HESTA has announced nine finalists for the 2024 HESTA Australian Nursing & Midwifery Awards.
Finalists include a Northern Territory nurse who opened the first private GP practice for nurses in her community after the closure of the only medical clinic; a Victorian midwife who created the country’s first stillbirth support guide for Aboriginal families; and a Queensland-based organization that has developed a new approach to diagnosing and treating hepatitis C.
Debby Blakey, CEO of HESTA, congratulated the finalists. “We owe a lot to our nurses, midwives and the organizations whose work makes a meaningful difference to their communities and the healthcare industry across Australia. “It’s fantastic that the HESTA Awards can help showcase their outstanding work,” said Blakey.
The awards, now in their 18th year, recognize the outstanding contribution of Australia’s nurses, midwives, nursing educators, researchers and caregivers and their commitment to improving health outcomes.
Midwife of the year:
Bonnie Hughes, Armadale Health Service (Mount Nasura, WA)
Bonnie is known for advocating for all women and midwives in her community through film and photography. Your podcast Make a midwife enabled midwifery students to share research and tips and helped provide connections for those feeling isolated during the pandemic. Bonnie is a strong leader in her workplace and is passionate about improving the treatment, retention and recognition of midwives in the healthcare system.
Skye Stewart, Red Nose Australia (Woomelang, Vic)
Skye is recognized for producing the nation’s first stillbirth support guide for Aboriginal families, recognizing the unacceptable gap in stillbirth rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and the impact it leaves on communities. Skye traveled more than 20,000 miles to communities across the country over 20 months to ensure the stillbirth guide was as relevant as possible to the lived experience of Aboriginal families.
Tiffany Cattermole, Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation (Broken Hill, NSW)
Tiffany is recognized for her work as a midwife at the Aboriginal Maternal and Infant Health Service in Broken Hill, where she supports more than 40 pregnant women each year. Tiffany provides specialized care to the women in her community and understands the difficulties associated with providing prenatal and postnatal care in outback areas. Tiffany’s commitment helps break down the cultural barriers for women pursuing midwifery care.
Nurse of the Year:
Kylie Straube, Remote Health Care (Berry Springs, NT)
Kylie is being recognized for her 20-year career providing health services to remote communities. After her community’s only medical clinic closed its doors, Kylie opened the community’s first private general practice nurse practice, ensuring 7,500 residents could receive the health care they needed.
Cathy Halmarick, Peninsula Health (Frankston, Vic)
Cathy is being recognized for her work as a nurse and midwife for over 25 years. She helped establish the Sexual and Reproductive Health Center in Southeast Victoria, which ensured the community had access to sexual health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Noticing that many women found the intrauterine device (IUD) process painful, she began using a “green whistle” to ease women’s feelings of pain with excellent results.
Meaghan Springett, Yooralla (Maroondah, Vic)
Meaghan has worked in disability support for more than 16 years. Meaghan created the Hospital to Home (H2H) program, which helps people move out of hospital. Over 18 months, this program saved 2,347 hospital bed days. She also founded the Young Onset Dementia (YOD) service, the first residential service in Victoria to support young people with dementia in a social model setting rather than a residential aged care environment.
Excellent organization:
The Healthy Communities Foundation Australia (Collarenebri, NSW)
Healthy Communities Foundation Australia is known for improving access to primary health services in remote and Indigenous communities. In addition to providing local access to healthcare, the Dhirri-li Education for Work Center was established to train Aboriginal people for entry-level positions in the health and social care system to address a lack of employment opportunities and the social determinants of health.
Pancare Foundation (Heidelberg, Vic)
Pancare has successfully advocated for a $20 million investment to improve health outcomes for people with pancreatic cancer. Since then, Pancare has developed the world’s first national report on upper gastrointestinal cancers, which has been recognized and prioritized by the federal government and sparked funding for PanCare PanSupport services.
Ipswich AODS, West Moreton Health (Ipswich, Qld)
The Ipswich Alcohol and Other Drug Service (AODS) is known for its efficient practice in diagnosing and treating consumers with Hepatitis C. The testing system delivers results within an hour, meaning consumers can be tested and diagnosed for hepatitis C in the same visit. Since March 2022, the team has tested more than 170 people for hepatitis C, resulting in 24 positive diagnoses and eight successful treatments.
Long-time supporter of the awards, ME, has donated $30,000 in prize money, which will be divided equally among the winners and can be used for professional development or improving service delivery or processes.
The winners will be announced on Thursday, May 16th.