The West Coast Eagles have thrown their support behind a health initiative striving to reduce the instance a heart attacks and cardiovascular disease among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.
The Lighthouse Project, founded by the Heart Foundation and the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association, intends to tackle the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.
At present, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are three times more likely to have a heart attack and are dying from cardiovascular disease at almost twice the rate of non-Indigenous Australians.
Research also shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have poorer access to services that can effectively diagnose and treat acute coronary syndromes. When compared with other patients Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients are twice as likely to die from coronary heart disease while in hospital and are less likely to receive angiograms, angioplasty or stent procedures.
West Coast Eagles indigenous liaison officer Phil Narkle, players Malcolm Karpany, Willie Rioli, Lewis Jetta and Liam Duggan, plus coaches Jaymie Graham and Adrian Hickmott met key stakeholders of the Lighthouse Project at Subiaco Oval recently.
Narkle said the club was proud to endorse the Lighthouse Project, which is already operating at 18 hospitals across Western Australia.
“We want Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people to have the same access to healthcare as non-indigenous Australians,” he said.
“We want them to receive the necessary tools, care and advice to lead a healthy lifestyle.”
Heart Foundation WA cultural lead Lyn Dimer said it was a huge coup to get West Coast on side with the Lighthouse Project.
“By practising eating healthy, being physically active, spending time with your people but also remaining true to culture is such an important message and you give that to the community”, Dimer said.
West Coast’s public support of The Lighthouse Project achieves one of the club’s Reconciliation Action Plan goals: to improve the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal people and reduce the inequalities that currently exist in society.
