Approximately 80 third-year Charles Sturt University (CSU) paramedic students attended Macquarie Care Centre in Bathurst this week to gain practical experience assessing elderly patients. The students took baseline sets of observations for about 20 residents, and interviewed them about their life, medications, and cardiac history. Ms Sonja Maria, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to spend time with elderly patients, a group which is the main client in the ambulance industry. This reciprocal exchange has been warmly received and we look forward to together building a stronger relationship in future.”

A new Charles Sturt University (CSU) 'trauma car', which has been designed and constructed to enable paramedic students to practice extrication of injured people from vehicles following road accidents, will be unveiled at the Community Careers and Recruitment Fair in Penrith on Saturday 4 May. Mr Sandy MacQuarrie, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The new trauma car will form the backdrop for showcasing the very interesting career of paramedics when five final-year paramedic students and I participate at the Community Careers and Recruitment Fair in Penrith tomorrow. We are always interested in sharing information and insights into the range of careers paramedics can pursue, and our students will be able to talk about their experiences in the program. The trauma car was specially constructed for us by apprentices at TAFE Western in Dubbo, NSW. We trialled it during a recent residential school in Bathurst for postgraduate paramedic students, and it surpassed all expectations.”

The annual FACTS Day (Facts About Careers and Tertiary Study) for Year 12 high schools students across the Central West will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 9 May. FACTS Day is organised by the Central West Careers Advisers Association to assist students explore their future career and employment opportunities. Prospective Student Adviser at CSU, Ms Fran Dwyer, said, “Approximately 1 000 Year 12 students from schools in Bathurst, Lithgow, Kandos, Oberon, Blayney, Cowra, Canowindra, Orange, Molong and Wellington will seek information from about 120 representatives of more than 60 career and employer organisations, including universities, private providers, TAFE, Centrelink, police, and other government agencies. FACTS Day provides regional final-year high school students the opportunity to speak with a range of educational providers, and hear a motivational speaker. It is also an opportunity for students to experience Charles Sturt University by attending the campus, which some schools will tour.”

Railway experts and community representatives will discuss the potential for redevelopment of freight lines in regional NSW at the Regional Rail Revival seminar in Blayney on Friday 10 May. The seminar is hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU), Blayney Shire Coun­cil and Lachlan Regional Transport Committee, with the support of Cowra, Harden, Weddin, and Young Shire Councils. Adjunct Associate Professor Ian Gray, from the CSU Institute for Land, Water and Society in Wagga Wagga, said, “Participants will hear how interstate and overseas railways have been revived for national and local benefit. Regional areas suffer from high freight costs which constrain economic development, and councils are expected to take up the burden of increased road maintenance. The seminar will provide an update on the initiative by five local government areas that now sees the NSW government considering reviving the railway line south from Blayney to Demondrille, and how this rail model can be applied in different situations.”

Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC, CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst as part of her visit to the city on Tuesday 14 May. Her Excellency will be welcomed to the University by the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Andrew Vann, and Professor David Wilson, Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, when she arrives at the CSU Dental Clinic at 12 noon. After a tour of the clinic, Ms Bryce will meet other senior CSU executives, nursing staff and students at The Grange Chancellery for lunch to mark International Nurses’ Week. At 1.10pm Her Excellency will tour the campus and will officially open the Inter-Professional Clinical Simulation Centre (building W11). Her Excellency will depart CSU at 2pm.

Members of the Bathurst Business Chamber and senior executives of Charles Sturt University (CSU) will welcome Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC, CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and Mr Bryce, when they host them at the monthly business forum to be held at the University in Bathurst at 6pm today, Tuesday 14 May. The acting Executive Dean of the CSU Faculty of Business, Professor Robert Coombes, said, “We are delighted that the ‘Business After Hours’ forum of the Bathurst Business Chamber was scheduled to be held at Charles Sturt University today and that it coincides with Her Excellency’s visit to the city. This is a wonderful opportunity for Her Excellency to meet local businesspeople and to hear of their enterprises, initiatives and aspirations.” Professor Coombes will be joined by CSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Garry Marchant, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Ken Dillon, as well as Mr Angus Edwards, president of the Bathurst Business Chamber, and members of the Bathurst business community. The ‘Business After Hours’ forum will be held at the Council Room at The Grange Chancellery at CSU in Bathurst.

The introduction of four hundred mixed recycling bins at Charles Sturt University (CSU)  in Bathurst has helped the University achieve its largest increase in recycling rates since it set targets in 2006. An assessment of CSU’s waste management in 2012 showed 35 per cent of waste was recycled, up from 28 per cent in 2011. “This significant increase is mostly due to the roll-out of mixed recycling bins on the Bathurst campus,” CSU Green Acting Energy Manager Christopher O’Connor said. Additional bins with signage were purchased for kitchens and common rooms in residences to promote separation of waste materials as part of the scheme. Meanwhile, a trial system of office waste collection using colour-coded bins reduced landfill waste volume by 30 per cent. The system is now used at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Orange and Bathurst and is due to be rolled-out at CSU in Dubbo and Wagga Wagga in July. CSU Green is also looking into further recycling infrastructure in common areas, such as teaching spaces, and is investigating ways of separating organic waste from general waste, with an overall target of a 70 per cent recycling rate by 2014. “While it will be a challenge, I believe that with appropriate resources and with the right projects CSU can achieve this target,” Mr O’Connor said.

Four Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have organised a 'Hero Dash' fund-raising event in Bathurst for the NSW Cancer Council on Sunday 2 June. Ms Michaela Rath-May, a double-degree public relations and business student at the School of Communication and Creative Industries said, “The event is dedicated to cancer sufferers, survivors and carers - the real ‘Everyday Heroes’ making a selfless difference in their own lives and the lives of others. I and my fellow-students in the organizing team – Mr Jack Renshaw, Ms Libby Mellor and Ms Hailing Cheng - aim to raise at least $1 000, but we hope for a lot more. There are three optional events designed to suit all fitness levels: Cross Fit Challenge (highly active); Kids Boot Camp (moderately active under 14 years); and Participation Walk (any fitness level). We encourage everyone to come along and participate for a good cause.” Hero Dash will be held at Macquarie River Bicentennial Park, Bathurst, from 11.30am to 3pm on Sunday 2 June, and is part of Cancer Council NSW’s ‘Do your thing’ fundraising initiative, which encourages people to create their own fundraising run with the support of Cancer Council NSW. Registration is $10 per person, or $30 for a group of four. To register or find out more about Hero Dash visit the team’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Herodashbathurst.

More than 100 motorcyclists from the Far Riders club will arrive at Mount Panorama in Bathurst on Saturday 25 May to donate surplus or damaged gear to the Charles Sturt University (CSU) paramedic program for use in student simulation exercises. Mr Brian Haskins, lecturer in the paramedic program at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “The bikers are due to arrive by about 11.30am and will do a lap of the Mount and then gather for a group photo at the Start-Finish line in Pit Straight where they will present the donated equipment – boots, jackets, helmets, gloves. They will be joined by other donors, Ms Cherelyn Chapman and Mr Andrew Carnegie-Smith, who both donated cars that will be modified for use in student extrication exercises. I’ll be there with the new CSU paramedic trauma car to collect the equipment in, and I’ll present certificates of appreciation to the donors. On Saturday afternoon, I will show the CSU Inter-Professional Simulation Centre to some of the donors, including Mr Philip Lennon, who is an Australian specialist in the removal of helmets from injured riders.”