http://www.nationalruralhealthconference.org.nz/nrhc15 

 People who have an interest in the health and wellbeing of rural communities will find substantial benefit from spending time at the National Rural Health Conference 2015 in Rotorua this year. 

 Rural communities are high needs communities, they have populations that are characterised by a high proportion of Maori, and poor socioeconomic profile. 

New Zealander of the year Lance OSullivan’s opening keynote will highlight some of the positive things that are being done in rural communities to address the gaps between mainstream and Maori New Zealanders.  This will be followed by Health Minister Jonathon Coleman who I am sure will talk about the current direction of travel of government policy and how initiatives like Alliancing are impacted on the way services are delivered. 

 The conference has clinical, research, management, hospital and community streams that reflect the pressures and issues that face rural health providers and communities.

Farmers, local government officers, rural business owners, NGOs and others will find specific conference presentations that will open opportunities and address the pressures they face in their daily lives. 

 Dr William Rolleston , National President of Federated Farmers will chair two presentations and workshops  about health and safety reforms implemented by WorkSafe NZ and the implications for rural businesses and workers, and around mental health issues, which remain a significant pressure in rural New Zealand. 

 Rural Communities in New Zealand have been referred to as “zombie towns” recently by an influential economic expert, to counter this world view Dr Ernesto Sirolli is coming back to New Zealand to present and run a workshop focussed on building community resilience and developing the economies of small communities.  Ian Proudfoot of KPMG will present on how rural communities can best equip themselves to deliver to global food markets. 

 New Zealand relies heavily on rural communities for its economic health, and the health of those  communities is vital to enable an effective workforce. All rural communities need to look at ways of futureproofing their rural health provider teams and leading rural educationalists will talk about how we ensure that we maximise training opportunities in rural communities. 

 What is amazing is that this is all on day one, and it represents only a small reflection of the opportunities the conference will offer to delegates. 

 Day two has more opportunities to work with Dr Sirolli on how to grow local economies,  inspiring stories from rural health students, developing sustainable health services, shifting services closer to home, challenges for Maori providers, technological advances in rural communities,  and how we best advocate for equitable sustainable services. 

 It is going to be a busy weekend – if you have an interest in the health and wellbeing of your community and want to socialise and network with like minded others – make time to be there !