About One Stop Health

The idea…
The idea of One Stop Health came to me early last year and stuck firm and fast! My aim was to create a professional online health and wellbeing resource for the West Australian community and beyond. I wanted One Stop Health to not only serve as an online directory of resources but to strongly promote community networking and sustainable living practices.

Health and wellbeing…
The World Health Organization’s definition of health suggests that ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (WHO 1948). As individuals we are responsible for our health and wellbeing. One Stop Health can be used as a tool to pursue your individual health and wellbeing needs.

Health education and networking…
To further promote health education and networking I decided to open One Stop Health to West Australian practitioners for the publication of their health and wellbeing articles. The forum for this and also for community health related news is One Stop Health’s fortnightly ‘community news and reviews’ page.

Responsiveness…
I welcome your perspectives on One Stop Health and what you as a community would like from this as a resource. I aim for One Stop Health to be dynamic, receptive and responsive to your health information needs.

A little about me…
My interest in health must have really hatched when my younger brother was born with a serious lung disease when I was 7 years old. For many schooling years I imagined becoming a doctor, only to find after 2 years of medicine that it was not for me. From that point I have spent most of my adult life studying and I still am! First naturopathy and then forays into wider health science areas- sociology and anthropology continue to fascinate me. I love travel and particularly like learning about other cultures- their customs, perceptions and practices regarding health. I work for myself as a naturopath and have for over a decade now. I learnt a huge amount about the human being- health, life and death- when aged 27 years I lost my late husband Stuart to Melanoma Cancer. I was 7 months pregnant with our daughter Ella. Such a massive experience broadened my understandings of health and wellbeing at a very hands on level. I am grateful to Stuart for these lessons he shared with me so stoically and for the richness he added to my life and to the lives of so many others. I love nothing more than pottering in my vegetable garden (particularly when the sun is out), being at the beach, cooking healthy but tasty food for friends (gourmet pizzas with ingredients from the vegie patch are my specialty), reading and learning, getting to the wide open spaces of the family farm, animals and appreciating the infinite wonders of the world.

With thanks…
Creating One Stop Health has been a fantastic experience for me. I am grateful to those of you who have listed on the site and have been continually encouraging in your comments as the project has developed. The best part about making One Stop Health a reality has been meeting so many inspiring new people along the way! Thank you!

Thanks to my continually supportive family, especially my daughter Ella, who has been awfully patient with me typing away endlessly on the computer and deep in thought!

Friends, where would we be without them? I cannot profusely thank these people enough- Rebecca for her early apt journalistic bent on the project; Carolyn for tolerating my constant chewing of her ear whilst concurrently milking her marketing knowledge; Kylie for the most serene phone voice in the world and her peak industry knowledge and last but not least, Celia for the inordinate amount of encouragement, time and skills which she overflows with.

Thank you to the team at Bouncing Orange for producing the perfect design for One Stop Health and for patiently enduring my comparatively novice IT level!

Thank you all again so much!