With children counting down the days until Easter, Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dental and Oral Health Clinic  dentist Dr Ying Shi Chang asks parents to remember the importance of children’s teeth. “Everyone loves indulging in some chocolate at Easter time,” says Dr Chang, “but it’s also a good time to book in a dental check-up for the family.” Dr Chang recommends parents make the most of the CSU Dental and Oral Health Clinic. “The Clinic is large, colourful and friendly so it’s perfect for young children. As well as professional dentists, third year Bachelor of Dental Science students are available to clean children’s teeth and teach the importance of regular brushing and flossing.” To book an appointment at the CSU Dental and Oral Health Clinic call 1300 278 642.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is taking a closer look at garbage as part of an annual environmental scorecard tracking resource use and greenhouse gas emissions from the institution. The scorecard is produced by CSU Green , and this year’s features more information about waste at the University. The report found almost 16 000 cubic metres of waste was produced in 2010 and more than 75 per cent went into landfill. Acting Manager of CSU Green, Mr Edward Maher, says in the past waste was viewed simply as a cost for the organisation. “A lot of hard work has gone into understanding more about where the waste is coming from and what types of materials it contains,” Mr Maher said. “From here there is real scope to implement avoidance, reuse and recycling initiatives that will ultimately result in less waste to landfill.”   CSU has set a target for 2014 to recover 70 per cent of its solid waste rather than send it to landfill. The environmental scorecard also shows that despite construction of new facilities, CSU’s greenhouse gas emissions are steady and water consumption is nearly half that used in 2006.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) veterinarian said the Hendra virus is very unlikely to pose an immediate risk for horse owners in southern NSW. However, senior lecturer in Equine Medicine with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Dr Kris Hughes, said a confirmed case of the Hendra virus at Wollongbar on the north coast does serve as a warning for all horse owners, veterinarians and other individuals dealing with horses in the region to be vigilant. “The risk is very low given our geographical location, but people should be aware of any changes in their horses’ behaviour, neurological signs and respiratory signs,” he said. The Hendra virus is transmitted to horses by flying foxes and is known to emerge only in autumn and winter in Queensland and northern NSW. In rare cases it can be transmitted from horses to humans and four of the seven people ever diagnosed with the virus have died. Dr Hughes hopes a vaccine being developed by the Australian Animal Health Laboratory will be available and widely distributed next year.

Staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst are being encouraged to sign up for the Red Cross 2011 Inter-campus Blood Donation Challenge when the mobile donor unit visits the campus from Monday 14 to Thursday 17 March. The Head of Campus in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, said, “Charles Sturt University is happy to encourage such a competition. The activity is entirely consistent with the University’s desire to see CSU students contribute to the broader society and develop their sense of social responsibility.” Mr Brendan McIlveen, a final-year paramedic student at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences, said that the competition aimed to see which CSU campus can donate the most blood to save the most lives. “Just one blood donation can help save the lives of three people, so with hundreds of potential donations from people at the University we may be able to save the lives of thousands. As well as this, blood donations assist medical research and can be used to treat patients in emergencies and disasters. It takes less than an hour to make a donation and it’s a wonderfully practical thing to do to assist others in need,” Mr McIlveen said.

A critically acclaimed program to reduce the incidence of antisocial and dangerous behaviours among young people will be launched in the NSW central west with a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Monday 7 February. The Manager of Residential Operations at CSU in Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo, Mr James Kelly, said, “Putting Youth in the Picture is a unique educational program that has been developed in regional Queensland to help communities deal with issues confronting youth. This program uses a series of authentic but confronting movie scenarios to show how young people can become involved in life altering incidents as a result of poor decision making. The issues presented and discussed include sexual assault, a bar-room fight, use of illegal recreational drugs, binge drinking and underage drinking at a party featuring all of these behaviours. This program is about peer-to-peer education delivered in a way that youth understand, which is in line with current government literature, and how one bad decision can change their life. The University intends to offer this program to not only its students, but as a regional engagement initiative, extend this to communities in the central west.”

The Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, welcomed the NSW Minister for Lands, the Hon. Mr Tony Kelly, MLC, to the campus in Bathurst on Monday 31 January to formally approve a change to the ‘public purpose’ of CSU land to allow the University to commence formal negotiations with Day Procedures Australia Pty Ltd to establish a private hospital on the campus. “This is an important step in the development of Charles Sturt University’s planned new Medical School and will enable us to provide high quality training for students in a busy clinical environment,” Professor Goulter said. The University has been in discussions with Day Procedures Australia, which operates the Bathurst Private Hospital and Orange Day Surgery Centre, to lease land on the campus for a new private hospital development. The hospital will be built in a new Health Education Precinct on the campus in Bathurst, alongside the new Dental and Oral Health Clinic and CSU’s planned Primary Health Clinic, and will include two surgical theatres and a 20 bed ward, with radiography, pathology and other services. It will provide services to the Bathurst and central western communities, and expand clinical training opportunities for students enrolled in CSU’s planned medical program and existing health science courses.

With a strong collaborative relationship already established between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), the partnership will be extended on Wednesday 21 April when APA representatives meet the first students at CSU in Orange. “Although the APA have visited Physiotherapy students at CSU in Albury for a number of years, we now offer Physiotherapy at the Orange Campus and the APA were eager to meet the new students,” lecturer Ms Kerstin McPherson said.  “A fourth year Charles Sturt University physiotherapy student is currently a member of the APA National Student Committee and we hope that a representative from the Orange Campus can be included on the committee in the future.” The APA visitors will meet with CSU students and lecturers, tour the CSU campus and enjoy a barbecue lunch.

Three universities in New South Wales will bring an information road show about going to university to regional schools to give senior high school students a better understanding of tertiary education. The University Road Show comprises Charles Sturt University (CSU), Southern Cross University and the University of New England. Students will get the chance to discover more about university life and potential career paths when the University Road Show visits schools in the New England, North Coast, Hunter, Central West and Blue Mountains regions during March. Now in its tenth year, the University Road Show will visit more schools than ever before, sharing information with around 5 000 students at 120 schools. CSU Prospective Student Adviser Ms Katy Fardell said, “By pooling resources, Charles Sturt University, Southern Cross University and the University of New England are able to provide excellent advice to students in one visit, maximising the study options presented to students while minimising the amount of time students need to be away from the classroom.”

Australia’s population is ageing rapidly and Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr Rylee Dionigi, a Fellow with the CSU Centre for Inland Health Research, is interviewing Bathurst residents as part of collaborative research about factors affecting physical activity among older adults in Australia and Canada. Dr Dionigi said, “Ageing is generally discussed with the empahasis on the declining body, and the research will inform future policies on healthy ageing. It asks people about their current leisure activities, what dissuades them from regular physical activity, their definition of ‘healthy ageing’ and expectations of the ageing process. I am particularly interested in the meaning older people attach to their physical activity or lack thereof in relation to current health promotions and stereotypes of older age. I hope this research encourages policy makers to heed the outcomes of small scale interpretive studies which will lead to greater understanding and tolerance of later life in general.”