The acclaimed exercise program NeuroMoves has announced that potential clients with spinal cord and similar disabilities will now be offered two-hour initial assessments free of charge.
The only requirement is for people to become members of Spinal Cord Injuries Australia (SCIA), the organisation that runs the program that began operating last month from a dedicated gym space in Southern Cross University’s Health Clinic on the Lismore campus.
SCIA membership for people with a disability and their immediate family and carers is also free. Inquiries can also be directed to 1800 819 775 or locally to 0403 091 364.
According to SCIA’s Northern Rivers Peer & Social Support Coordinator Lee Clark, the initial assessment previously cost $280, largely because of the time taken to evaluate often-complex needs and the fact that NeuroMoves clinics have a high staff to client ratio, often 3:1.
Ms Clark revealed this important change during her address to the latest ‘Social Connections’ breakfast meeting hosted by the University Centre for Rural Health in Lismore*.
Speaking on ‘Breaking down barriers for people with spinal cord injury and other physical disability’ Ms Clark said the NeuroMoves program has had a positive local start.
“This is the first time it has been offered outside an Australian metropolitan area, and it will be further enhanced by the arrival of additional start-of-the-art exercise equipment,” she said.
The program, which was featured as the cover story of the Autumn 2017 issue of GP Speak, has appointed three clinical staff, including Exercise Physiologist Kate Schaefer, a former Trinity Catholic College student who completed university in WA before returning ‘home’ recently.
Kate also addressed the UCRH breakfast meeting, saying her study placement with SCIA NeuroMoves had been by far the most enjoyable of any workplace she had experienced.
Keen to move back east she had been delighted to see her ‘ideal job’ advertised at the program’s start-up in Lismore. She leapt at the opportunity and soon became a member of a team that Lee Clark describes as “highly motivated and very positive about the support they can provide clients.”
SCIA offers a suite of exercise services for people with a neurological condition or other physical disability, and receives significant funding from the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation and the NSW Government’s iCare Foundation.
The Lismore based program will serve a significant regional need, as it the only such service between Newcastle and Brisbane. Many clients are expected to be accessing NDIS packages when the scheme begins operating in this region from 1 July.
* UCRH’s monthly Social Connections Breakfasts (the next is Thurs 20 April) feature a range of guest speakers in the health field, and are free to attend. They are supported by the North Coast Allied Health Association.
