The health of rural communities is a key priority and the team at RDAQ Foundation are no strangers when it comes to working to improve outcomes in the bush.
The RDAQ Foundation has been conducting health checks at Beef since 2012. Previously they were within the Queensland Country Life marquee but this time around they are in their own stand at site OP 74.
The health checks will be running Tuesday to Thursday from 10am - 12.30pm and 1pm - 3.30pm. They will be running from 11am - 3pm on Friday.
RDAQ Foundation director Dan Halliday said the health checks are an opportunity to focus on the whole patient.
"So it's about the whole patient; in terms of the overall context of where they sit within their own health profile," he said.
"We're focusing on three main areas - heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease which is actually an under-recognised complication and something that is often under-diagnosed. And then reinforcing the need for them to undertake certain behaviors or modifications depending on what their level of risk is.
"But more importantly, getting them back to see their GP in their own rural community and providing them with the information to initiate and start that conversation."
Dr Halliday said the health checks are also an opportunity to work with partners like the University of Queensland and James Cook University.
"We also work with doctors that used to be medical students that have come back to work with us to provide the health checks and to provide mentorship to the students coming through," he said.
"We've got a whole integrated professional network, to not just support our rural communities but to support our rural medical profession."
To increase their focus on rural communities and further improve their engagement, RDAQ Foundation has undergone a structural change over the past 12 months.
Dr Halliday has come on board as director, while Fran Avon has taken on the position of general manager.
