Jessie Smith's Colleagues at Rural and Remote Medical Services (RARMS)
Jessie Smith's Contact Details
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Rural and Remote Medical Services (RARMS)
Jessie Smith's Company Details
Rural and Remote Medical Services Ltd is the largest non-government provider of general practice and secondary healthcare services in rural and remote NSW. Established as a charity in 2001, RARMS operates the "Easy Entry, Gracious Exit" model of general practice, ie the "Walk in-walk out" approach. RARMS has grown considerably in recent years from its humbling beginnings to an organisation with an operating budget of $13million and now provides vital primary and secondary health care health services in 10 rural and remote towns across NSW. RARMS employs some 120 people, engages 25 permanent GP/VMOs and provides health services to some 25,000 individual patients each year, including 5,835 Indigenous patients. Spanning the Hunter, Central West, Remote NSW and Southern NSW regions, RARMS operates in some of the most socially and geographically disadvantaged communities in NSW. This includes three of the Local Government Areas which feature in the top 10 towns of socio-economic disadvantage. Brewarrina, Walgett and Coonamble Shires are ranked 1, 3 and 5 respectively according to the Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA). Ensuring our communities have access to bulk-billed GP services wherever possible (ie no-out-of pocket GP costs) across a very sparse population is expensive, challenging, yet equally rewarding knowing we are making a significant positive impact to the health and wellbeing of those communities. RARMS welcomes the support and involvement of businesses, communities and civic leaders in promoting our work to improve health service access and outcomes for rural, remote and Indigenous Australians.