Dr Rolf Gomes - Cardiologist
With "Heart of Australia" Truck
(Source:
ABC
Australian Story)
Dr Rolf Gomes is a Brisbane-based electrical engineer turned cardiologist who founded Heart of Australia, a revolutionary mobile clinic designed to mobilise specialist cardiology healthcare technology for people living in rural and remote Queensland. With the support of his wife and a hefty mortgage on their home, they launched the first Heart of Australia bus.
Introduction
Dr. Rolf Gomes is an Australian cardiologist. He founded Heart of Australia, an organisation that delivers specialist medical services (currently cardiac and respiratory health) to people in rural Queensland using large trucks to carry the diagnostic and treatment equipment normally only available in cities.
Dr Gomes came to Australia as a child, his parents bringing the family from Calcutta after the death of their oldest son. “My dad stepped off a plane with $200, four suitcases and four children to come to a country so his kids could have a better life,” Dr Gomes tells Australian Story [ABC].
Early Life
Dr Rolf Gomes' parents migrated from Calcutta [now Kolkata] when he was nine years old. “I remember catching a rickshaw to school back in Calcutta when I was eight years old and seeing beggars and kids sitting on planks of wood and carpet riddled with polio.
(Source:
TripAdvisor)
He grew up in Melbourne's East St Kilda in 1982 when it was still a
“relatively rough neighbourhood.”
He remembers loving his new life in Australia “I was nine years old. I loved
television, traffic lights, and BMX Bikes!”
Dr Gomes is acutely aware that his parents left everything in Calcutta to
come to a country that offered more opportunity for their children “I
remember my father saying he stepped off the plane with 4 suitcases, 4
children, and $200.”
His gratitude for his life in Australia is unwavering, he praises it as
“such a fantastic country,” and the sacrifices his parents made are not lost
on him.
You suddenly realise what a different world you are in and how lucky you
are to be here!”
His childhood experiences in a third-world country contributed to him having
such gratitude for his lifestyle, country, and his ability to do what he was
doing. These early experiences inspired Gomes to make a life around giving
back.
Education
Dr. Gomes originally graduated in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from University of Melbourne [1992 - 1996] and worked for a petrochemical company before leaving to pursue a career in medicine.
He graduated from the University of Queensland [ 1998 -
2001] with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery after
which he completed his cardiology specialty training at the Prince Charles
and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospitals. Dr Gomes is a Fellow of the
Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian Medical
Association.
Opportunities & Experiences
The Heart Bus.
The Heart Bus launched in 2014 but it
had taken 5 years since Rolf thought of this concept. The bus is fitted with
all the specialist equipment of a city practice, and covers 8000 kilometres
of outback Queensland a month, visiting 12 regional towns.
Heart Bus routes
(Source:
Heart of Australia)
“Studying engineering previously is instilled in your
being. Engineers, they like to make things happen” Gomes explained. The idea
had come to him whilst working as a junior doctor in the regional areas. He
noticed firsthand the lack of services and wondered how he could bring
specialists with their equipment out here.
“For cardiology, it’s not just a stethoscope; it’s a treadmill and stuff you
can’t fit into a suitcase and take on a plane - so why not the back of a
truck?” The engineer in him had asked.
“In engineering, you look at the problem and try to map out the steps and
what options you have in front of you to achieve that.”
The truck started off servicing five towns with 2 specialists, now they are
up to 33 towns and 23 specialists, and they are about to launch a 5th truck
complete with a CT Scanner
After six years of planning and construction, Rolf
designed and launched the first purpose-built, self-sufficient mobile
medical clinic in 2014. Wheelchair accessible and fully-airconditioned, it
provided several private clinic rooms, a testing room and a reception area
for patients.
In 2018, Rolf expanded Heart of Australia to a fleet of state-of-the-art
mobile medical clinics, offering a wide variety of specialist services to
outback and rural QLD communities. Two additional mobile clinics are
currently under construction.
As a result of his dedication and hard work, Heart of Australia has welcomed
more than 10,000 GP-referred patients on its 8,000km monthly visits, and is
now proudly servicing 22 bush communities throughout southwest and central
Queensland. It has saved the lives of over 400 rural Australians by
diagnosing previously undetected, critical cardiac conditions.
(Source:
Medworld)
Awards
Queensland Nominee Australian of the Year 2021
|
Did You Know? Dr Rolf Gomes is an electrical engineer turned cardiologist who founded Heart of Australia, a revolutionary mobile clinic designed to mobilise specialist cardiology healthcare technology for people in rural & remote Queensland. The 18-wheeler semi-trailer ‘clinic’, fondly known in the bush as ‘The Heart Truck’ was personally designed by Rolf.Drawing on his engineering skills as well as his medical training and experience, the Heart Truck carries all the must-have tools that Rolf believed were essential to be able to provide genuine, on-the-spot cardiology diagnosis, including stress test equipment. The Heart Truck travels 8,000kms (5,000 miles) each month to visit 13 communities throughout outback Queensland. The Heart Truck has (to date) welcomed more than 3,700 patients and saved more than 150 lives by diagnosing previously undetected, critical cardiac conditions. (Source: TED Talks) |
Links
 Heart
of Australia |
Australian
of the Year Awards 2021 |
Australian
Story [ABC] 18 July 2016
  |
Australian
Story: The Beat Goes On [ABC] 29 May 2017
 |
|
A
day in the life of a rurally placed senior medical student.
Stephanie Pommerel - and her time with Dr Gomes On the Wards: 10 February 2018 |
YouTube:
Game Changers in Conversation with Dr Rolf Gomes
[56m]https://youtu.be/OrulX1kdz4c
YouTube:
Bringing health equity to the bush | Rolf Gomes | TEDxBrisbanehttps://youtu.be/b3dCBxRtOMs
YouTube:
A Christmas Message from Dr Rolf Gomes - 2017https://youtu.be/H3vAoUl2frU
YouTube:
Driven - Heart of Australiahttps://youtu.be/x_eRnQiAoig
YouTube:
Heart of Australia Truck on Channel 7 Newshttps://youtu.be/cfiMEME6fXo
YouTube:
Better Together ft. Rolf Gomeshttps://youtu.be/M15ghAMJfo0
Where
does the "Heart of Australia" go?
Middle
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Literacy
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Numeracy
Cooperative
Learning Activity
1. In groups of 6 students, you are going to map out the routes that the trucks in Heart of Australia go!
Here is the original map but there have been new changes as more trucks have come onboard and more towns can be visited!
Wrap and look at each pairs' work. This will guarantee accuracy.
Heart Bus routes
(Source:
Heart of Australia)
| Towns and Communities on Heart Bus Routes [2022] | ||
| Heart 1 | Heart 2 | Heart 3 |
|
Emerald Stanthorpe Goondiwindi Hughenden Longreach Mareeba Middlemount Miles Moranbah Moura Palm Island |
Proserpine Quilpie Richmond Rolleston Roma Sarina Springsure St George Theodore Weipa Winton |
Ayr Banana Barcaldine Blackall Biloela Charleville Charters Towers Childers Cloncurry Cooktown Dalby |
2. Divide into 3 sets of pairs and select one trip only. Those pairs selecting Hearts 1 & 2 may find it easier but notice that there are added destinations too on these trips since the original map.
Heart 3 is a new route altogether!
3.
Teacher
- You will need to photocopy and
provide to students the following maps
Students
Look at the following and place a dot point in your route colour on each town your Heart of Australia truck will visit. The maps are different but useful so study them carefully.
A. Map of Queensland from the Qld Government.
B. Outback Queensland Map
4. Using Google Maps put in the towns you are visiting in order of the table. These towns might be all over the place and not in the most efficient order.
Work out which is the best way - the most efficient way that will save the truck driver from back tracking.
Hint. Put all the towns in first and then work out how to get there. Check using Google Maps distance function.
5. Using both these "flat" maps above as guidance, show the route that you have selected - Heart 1, Heart 2, or Heart 3. Make sure as a group you have decided on a different colour to display the different routes.
6. Once you have finished your overview route, you are to work out the different roads you will follow: A1 or maybe Pacific Coast Way then..... In other words, you have to nominate the route and the road names.
7. Swap routes and repeat what you have already done for a new route.
Discuss with original pair if you have decided on a new way to travel.
8. Go back to Google Maps and re-order the towns to be visited in the order you think is the most efficient. Note down the distances in kms.
a. What is the longest distance between towns on your route
b. What is the shortest distance between towns on your route
c. If the Heart of Australia truck visits each town once a month, as a team of 6, work out how long each route will take with some breaks for the Heart of Australia team.
8. Backroads is an ABC TV show that looks at the particular towns on a route A ---> B in country Australia.
You are going to use your expertise in ICT to create a travelogue through pictures. Select one of the Heart of Australia routes and investigate 3 Towns. Highlight what would interest you to visit and what would you like to learn more about.
Material sourced from
Australian of the Year
The Wesley
Hospital
News.com.au
Health Management
LinkIn
Wikipedia
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