About Us

WHAT WE DO

Welcome

The Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (BRAMS) is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service which has been caring for the Broome community for more than 40 years. When we first opened our doors in 1977, BRAMS was the first remote Aboriginal Medical Service in Western Australia.
BRAMS provides comprehensive, holistic and culturally responsive primary health care, social and emotional wellbeing services, and NDIS support to Aboriginal people living in Broome. BRAMS delivers more than 40,000 of occasions of service each year.

BRAMS has an experienced team of health professionals, including Aboriginal Health Workers and Practitioners, GPs, Nurses, Psychologists, Social and Emotional Wellbeing Counsellors, NDIS support workers, and Public Health Officers who work together to improve health outcomes in the local community.

Our Vision

Healthy People ~ Strong Community ~ Bright Future

Our Mission

Provide holistic and culturally responsive health and wellbeing services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. That means making our Mob healthy.

Our Values

Respect

Treat one another and others with respect.

Integrity

Be truthful, honest and ethical in our dealing with one another and others.

Accountability

Take responsibility for what we do and the decisions we make.

Quality

Providing high quality services that meet the expectations of our clients and the community.

Quality Policy

The mission of Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (BRAMS) is to provide comprehensive, holistic and culturally responsive health and wellbeing services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Kimberley region.

To ensure we meet all regulatory and legislative standards, we operate and maintain a Quality Management System (QMS) complying with AS/NZS ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems’ requirements.

Our QMS covers all services and programs delivered by BRAMS, and applies to all employees.

It aligns with the values and strategic objectives of the organisation, and seeks to ensure we consistently provide best-practice primary healthcare and wellbeing services which exceed the expectations of our clients.

BRAMS does this by:

Using evidence-based and culturally-responsive practices
Empowering patients to engage in the management of their health needs
Communicating clearly and in a culturally-sensitive way
Consulting regularly with the local community to improve service delivery
Providing good governance and strong leadership
Respecting patient rights, including the right to privacy and confidentiality
Embedding BRAMS’ organisational values and ethos in all aspects of our work
Delivering services in line with the protocols of Aboriginal Community Control Health Services in Western Australia
Identifying opportunities to better support our clients
Committing to a culture of continual improvement, including through staff training and development.

By consulting regularly with the local community, and providing clear mechanisms for feedback from our patients, BRAMS is constantly evaluating its systems and services.

We have implemented the ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’ (PDCA) model which acts as a cyclical system to drive ongoing improvement throughout the organisation and its activities.

It commits BRAMS to sound, evidence-based processes to monitor, review and refine its practices and programs in order to enhance service delivery and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

These principles of quality are set by the Board, embedded in management, and flow throughout the organisation.

Their successful implementation is measured by the satisfaction of our clients and our capacity to respond to their needs and exceed their expectations.

Cassie Atchison

Chief Executive Officer

Governance

The BRAMS Board

BRAMS is a company incorporated under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (the CATSI Act).

BRAMS is governed by an Aboriginal Board of Directors, elected by the local Aboriginal community. The organisation’s governance arrangements are considered important in helping to build community capacity and community ownership towards improving health outcomes in the region.

The BRAMS Board consists of nine directors who are elected by the BRAMS Membership. The Board delegates the day-to-day management of the organisation to the Chief Executive Officer, as outlined in the BRAMS Rule Book and the BRAMS Corporate Governance Charter.

View the Corporate Governance Charter >> BRAMS Corporate Governance Charter

View the Role of >> Board vs Management vs Members document

Role of the Board vs Management vs Members

Timothy Garrett

Director

Diann Britton

Director

Kathleen Watson

Director

Philip Matsumoto

Director

Marie Cox

Director

Duane Tang Wei

Director

Regular Patients

Male Clients

Female Clients

Management

BRAMS employs a Chief Executive Officer and six Senior Managers with oversight of the organisation’s key functions.

Cassie Atchison

Chief Executive Officer

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Cassie was born and raised in Victoria and has spent the past decade working in regional and remote areas of NT and WA. She has more than 12 years’ experience working in senior and executive management roles in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, and has completed her Master of Business Administration. She is currently completing a Master of Human Rights.

Cassie has a three-year-old son and they love spending weekends at the beach and parks around Broome.

Janine Roe

Clinic Administration Manager

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Clinic Administration Manager Janine Roe is a born-and-bred Broome local and the mother of three children. She began working at BRAMS in 2003, making 2020 her 17th year with the organisation. Janine says she’s extremely proud of the work BRAMS does in caring for the local community.

“Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see BRAMS still providing deadly services for our Countrymen after all these years, especially during the tough times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s also a real privilege to work alongside the colleagues that I do.”

Dr Jonathan Blundell

Senior Medical Officer

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Jonno is one of BRAMS’ GPs. He’s passionate about encouraging people to change their habits and get healthier, advocating that people will feel much better, and live longer with an improved quality of life. Jonno says it’s a real privilege to be able to work at BRAMS with a wonderful team and community.

“I have a strong faith critical to all that I do. I am also an Englishman and so by nature I enjoy some of the finer things in life, like football (proper), tea, daylight saving, ODI Cricket and Brexit.” In his spare time, Jonno finds himself playing hide & seek and peek-a-boo, watching singing reading and dressing in anything Wiggles related, and answering the incessant question “Why?”. “I used to be a tad handy at anything sport-related; now I am just a complete nerd.”

Erina Tanaka

Corporate Services Manager

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Erina Tanaka comes from a small town in Wakayama, Japan. She has lived in Broome since the age of 18 months, having been relocated with her family during the pearling days when her father was a hard-hat diver. “The last 19 years of my life has been shared with my partner, who is of Nimunburr and Yawuru decent, and we have three children together.”

Since 2003, Erina has been privileged to be part of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector, working in the areas of finance, administration and HR. Persistence, dedication and passion has driven her to senior managerial roles in Finance and HR at BRAMS, and she is now the Corporate Services Manager. “During the 17 years of working for Aboriginal Primary Health Care, this has become a big part of my life. My passion is providing the best care possible, and ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the best access to health care. I have drive, passion and the commitment to the community, and also to the Elders to provide the best possible primary health care. I thrive on success and hope that I can help to make some impact in people’s lives.”

Delia Lawford

Practice Manager

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Delia Lawford is a local Aboriginal woman from Broome and the proud mother of two beautiful young boys. She has been employed at BRAMS for the past 12 years, first as an Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW) student back in 2007, and then as a full-time qualified AHW after completing the relevant course. Delia has since registered as an Aboriginal Health Practitioner, and after being promoted to Clinic Coordinator in 2017, she is now the BRAMS Practice Manager!

She has always had a passion for health, particularly Aboriginal health, and has always wanted to make a difference in the local community and do what she can to help ‘Close the Gap’. She says the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the incredible teamwork among BRAMS staff. “To see all the staff working together to protect our people and our community has been truly amazing and I am proud of us all. Working at BRAMS has been such a great experience, knowing that I work with people who are just as passionate about health as I am has made my time at BRAMS so much more enjoyable. I look forward to continuing working with these deadly people for many years to come.”

Melanie Prewett

NDIS Manager

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Melanie started work with BRAMS in October 2019 as Evidence Access and Planning Coordinator, helping people to understand and access the NDIS. This included assisting in getting Access Request forms completed, and collecting supporting evidence to help assess disability. Before moving back to Broome, she had been working in Geraldton as a Local Coordinator at Disability Services, so she was very excited to come to Broome and continue to assist people with disabilities to access the necessary supports and services.

“It’s a really exciting time for the NDIS team at BRAMS now that we are a registered NDIS provider. I’m really happy to be back in Broome, and enjoy spending time with family and friends when I’m not working.”

Cassandra Matsumoto

Population Health Manager

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Cassandra Matsumoto aka Sandi Matso. Sandi was born and raised in Broome. She enjoyed an active, sports-driven childhood that impacted on her life-long interest in the importance of health and fitness. Sandi possesses more than 20 years’ experience as an Aboriginal Health Worker. This has included practitioner roles in both rural and remote areas of the Kimberley, in addition to 5 years as a trained and qualified Aboriginal Health Worker Educator in the education and training sector.

Her experiences in these positions have highlighted the importance of providing holistic Aboriginal health worker led services. She is particularly passionate about promoting and supporting career opportunities for Aboriginal people in the area of community health.

Sandi is currently employed as the Health Promotions Manager at BRAMS. This role involves overseeing initiatives such as the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) and Social and Emotional Well-being (SEWB) programs. The aim of these programs is to provide outreach support, create partnerships with external organisations, with the ultimate goal of Closing the Gap.

Membership

Membership of BRAMS offers the local community the opportunity to become involved in the organisation and help shape its strategic direction.

Members are entitled to attend, speak and vote at Meetings; are eligible to be appointed or elected as a Director of BRAMS; and can put forward resolutions to be voted on at Meetings, among other benefits.

Who can apply to be a member

A person who is eligible to apply for membership must be an Individual who is:

at least eighteen years of age and an Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander person;
a permanent resident of the shire of Broome.

How to apply for Membership

The individual who wants to become a Member must apply to BRAMS.

The individual must complete the application form accompanied by the Membership Fee of $1.00 and lodge in person at the BRAMS Corporate Office.

Download Membership Form

Corporate Services

The Corporate Services division is the engine room of BRAMS, providing key internal functions which support the operation of the organisation.

These include:

Human Resources: Recruitment, employee relations, staff retention, and training.
Finance: Accounting, auditing, financial statements and reports.
Quality Management: Performance standards, quality control and improvement.
Work Health and Safety: OH&S
Marketing and Communications: Media relations, internal and external communications.
Purchasing: Supplies, orders, stock and inventory.
Asset Management: Investments, portfolio management, risk mitigation.

Strategic Plan

The BRAMS Strategic Plan provides an overarching framework for action to improve the health, wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Broome, now and over the next 5 years.

The plan focuses on three priority domains:

Our Consumers
Our People
Our Organisation

In order to achieve its targets, implementation of the Action Plan is driven by the Chief Executive Officer and overseen by the BRAMS Board of Directors.

The CEO works with Senior Managers to deliver the stated outcomes. A yearly performance report is presented to BRAMS members at each concurrent Annual General Meeting.