On Tuesday 18 August, Rural Northwest Health (RNH) hosted an Early Years Services in Small Rural Communities Roundtable meeting at its Warracknabeal Campus.
The Roundtable was an opportunity for key partners to come together to think conceptually about the structures that make rural services resilient, reducing key person risk, strengthening local workforce, enabling access and delivering operating models that are suited to small rural communities in relation to Early Years Services.
RNH CEO, Lois O’Callaghan, said the discussion focussed on Early Years services and recognised the many structural challenges Early Years Services providers and partners face collectively.
“This was a great opportunity to discuss the unique challenges facing young families in our region and to work with By Five and Social Ventures Australia. This roundtable helped us to come together, share our experiences and learn from one another,” said Ms O’Callaghan.
“Coming together to share information is what makes our services strong for the local communities who need them.”
The roundtable aimed to identify practical design principles for broader application, not just across the RNH catchment, but across other rural communities.
By bringing key partners together, RNH hopes to help build a stronger, more sustainable model for delivering Early Years Services in small rural communities well into the future.