17 Jan 2024

The initiative is a recipient of St John of God Murdoch Hospital’s Charity of the Year fundraising efforts – comprising donations from caregivers and various fundraisers organised by caregivers throughout the year.

St John of God Murdoch Hospital CEO Ben Irish said he is grateful the hospital can assist with this very important cause in an effort to raise awareness and education amongst the Aboriginal youth.

“We are delighted to have partnered with Binar Futures for the inaugural Health Embassy this year,” he said.

“We are privileged to have a well-established program where we can spread awareness and education to Aboriginal youth to improve their quality of life and empower them to take control of their health in an approachable way.”

The Health Embassy is designed to offer health advice and assessment opportunities to children who may lack access to diagnostic and pre-emptive health measures.

During the basketball clinics and tournaments, health stations will be up on a spare basketball court, each catering to different health needs and providing interactive learning experiences and health checks for participating children.

Basketball teams will be strategically rostered to attend stations during their downtime in the competition schedule. The health checks being conducted by St John of God Murdoch Hospital include heart and kidney health.

Each participant will be given a ‘health passport’ to get stamped by each provider they visit, and upon completion, they will be able to choose their Binar Merchandise rewards based on their participation, donated by a variety of sponsors.

Binar Futures CEO Rozy Bynder said by integrating health into sport as an engagement platform, the initiative can have a greater focus on promoting social and emotional well-being among participants.

“A high percentage of the kids participating in the tournament are Aboriginal and in the age range of 10 to 17,” she said.

“The Binar Health Embassy uses the allure of the basketball tournament as a means to deliver essential health services in a culturally sensitive manner.”

“We expect that having health providers there for the kids to learn from and get checked by will positively impact the over 400 children participating in the tournament. Our main focus at Binar is to provide an inclusive environment where kids can thrive regardless of their circumstances. This health embassy gives them an opportunity to engage with health services they might not come across. Creating better outcomes for Aboriginal children, families and people.”

St John of God Murdoch Hospital has several doctors and nurses who have generously volunteered their time to travel to Albany to assist with the education and assessment of the children and their families at the various stations.

St John of God Murdoch Hospital Doctor Claudine Cerda-Pavia has been a driving force in Murdoch’s collaboration with Binar Futures and believes this is a great start when it comes to making healthcare more accessible to the Aboriginal youth.

“Delivering proactive health education and assessments to Aboriginal youth in the Great Southern Region is a step towards bridging the gap in healthcare access for Aboriginal youth,” she said.

“Challenges still exist, and Indigenous Australians are more likely to experience health issues due to social determinants, health risk factors, and inadequate access to health services compared to non-Indigenous Australians.”

“We still have a long way to go, but this partnership and initiative is definitely a step in the right direction.”

The Binar community group was founded by Adam Desmond 12 years ago with a basketball team and a group of boys from the Midland area.

Initially intended as an engagement tool to help the kids in other aspects of their life, Binar, which is the Noongar word for meteor, has now evolved into an organisation reaching more than 2,000 young people.