MSWA Bulletin Magazine Winter 16

Editor Letter continued
There are articles from the Occupational Therapy Department
on the need for calcium in your diet, swallowing, avoiding falls,
and the maintenance of your equipment. The OT Department
has specialist occupational therapists working in all areas of
our lives that along with a ‘wellness’ program, will help you
become stronger than MS.
Volunteering news and all of the latest State-wide Outreach
News completes the magazine. This is a ‘bumper-edition’
packed full of information, contributions from our readers and
the latest politics of disability — and what we hope is the
beginning of a series of inspirational stories about how you
have become stronger than MS.
REGISTER YOUR
INTEREST NOW AT
OCEANRIDEFORMS.ORG.AU
Finally, as June 30 approaches, budgets for the new financial
year will be approved and the Society’s books ruled-off and
ratified by the Auditor; your team at the Bulletin would like
to thank the fundraising department on your behalf for their
massive contribution to the Society’s success, which can only
make our strong Member-oriented Society even stronger. You
will have to wait until the Annual General Meeting in October
when the President, George Pampacos, will announce just
how successful the Society has been once again. But in the
meantime I can say that the “Society is stronger than MS.”
To our readers let me just add that your stories also inspire the
Bulletin team, because each of you have something different
to add to the larger picture. Pulling together as a Society, we
will always be stronger than that nasty piece of work called
MS (a real stinker hiding behind an acronym).
Thank you for your ongoing support and don’t forget
to pay your fees ahead of the AGM to ensure your
vote counts.
SUNDAY, 4 DECEMBER 2016
A UNIQUE CYCLING EVENT THAT TAKES RIDERS
ALONG THE COAST FROM FREMANTLE TO HILLARYS
I’m pleased to say that the MS Society has gone from strength
to strength in 2016. This success stems from the huge
efforts of the broader team, including our 550 staff, Members
and volunteers.
Our Brand, Marketing, and Sales team is responsible for
all of the activities that create awareness of MS within the
community. And of course these activities also raise a large
percentage of the funds that go towards providing services
and support to our Members as well as funding MS research
into a cause and cure for the condition.
On May 1 the team celebrated a significant milestone with
the 10th Step Up for MS – one of our marquee events. What
an amazing achievement to be running such a successful
event for a decade. Over this time 7,836 people have climbed
the 1,103 steps of Perth’s Central Park building, raising an
incredible $1.3 million. We are very proud of this event. To all
who have stepped up for us over the years, thank you!
The team has also run a number of other events in the last couple
of months including MS Albany Swim, MS Bunbury Swim, MS
Bridges Night Ride and of course the Stadium Stair Race. These
events are an integral part of our links to the community.
May 25 was a significant day for our Members as we
recognized World MS Day (WMSD) and again this year, we
took to the streets to raise awareness and to shake the can
to raise funds. I would like to say a particular thank you to our
ambassador and all round great bloke Josh Kennedy, who was
part of our fun online campaign ‘Help JK beat 2K’. This has
been a significant way of raising awareness of MS amongst
the general public through social media. Thank you Josh for
your help with this, and for all you do for MSWA throughout
the year. You can read more about what took place on WMSD
on page 32 of this edition of the Bulletin.
Since our last Bulletin edition, there have been some
significant changes regarding the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS) roll out in Western Australia.
The Commonwealth and WA State Governments recently
announced they would finalise their plans for the State-wide
NDIS rollout by October 2016, with the full rollout expected to
commence on 1 July 2017.
There has been some conjecture about whether WA will
be disadvantaged due to the delay in signing the formal
agreements. My pragmatic view of this is that, to quote the
Bard, “All’s well that ends well.”
From the desk of the CEO
Marcus Stafford
In the meantime, the current trial sites will be expanded to
allow an additional 2,700 people to access the NDIS in WA
until the final model is rolled out. The WA NDIS, formerly
known as ‘NDIS My Way’ currently operating in the Lower
South West and Cockburn-Kwinana areas, will be expanded
to include Armadale, Murray and Serpentine-Jarrahdale from
1 October. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
model in the Perth Hills will be expanded from 1 January to
include Bayswater, Bassendean, Chittering, Toodyay, York
and Northam.
What remains unresolved is the management of the Scheme.
I have had the opportunity to meet formally with the Federal
Social Services Minister, Christian Porter in Canberra and to
chat separately with the WA Minister for Disability Services,
Donna Faragher. Pleasingly they have both expressed their
desire to resolve the governance and management issues by
October. Although I understand and respect that many things
must be resolved within the negotiation process, I am both
optimistic and confident that the right decision will be made
for the WA NDIS to remain under the State’s overarching
management within a national framework. Longer term, I
believe this is very important for people with MS and other
neurological conditions living in this State. It will ensure both
a fair and equitable Australian scheme, but with the local
factor ensuring a flexible and responsive system built on the
needs of the person with the disability.
So, how is MSWA doing in the trials so far? The short answer
is – very well indeed! Ninety-eight percent of all people with
MS have selected the Society as their preferred provider of
services. In addition, 25% of our ‘customers’ within the trial
sites have other neurological conditions. Interestingly half of
those folk have had no relationship with us before now and
have selected us due to our reputation as the leader in our
field and due to our sustained performance. There is no room
for complacency, but I am very pleased with the early signs.
Why is it important to court people with other neurological
conditions to our store? Put bluntly, without them we will not
be able to continue to provide the level of service that we
currently do to newly diagnosed, low support people with MS
and folk aged 65 and over.
In essence, it is the margins derived from this new ‘business’
that will allow us to continue to provide services to people
with MS who will not be eligible for NDIS funding.
We look forward to the continuation of our successful
journey with you and to the further expansion of
our services to both people with MS and other
neurological conditions.
4 Winter 2016 The MS Society of Western Australia The MS Society of Western Australia Winter 2016 5