Community
14 November, 2025
Physio leads program for high-risk babies in the North West
An innovative early intervention program is kicking goals across the local health service.
Mount Isa-based physiotherapist Tyla Stallan is leading an innovative early intervention program aimed at giving high-risk babies in the North West the best possible start in life.
A proud First Nations graduate physiotherapist, Ms Stallan is spearheading a new screening process at Mount Isa Hospital’s Special Care Nursery to ensure all babies receive family-centred, culturally safe care close to home.
“I’ve always been passionate about supporting families from the very start,” Tyla said.
“By developing screening criteria for high-risk babies in Special Care, we’re ensuring no bub slips through the cracks when it comes to accessing early support.”
Her work builds on her experience with the Learning through Everyday Activities with Parents for Cerebral Palsy (LEAP-CP) project and the First Nations Leadership Program run by Indigenous Allied Health Australia.
Tyla has developed new screening criteria benchmarked against other hospitals and health services, considering factors such as birth history, weight, gestation and other early assessments.
Under the new process, every baby in the Special Care Nursery is screened to monitor development.
Those identified as high-risk are referred to the Physiotherapy and Child Development Service in Mount Isa and assessed through the Queensland Early Detection Intervention Network (QEDIN). Eligible babies are then placed on either the intervention or control arm of the LEAP-CP study.
LEAP-CP is a culturally adapted, parent-first program that empowers families to support their baby’s motor and cognitive development through everyday activities at home.
The intervention arm provides 30 weekly home visits delivered by a First Nations health worker, focusing on goal-directed play, CP learning games and caregiver education.
“This is an incredible opportunity to build something sustainable here in Mount Isa,” Tyla said.
“Our long-term vision is for LEAP to be delivered by local First Nations health workers, making care not only accessible but truly community-led.”
The project aligns closely with the Queensland government’s First 1000 Days initiative, which highlights the critical importance of prevention and early intervention during a child’s formative years.
Mount Isa families are already seeing results, with several high-risk infants identified and the first baby in the region officially recruited into the LEAP-CP pathway.
“This project feels like a full-circle moment for me. From starting as a student in Townsville to now leading the development of a service for families in Mount Isa just four years later,” Tyla said.
Executive director of Allied Health Lynette Stenhouse said the program reflected the power of locally-led innovation.
“Tyla has taken her own journey as a student and turned it into something that will shape services for years to come. This is exactly the type of innovation we need – culturally safe, evidence-based and designed to be led locally into the future,” Ms Stenhouse said.
By embedding early detection and intervention into the local care pathway, the initiative is helping babies in the North West grow strong, healthy and connected, while setting a new standard for rural healthcare delivery.