Foundation Patron named one of 50 most influential people in Australian medicine
July 29, 2010The Patron of the Rural Health Education Foundation, Dr Tom Calma, has been named one of the 50 most influential people in Australian medicine by Australian Doctor magazine.
A special July 2010 edition of the respected publication featured Dr Calma, the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, among a list of 50 people who have “the greatest influence over general practice in Australia today”.
A positive influence on Indigenous life expectancy
Dr Calma’s inclusion in the list was due to his commitment to “close the gap on Indigenous health inequality”: Dr Calma was the founding chair of the Close the Gap Steering Committee, one of the key forces behind COAG’s historic 2008 commitment to bring Indigenous life expectancy in line with that of other Australians within a generation, and he is continuing his advocacy through his recent appointment as the head of a Closing the Gap initiative to tackle the high rates of smoking by Indigenous people.
“I’m honoured to be included in a list featuring so many distinguished and committed Australians,” said Dr Calma. “And I’m grateful for the added prominence that my nomination in Australian Doctor will give to my work with the Foundation, and with other organisations, on improving Indigenous health outcomes.”
Foundation program contributors also listed
Eleven other people on the medical magazine’s list of influential people - almost a quarter of those named - have appeared in educational television programs produced by the Rural Health Education Foundation in recent years:
- Dr Tony Hobbs (appeared in programs 1009b & 915)
- Dr Chris Mitchell (programs 1007, 605, 601 & 416)
- Dr Nola Maxfield (programs 919 & 909)
- Prof Mark Harris (programs 913a, 913b & 803)
- Dr Liz Marles (programs 910a & 910b)
- Prof Ian Frazer (program 604)
- Prof Ian Hickie (programs 505, 406, 307, 95 & 52)
- Prof Ian Olver (program 603)
- Prof Chris Del Mar (program 415)
- The Hon Tony Abbott (program 320)
- Dr Simon Willcock (program 203)
Tom Calma’s role with the Foundation
Tom Calma was appointed Patron of the Rural Health Education Foundation in April 2010. As Patron, he lends his support and assistance to further the mission of the Foundation in redressing the health inequality in rural and remote Australia. Dr Calma’s extensive experience in public administration, policy development, education and training provides the Foundation with tremendous scope to enhance its services and their delivery.
Dr Calma is an Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group whose traditional lands are south west of Darwin and on the Coburg Peninsula in the Northern Territory, respectively. He has been involved in Indigenous affairs at a local, community, state, territory, national and international level and worked in the public sector for 38 years.
A complete biography of Tom Calma is available in the “About Us” section of the Foundation’s website.