Emerton Amcal + Pharmacy
“Marrin is a safe space and we provide an extension of that safe space here in our pharmacy to Marrin clients.”
Too Deadly For Diabetes - diabetes care for Marrin Weejali clients
Too Deadly for Diabetes founder Ray Kelly and his team work closely with Marrin Weejali clients and related health care professionals in the Western Sydney community.
“The work Marrin Weejali does helps us to better engage with people needing diabetes care and our work helps Marrin Weejali to improve the health outcomes of their clients.”
Hailing from Gomeroi Country near Tamworth, Ray is a leading Indigenous health professional. He spent his formative years in Mount Druitt and relishes his role as part of the Marrin Weejali Outreach Team.
Ray has more than 29 years of experience in the health and sports industries, is a qualified exercise physiologist, health and physical education teacher and sports scientist and is committed to reducing the impact of chronic disease on Aboriginal people to improve their health outcomes.
His work with Marrin Weejali clients takes into account their personal healthcare requirements and allows him to tailor the program to suit differing client needs.
Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease
“The difference with our program is the community is involved right from the start. The results come through very quickly and this motivates clients to continue to implement the changes the program teaches them to make.”
Too Deadly for Diabetes is a 10-week lifestyle intervention program focused on reversing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease for Marrin Weejali’s clients.
The program includes:
- Weekly meal plans and healthy recipes
- Weekly check-ins for support and progress
- A self-paced light exercise program.
The program is suitable for clients with diabetes or heart disease or at risk of developing these conditions.
Reversing Type 2 Diabetes in the Indigenous Community
“Lifestyle change has always been the first line of treatment for Type 2 diabetes and we try to work on an individual level to help implement realistic lifestyle changes that can be maintained.
It has been proven that Type 2 diabetes can be reversed for many and for those who it cannot be reversed in, greatly improved.”
Ray’s research into reversing Type 2 diabetes in the Indigenous community informs the way he structures his programs, the manner in which he relates to clients and the outreach work he does with providers like Marrin Weejali Aboriginal Corporation.
A big part of the Too Deadly for Diabetes program is assisting communities to reduce the number of those with diabetes who progress to insulin dependence – changing the statistics and outcomes for the person living with diabetes and their entire surrounding community.
In Indigenous communities in particular, Ray works to close the gap for Aboriginal people with or at risk of developing diabetes or heart disease who are seeking guidance with their chronic health conditions.
Aboriginal community health
“You can have the best doctors and nurses, but if you don’t have people who understand the local community and are invested emotionally within the local community, then you won’t get the level of engagement you need.”
Too Deadly for Diabetes focuses on a two-pronged approach to making an impact by working face-to-face both with program participants in the community and their health care workers such as doctors, nurses and allied health professionals through educational seminars.
Ray runs programs online and in medical centres that assist health professionals to develop an understanding of the health concerns facing Indigenous Australians and the ways in which they can build engagement with the Aboriginal community to achieve better health outcomes.
Working with Marrin Weejali
“The main thing about Marrin is the way its staff are invested in the local community.
They work hard to run successful programs specifically for their people and they have fantastic community engagement – and nothing matters as much as community engagement when it comes to enacting change.”
Ray has been working with Marrin Weejali through his Too Deadly for Diabetes program for several years, citing the ‘lived experience’ of staff as integral to the success of their own alcohol and drug misuse programs and adjunct programs like his own.
“The culture at Marrin Weejali really comes from the top with Tony, and they employ people who can make an instant community connection with their clients in a culturally safe environment.”
Find out more about our programs
The team at Marrin Weejali Aboriginal Corporation can help you to seek the assistance of the Too Deadly for Diabetes program if you are living with diabetes or heart disease or are at risk of developing either of these conditions.
Marrin Weejali’s support services work to address the whole person, providing help and kinship for alcohol and drug misuse issues and for social, emotional and health-related concerns.
If you wish to find out more about joining us, fill out our referral form or contact us today.
It’s good to see you at Marrin Weejali.
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