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Jarlmadangah Clinic is run by Annie Milgin (pictured left) with the assistance of Shirona Milgin.
Annie has over thirty years experience in nursing. She attended primary school in Camballin, leaving at 15 years of age to work in stock camps, cooking and cleaning for the workers. Her family, like many others, was forced to move by arbitrary decisions made by station bosses until eventually the number of homeless Aborigines in the area caused Government concern.
Camping in the open and surviving off depleted local resources, the local community was in crisis until a meeting facilitated by local Gnarinjini man Freddy Johnson and attended by Dr H. C. Coombs from Canberra allocated some land for a settlement. This was at Looma, a short drive from the present site of Jarlmadangah. There Annie began her nursing career. Apart from a week a year in Derby and two weeks in Perth at Marmuditch in 1995 (from which she received her Certificate in Aboriginal Health) Annie learnt her skills on the job.
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| As well as western medicine, Annie is able to use traditional local plants for bush remedies in her clinic, especially for rashes, sores, colds and flu. She collects local herbs in season and also makes soap with local ingredients, assisted by Robyn Wells from Broome.
The clinic deals with many problems, from ear infections to the management of diabetes. It has its own store of medicines, including antibiotics, and has a Sister and Nurse calling once a week from Derby.
Sister Jenny from Derby will be at the clinic full-time from 2010 to help care for about 80 community members as well as visiting teachers and workers.
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One role of the clinic is to help care for children from other communities who have suffered from neglect. As a model dry community, with fewer social problems than others, Jarlmadangah is able to help.
Medical students also visit the clinic to learn about traditional Aboriginal life-styles and cultural norms which do impact on health problems and treatment. A complex set of rules called Mullingan-Jigal govern Aboriginal relationships and family structures.
Generally speaking the members of the community enjoy good health and most of the clinic's work involves treating chronic conditions such as diabetes and monitoring the health of the children.
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| John, Wayne and Francis begin work on the foundations of the Clinic. |
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Annie sees the control of alcohol abuse as an important health factor. When abuse does occur the dry-out shelter at Mowla Bluff is available. Bush-Health workshops are also a way the clinic is able to share with the general community
"I want to see my young people grow. When I worked in Looma I used to be in the clinic all the time treating people. I never had a chance to teach culture, such as bush medicine. The nurses I worked with never gave me time to do this, but since I resigned and moved here to run my own clinic I can work for the community, teaching kids bush medicine, language and culture."
The Clinic is also involved in a project with professor Ron Quinn from Griffith University in Queensland to develop a herbal remedy and possibly pain-relieving drugs derived from the bark of a local tree which has traditionally been used in this area to treat wounds. The immediate goal of the Clinic, however, is to raise the standard of health in the community to a similar level to the rest of Australia. |
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