The mid-year NextGen Medics Program will run from June 16 – 26. Apply NOW! 

Heart of Australia is delighted to welcome Boehringer Ingelheim onboard as the new, exclusive partner for the Heart of Australia NextGen Medics Program.

With a shared vision to boost the sustainability of rural health across country towns in Australia, Boehringer Ingelheim have committed to support 20 medical and health students per annum, through the rural immersion-style program, for the next 3 years.

Heart of Australia’s NextGen Medics participate in a highly unique opportunity to experience the communities and patients, medical practices, and our system of mobile service delivery, when out on the program. Most importantly, they learn about all the ways they too can one day contribute to the landscape of rural health if they can’t make a full-time commitment.

Dirk Otto, General Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim Australia and New Zealand, said the NextGen Medics Program was perfectly aligned with the company’s commitments to expand access to rural healthcare and to improve the sustainability of the healthcare workforce – now and for the future.

“The distinct lack of access to health services and specialist medical care in rural and remote parts of Australia is abundantly clear and extremely concerning,” said Mr Otto.

“Boehringer Ingelheim wants to be part of the solution, to help expand access to quality healthcare – especially for vulnerable communities,” he said.

Heart of Australia Founder and Director, Dr Rolf Gomes, is excited to work with Boehringer Ingelheim to build on the NextGen Medics program and ensure the future workforce of healthcare professionals consider more opportunities in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.

“Thank you to Boehringer Ingelheim for supporting the development of the next generation of healthcare practitioners and contributing to the delivery of lifesaving and life-changing medical care to rural and remote communities for years to come,” said Dr Gomes.

“We look forward to reviewing applications from medical and allied health students keen to learn how ECG tests, sleep tests and radiology diagnostic procedures are performed on the road, for people who may not have the time, means, proximity or know-how to access these healthcare services.”

Applications for the 2023 mid-year program are now open to current medical and allied health students. To apply, visit https://heartofaustralia.com.au/nextgen-medics/ 

Receiving specialist healthcare in remote and rural Australia at times can be a challenge.

The idea of driving hours to the cities for treatment many take for granted can seem daunting for some.

However, specialist mobile medical vehicles such as Heart of Australia’s Heart Trucks are changing the tide for rural Queensland…just ask the folks of Emerald.

Until the glimmering view of HEART 1 rolled through town, the need for specialist treatment may have succumbed to the tyranny of distance.

Heart of Australia’s routine trip to Emerald turned out to be a stroke of luck for Ellen, a patient suffering from a serious heart condition. Directed by her GP to see the specialist cardiologist onboard HEART 1, Ellen found immediate answers that day.

“I went to my local GP and he told me I’d was going to have to go and see the specialist, and I thought to myself…well, that’s going to be a while. Then he said, it just so happens they’re flying in today, and I couldn’t believe it,” Ellen says.

Heart of Australia is the brainchild of Brisbane cardiologist Dr Rolf Gomes. The program was built on a simple idea: how to make specialist healthcare more accessible to the masses.

“At Heart of Australia we like to get out there, find the patients, listen to their stories, do the tests to find what’s wrong with them and then get on with treatment,” Dr Gomes says.

“Ultimately, the mission of Heart of Australia is to give country people an equal chance at a long and healthy life.”

Servicing Heart of Australia’s Central Route, HEART 1 has travelled hundreds of thousands of kilometres since it launched in 2014.

HEART 1 is the first of five specialist medical trucks that Heart of Australia has hauling along the Queensland highways, with the network working in conjunction to offer and service the bush with a suite of specialist care ranging from its cardiac trucks or its new respiratory clinic on wheels.

“For Heart of Australia, which is making health care more accessible for country patients, this is what it’s all about,” Gomes says. As for Ellen, her experience with Heart of Australia in her community of Emerald has given her a new lease on life.

“I think (Heart of Australia) is a marvellous thing – as a heart patient you’re a sick person and having to wait months and all of that travel to get to one of the cities is tough, I just think it’s a marvellous thing that they can get out to the people,” Ellen says.

HEART 3 has been busier than ever hitting the highways attending community events and providing extra clinical support for patients and it all wouldn’t be possible without Heart of Australia team member Fionn O’Seighin. 

Fionn joined Heart of Australia in early 2022 as a Medical Aide, helping to deliver our specialist healthcare clinics out in the regions and providing medical and administration support onboard the trucks. Since then, he’s gone on to acquire his HR (Heavy Rigid) Truck License and received further training so that he’s able to drive HEART 3 as well. 

With Fionn as the exclusive driver and Medical Aide of HEART 3, we’re able to provide additional medical support for patients during busy clinics and spend more time at community events alongside our partners and supporters.  

In March alone, Fionn has taken HEART 3 on a roadshow through New South Wales providing health checks in Gunnedah, Forbes and Sydney, spent a day in Brisbane at the IOR Family Fun Day, and then on to the Gold Coast to host tours of the truck for our partners at Janssen. 

A big thank you to Fionn for all his hard work this month helping us to keep HEART 3 on the road. 

Heart of Australia was delighted to be invited by our friends at Lung Foundation Australia to showcase HEART 5 at this year’s Australian Lung Cancer Conference in February. 

Our team were there throughout the conference, delivering tours of the first-of-its-kind mobile CT clinic and speaking with delegates about its proven capabilities for delivering screening programs in Australia’s rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.  

Heart of Australia Founder and Director Dr Rolf Gomes hosted a personal tour after the opening ceremony for the Hon Yvette D’Ath MP, Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, CEO of Lung Foundation Australia Mark Brooke, CEO of Cancer Australia Prof Dorothy Keefe, and Chair of Lung Foundation Australia, Respiratory & Sleep Medicine Physician A/Prof Lucy Morgan. 

Dr Gomes said the opportunity to present HEART 5 to industry professionals and advocates almost a year since its launch, was a giant leap forward in making healthcare more accessible to country Australians. 

“We’re extremely proud of what HEART 5 has achieved in its first year of operation. We delivered over 2,300 patient consultations and provided over 2,000 x-rays and 352 CT scans. We’re looking forward to working with our partners now to bring this technology across the country.” 

Delivering comprehensive screening programmes for country Australians 

Home to the world’s first battery-powered mobile CT scanner provided by our partners at Philips Australia, HEART 5 is changing the way we’re able to provide radiology services to outback Australians. Without a need for local infrastructure to deliver services, HEART 5 can reach further into those rural, remote, and Indigenous communities where there are higher rates of cardiac diseases, lung cancers and chronic health conditions. 

With a year of operational experience providing comprehensive lung screening programs for the Queensland Government with the support of our partners at I-MED Radiology, HEART 5 has successfully weathered the challenges that come with delivering mobile healthcare in outback Australia, such as navigating rough terrains and operating in extreme temperatures.  

Now, this technology is ready to be scaled up to further support those Australians living in rural, remote, or Indigenous communities outside of Queensland who also need access to mobile radiology services. 

Applications for the December 2022/January 2023 cohort of NextGen Medics are officially open!

This unique, student experience program provides current medical and allied health students the opportunity to experience Heart of Australia’s innovative service in action – learning from specialists, sonographers, medical aides and other Heart of Australia staff along the way.

After a successful mid-year program, the Heart of Australia team is excited to bring students back to Stanthorpe, Emerald, and Theodore to show them the life-changing impact Heart of Australia has in these communities and provide an insight into what a career in rural healthcare can be.

To learn more and view the application form click the button below:

2022 mid-year NextGen Medics the first to experience radiology in communities

The fourth cohort in the NextGen Medics Program joined Heart of Australia specialists and field staff on the road in June and July of this year.

This cohort consisted of six medical and allied health students all from different universities across Australia; a testament to the incredible reach this student experience program is receiving since launching back in 2020.

Over the course of 12 days the group visited clinics in Goondiwindi, Theodore, Emerald, and Stanthorpe, shadowing our specialists and medical team, hearing from some of the local healthcare teams on the ground, and gaining in-depth knowledge on the Heart of Australia program and the impact this service has in rural and remote communities.

They were also the first cohort to spend time on HEART 5 and see first-hand the possibilities that come with having a mobile radiology service on-site when conducting other clinics such as cardiology or neurology.

Of the experience, NextGen Medic student Stephanie said the program had been very inspiring.

“I had an incredible time meeting and working with Neurologists, Cardiologists, Radiographers, Sonographers, General Practitioners, and medical aides as well.”

“Being able to meet such inspirational patients who were so engaging and kind taught me so much, not only about their medical situations but also about their upbringing, towns, and families back home.”

“The trucks where each of the clinics were held was so inspiring to see. The modern technology which used to be a ‘12 hour plus drive’ for some of these patients to access was delivered right outside their homes which was incredible. We got to visit HEART 1, 4, and 5 over this trip and each of these trucks even in the couple of days I witnessed, had such a major impact on so many people’s health care.

“Overall, this incredible trip was so insightful and inspiring as I learnt so much about the medical field as well as the significant lack of rural health in so many Australian regions.”

A special thank you to our partners at Bayer for supporting the NextGen Medics Program.

Visiting Dawson Mine

Thank you to our partners at Anglo American who offered to take the students on a tour of their Dawson Mine. Not only did they get to see first-hand the operations of a mine site, but it was a great opportunity for them to engage with one of our partners at a grass roots level.