All healthcare made equal?

One of the most common talking points for us at Coolamon Community is why there is any need for culturally appropriate healthcare in general.

Historically, Australia has a shameful history in their failure to provide adequate and equal healthcare to our First Peoples. Pregnancy, birthing and infancy is a particular area that Australian policy has had complete disregard for the healthy, safety and human rights of these communities. A misconception we come across is the belief that the Stolen Generation was limited to a handful of years, when in reality the practice of removal span before this time frame and continue today.

In order to move forward from these ongoing wrongs, establishing trust is the key.

The system needs to trust that First Nations families have all the skills and resources to raise their families, as they have been doing for 65,000 years, and these families need to trust that the system will no longer unfairly submit them to colonial, genocidal practices that are so ingrained in the Australian way of operation.

Unfortunately, removals rates are not getting better. However, the newly added Closing the Gap targets recognise the need to rectify and turn around this trend, and we hope to be a contributing part of achieving this goal.

The Coolamon Community project is unique in its approach. We work through the Aboriginal Healthcare Professionals caring for pregnant First Nations women. By setting no criteria for eligibility, the ones who care for mum and know mum best decide who would benefit from the gift.
By taking this approach, our gift forms a strong caring connection between mother and professional.

In the many forms they take, Aboriginal Healthcare Services are a safe and supportive option for First Nations mothers to receive the standard of Healthcare that they have the right to receive in a way that embraces culture as an inseparable part of this experience.

At Coolamon Community, we believe that this is how trust begins.