During 2025 NAIDOC staff at Northeast Health Wangaratta (NHW) had an opportunity to participate in a group weaving activity. This activity built on weaving activities held in 2023 and 2022, but with significant changes implemented by the Aboriginal Liaison Officer (ALO) Jennine Lane (Gunaikurnai).
Jennine’s role is an important front-line position supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients who access NHW. Based on organisational policy the Aboriginal Health Team are notified when an Indigenous patient chooses to identify. As emphasised by leadership of NHW, the identification process is more than data collection. It is an important part of providing culturally safe care. It shows the organisational and leadership commitment to the Yorta Yorta Nation (including Bpangerang Tribe) and the Indigenous community residing on the Country where the hospital sits. This process is patchwork across the hospital and is a significant piece of work that the CEO has recognised the value of investing in.
Previously the NAIDOC activities which incorporated weaving were implemented on a single day at a specific time in one location. From a non-Indigenous view, they were successful. It reflected the view that NAIDOC was a time of celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. In contrast while the Aboriginal Health Team were pleased with the outcome something didn’t sit right with Jennine. She identified that frontline health workers, a key group of NHW staff, were less able to attend due to the nature of their roles. This was significant to Jennine as they play an important role in the direct care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. These individuals are a key part of whether Indigenous patients experience culturally safe care. They are integral in the ALO being notified quickly of the patient arrival and care needs.
Decades of data and evidence globally show that Indigenous people find mainstream health services, particularly hospitals, significantly unsafe. This influences decisions to delay or avoid care which can result in significant health outcomes including death.
In 2025 Jennine took the lead in the weaving activity implementation. She altered the activity to ensure inclusion of all NHW staff. Her method was to work with a Torres Strait Islander community member to create over 40 small weaving “starting points” (see photograph on page 3). These starting points were then distributed across the organisation staff rooms, including the Aged Care facility which is at another location. This step meant that it moved from a single activity to an activity that staff could access anytime over a month.
During distribution, Jennine identified key individuals across NHW whom she had a relational connection with. She would deliver the weaving direct to them explaining the process and seeking their support to engage their colleagues in the activity. Each week as she engaged her patients she would check in on progress. Alongside this when seen around the hospital people would seek her out to talk about their weaving contributions. The final goal is to weave the individual pieces together to a large piece that will be displayed in a prominent place in NHW.
Activities like these are more than a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and community. They are an opportunity to expose the broader staff to the presence of the Aboriginal Health Team at NHW. Jennine’s changes in 2025 show her recognition of the people who play the most immediate role in the care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. The decision to approach individuals known by name applies the idea of diffusion of knowledge through networks. By naming individuals, she has an existing connection with who she could approach to be a champion of weaving she increases the chances of both participation but the ability for her to meet more frontline workers who provide care to Indigenous patients.
Weaving as a process involves specific steps, repeating these steps, but adaption to the materials along the way. It is an intricate process that after a period becomes second nature. In her role as an ALO Jennine applies steps within the hospital system but adapts along the way to implement her relational style. The hospital’s focus is the health outcomes of all patients, and through her relational way of working, Jennine achieves this.
Note: In this document the terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Indigenous are used. In this case Indigenous is used to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a group and is used reflecting language used by the Aboriginal Health Team in this location.
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