President David welcomed all to Rotary especially our guests,Jenny Trenery, Margaret Ross & our guest speaker Dr Eric Fairbank.

Members Announcements

Delia

Lift the Lid -Saturday & Sunday @ Bunnings Warehouse. We will be manning the Raffle on Sunday . Thank you to Cathy, Tony, Lou K. & Ian C.

Warrnambool District Community Hospice is asking for volunteers to assist at the Art Auction Dinner —helping out with dishes, waiting, set up. Needed from 5.30pm till 8.30pm at the Sports pavillion @ Deakin Uni. Please let Delia know if you can help.

Anne

The Fashion Parade was a great succes. It went really well as an evening show. We raised around $3000. Thank you to our models —Terry, George & Joey. The next Fashion Parade will be in April 2020.

Svet

The next Days For Girls sewing session will be on Sunday 3 November from 1pm till 5pm.

FINES

John Hunt managed to fine the football fans & Moyne Shire residents.

Guest speaker

Chair person Jerry introduced our Guest Speaker Dr Eric Fairbank

After 18 years in country General Practice Dr Fairbank decided to pursue an interest in Palliative Care, and gained qualifications through Flinders University. In 1986 he was instrumental in establishing the Warrnambool Base Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit of which he was the Director for the next 27 years until his retirement in 2013.

In 2012 Dr Fairbank, and his wife Margaret, received a Victorian Rural Doctor Award for over 35 years of service to the local community. In 2013 Dr Fairbank was honoured to receive an Order of Australia Award, and a Victorian Public Health Award for assisting hundreds of people prepare for their end of life care.

Since its inception in 2010 Dr Fairbank has been a member of the Warrnambool & District Community Hospice Inc committee, and continues to be actively involved in their Hospice in the Home program.

Dr Eric spoke about how important it is to to have a plan about your death before it happens and how you canhave control of what happens to you and how and where you die.

Monday is Dying to Know Day. and Dr Fairbank says it is the perfect opportunity for people to begin thinking about their last wishes. He said the charity group GroundSwell project began Dying to Know Day to raise the importance of talking about and preparing for death. ‘To die well requires thought & planning. It’s something that tends to be put off until another day, or until the moment is right. Then, all of a sudden there is a crisis, decisions have to be made & wishesoften go out the window, he said.

Dying & death are an inevitable part of life, so it makes sense to make it as easy as possible for both yourself and your family.Most peolpe would like to die at home but only 15% manage it, due to lack of preparation and knowledge.

Research from GroundSwell Project shows that doctors die differently because they know there is a limit to what can be achieved through medical interventions towards the end of life. They know their rights when it comes to refusing unwanted procedures & withdrawing treatments that only serve to prolong the dying process. Most doctors know that earlypallative care leads to significant improvements in both quality of life & mood, with less aggressive care at the endof life, but longer survival. They are more likely to die in the comfort of their own homes ,surrounded by their family & friends.

Dr Fairbank said that with the right planning, this knowledge and rights can be available to everyone.There is a booklet you can obtain ,free of charge “Take Control” from Legal Aid in Fairy St , which helps you with this process.

There will be a workshop on October 25 @ 10am & November 16 @ 7pm at Archie Graham Centre.—-You will be inspired to complete an end of life plan, a life review, a death plan, and a funeral plan. There is a template for gathering all the necessary information need to finalise your affairs after death

President David thanked Eric on a most interesting & thought provoking talk.

Next weeks guest will be Ella Titmus-RYSF-Brisbane 2020

There will be NO ROTARY MEETING ON TUESDAY 15 OCTOBER  as we will be meeting on THURSDAY 17 OCTOBER at the Footy Club 6.00pm for 6.15pm with the East Rotary Club members to meet our District Governor Rosanne Kava. —-

——-Apologies to David please if you won’t be at the meeting——-