Flinders University’s ability to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health initiatives, including the training of doctors, nurses and other health professionals, has been lifted to a new level following a $10 million endowment from philanthropist Mr Greg Poche AO.
Flinders Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Barber said the University was delighted to announce that the endowment will enable Poche Centres for Indigenous Health to be established in both Alice Springs and Adelaide.
The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health in Alice Springs will link with the new Northern Territory Medical Program, being led by Flinders University, in partnership with Charles Darwin University, which aims to significantly increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people studying in the Northern Territory to become doctors.
The initiative, which will allow Territory students to undergo their entire medical training in the NT, is expected to see up to 40 doctors graduate in the Territory each year as a result of the program.
“This extremely generous commitment by Mr Poche will allow a number of important education and research initiatives that will, over time, deliver positive health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Professor Barber said.
“The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health in Alice Springs will support and develop the knowledge and skills of the health professionals working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and communities,” he said.
The $10 million endowment by Mr Poche – who established the first Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at The University of Sydney in 2008 as the first step towards a national network of centres – will support the new entities in both Alice Springs and Adelaide.
The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health in South Australia, to be based at Flinders University in Adelaide, will harness the University’s teaching and research programs to achieve an increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying medicine, nursing and other health profession courses.