Build 'Em Up

In Episode 9 of Build ‘Em Up we catch up with Richard Fletcher, founder of the SMS4dads campaign, along with Nathan Johnson, a rural dad from Dubbo in Central West NSW. After 20 years of trying to get new fathers to attend parenting sessions, Richard flipped the format and started sending fathers evidence-based tips and support via text message on their phones, to guide them through their parenting journey. The campaign also raises awareness of the contribution of fathers in their baby’s early life. 

SMS4dads has recently been rolled out nationally and is also focusing on Indigenous and non-Indigenous fathers in rural and remote areas. You can listen to the podcast, which is supported by nbnTM, on your favourite player.

Episode 8 of Build ‘Em Up is a special podcast with guest host, Jen Beer, a Darlot woman who works with regional and remote communities for nbnTM. We chatted with the team at the Gurriny Yealamucka (Gurriny) Health Service Aboriginal Corporation at Yarrabah in Far North Queensland - Chief Executive Sue Andrews and Medical Director Dr Jason King. 

Themes included expanding the medical perspective of primary care to encompass social, spiritual and cultural health, as well as the health service’s digital journey to prioritise high quality services, information and data. Build ‘Em Up, which is supported by nbnTM, is available on your favourite player.  

 In Episode 7 of the Build ‘Em Up podcast we chatted to the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s chief storyteller, Lana Mitchell, about the unique role of the RFDS in supporting communities in the far reaches of Australia. The flight crews and health professionals never forget how privileged they are to be part of the RFDS team that serves the thousands of rural towns, properties, outback stations and remote communities across the country. 

Aussie professional athlete Sam Tait has a more fulfilling life than he ever dreamed of when he was a young man, which includes going for a medal at the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing next March. 

Chatting with the Build ‘Em Up podcast team, the now famous sit-skier shares his journey, including never feeling happier, since a fateful day in 2013 when he came off a motorbike and became a complete paraplegic through a T10 spinal cord injury. 

This podcast is supported by nbnTM. 

Visit https://ruralhealth.org.au/buildemup for more info.

Drought Angels began with two Queensland friends who wanted to thank local farming families, one at a time, for their unrelenting contribution to Australian agriculture. This gesture, if the form of personal support for life essentials, has grown into an extraordinary national enterprise.   Visit: ruralhealth.org.au/buildemup

In Episode 4 we chat to Jack Jones from the Banksia Project, who is on the road travelling around Australia giving communities a homegrown, safe space for local rural men to open up about their own mental health and, together, build a mental health community network.

Dr Melanie Johnson is a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist at Mt Barker in South Australia who provides compassionate expert care for women through their lives. Taking advantage of a grant through the Innovate with nbnTM Grants Program to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, Mel and her team in the Adelaide Hills are providing services that clients previously needed to travel to the city for. Visit: https://ruralhealth.org.au/buildemup/

In Episode 2 we chat with Faye McMillan. Faye grew up on Wiradjuri country at Trangie in Central West New South Wales and is now living in a small country town in the Riverina. 

Faye is Australia’s first Indigenous pharmacist, an esteemed academic and educational leader, and an experienced board director. She’s also a proud mother of two boys, as well as being a sister, an aunty, and a friend to many in her world. 

Faye was recently appointed as a Deputy Rural Health Commissioner working with Dr Ruth Stewart. 

 In this first episode of Build ‘em up, we Zoom-link with Torres Strait Islander Elsie Seriat who is an inspirational mum of two young boys. Elsie has many PBs (personal bests) to her name, including an OAM for service to her community, crossing the finish line in the New York Marathon and encouraging her mum – and many in her family and communities across Australia – to take up running for health. 

A great Queensland country bloke with a mullet is the inspiration behind the name of the Australian rural health podcast Build ‘Em Up.

Songwriter and performer Josh Arnold composed a country song called Build ‘em up as pick-me-up for rural, regional and remote communities during COVID-19. People from right across the rural landscape contributed words, phrases and poems to bring the song to life in 2020.

Have a listen to the full song here. The essence of Build ‘Em Up is being a spark of hope, support and resilience for each other, which is exactly what a lot of great people are doing in the rural health space.

Their stories are being showcased on the Build ‘Em Up podcast by the National Rural Health Alliance.