Gerry Phillips
Gerry gave a presentation on the work of Rotary Oceanic Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) which began as the idea of Barry Cooper from the Rotary Club of Kangaroo Flat in 1985 as part of an outreach team of volunteer surgeons and back up staff which went to Fiji to treat local children with cleft palates or lips and found there were many children too sick to be treated where they lived. ROMAC, which is a significant Rotary program, began when Rotary clubs in Victoria began sponsoring children from the Pacific region to be brought to Australia for treatment by some of our most eminent surgeons who generously donated their services. There are tight parameters on the number of cases which can be treated due to constraints on resources and capacity. Gerry’s presentation focussed on several children who had been treated in Australia under ROMAC and the difference it had made to their lives. A side benefit is the experience surgeons and staff acquire from treating conditions not usually seen in Australia. Last year 35 were treated in Australia and New Zealand. The big challenge is finding funds to continue the program as hospitals struggle to allocate facilities.