MSWA Bulletin Spring 16

A message from the General Manager –
Member Services
SUE SHAPLAND RN, BN
“We should always have three friends in our lives - one who walks ahead who we look up to
and follow; one who walks beside us, who is with us every step of our journey; and then,
one who we reach back for and bring along after we’ve cleared the way.” Michelle Obama
There is so much going on at the moment both here and
overseas it’s hard not to get caught up in the hype and feel
that at times we live in a slightly crazy world; but also a pretty
lucky country.
I know you should never talk politics, but the possibility of
Donald Trump being the next President of the USA is a bit of
a challenge for me! The ongoing random acts of terror make
us both concerned but also grateful that for the most part we
live in a country buffered from much of this unpleasantness.
Watching the news isn’t always enjoyable although the
Olympics provided some much needed respite.
I think we can often focus on the negatives and then fail to
appreciate what we can be grateful for both now and into the
future. We are really lucky we have subsidised access to all
of the MS therapies; many countries including the UK don’t.
This provides greater choice and the opportunity to switch
therapies if things aren’t going as planned.
Our health system has its faults and issues but overall it’s
pretty good and the standard is high and access relatively
easy. Although if you have been ramped in an ambulance
waiting to get into a busy ED that may be harder to reconcile!
The NDIS is another reason to be glad we are living in Australia.
When this scheme reaches full roll out, over 400,000 people
with a disability will be participating and receiving funding to
access the supports they need. Whilst access is currently limited
to designated trial sites, the planning for full roll out is underway;
see our double page NDIS spread in this issue on page 8. We
hear many positive stories, from Members and others, who
are now in receipt of individual funding for the first time. This
continually validates the decision for this massive policy change.
MSWA has had another fantastically successful financial
year! The amazing job done by our Fundraising and Events
Teams is envied by most. As a profit for purpose organisation,
this provides additional income for us to support research and
to grow supports and services for our Members.
We delivered a 12% increase in Member Services hours
compared to last year and our staff has grown steadily to
accommodate the increased demand of NDIS and WA
NDIS funded plans. We have, and will continue to grow our
programs and supports. Just recently, we added yoga in
Bunbury and massage in Margaret River and Northam to our
suite of programs.
Construction of our Bunbury Services Hub is steaming ahead
and we look forward to completion towards the end of the
year; the regional staff and Bunbury Outreach Groups can’t
wait! This is really very exciting and MSWA has funded the
land purchase and build through our own funds.
We recently farewelled Marilyn Sylvester, long term Manager
of Physiotherapy. Marilyn had been here at MSWA for 23
years and saw much change and great improvements in what
we could offer, and staffing levels, during her term. We wish
her well in her retirement and thank her for all her hard work
and dedication.
The weather has been pretty cold and the flu season has
been upon us. I hope you have managed to keep warm and
stay well and I know we are all looking forward to having an
enjoyable spring!
Please remember our Member Services team is here
to provide you with information, advice and support;
please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 08 9365 4888.
MSWA HISTORY PROJECT
The History Project has been brewing for some time (since
1987, actually, when MSWA moved from Clontarf to our new
Centre here at Wilson), but now we are getting really serious
about it all. We have assembled a small team of writers and
set the rather ambitious target of completing the project by the
end of next year.
Now we are asking for your assistance. If you have any
photos you think might be useful, you can mail them to
us at MSWA Locked Bag 2 Bentley DC WA 6983. Should
you like to write to us about your recollections our e-mail
address is: bulletin@mswa.org.au
MSWA BULLETIN SPRING 2016 | 5