2024 finalists...

Winner

Skye Stewart 

Red Nose Australia  
Woomelang, VIC

Having seen the unacceptable gap in stillbirth rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and the impact it left on communities, Skye created the nation's first stillbirth support guide for Aboriginal families. The stillbirth support guide also serves as an education guide for non-Indigenous healthcare professionals to understand the complexities of Aboriginal families following grief, including cultural practices of sorry business, as well as cultural elements throughout the guide.  

Skye travelled more than 32,000 kilometres over a period of 20 months to different communities across the country to ensure the stillbirth guide was as relevant as possible to the lived experience of Aboriginal families. 

Skye has a deep understanding and expertise in midwifery. This, combined with their cultural knowledge, helps families and communities feel safe and supported in the most challenging of circumstances. 

Tiffany Cattermole

Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation 
Broken Hill, NSW

Tiffany began working with the Maari Ma Aboriginal Health Service more than 15 years ago. Her journey began as a receptionist in 2009, staying with the service until she completed her midwifery training in 2017. She now works as a midwife in the Aboriginal Maternal and Infant Health Service in Broken Hill and supports more than 40 pregnant women each year. 

Tiffany provides specialised care to the women in her community and understands the difficulties associated with providing pre and postnatal care in outback areas. She goes above and beyond, traveling great distances to provide outreach services to those living outside of Broken Hill. Tiffany’s advocacy helps break down the cultural barriers to women centred Midwifery care.  

Tiffany’s goal is to provide a holistic, culturally appropriate midwifery service to women in her community. 

Bonnie Hughes

Armadale Health Service 
Mount Nasura, WA 

Bonnie is a mother, midwife and storyteller who uses film and photography to advocate on behalf of all women and midwives in her community. She currently works as a midwife at Armadale Hospital in Western Australia. 

She launched a podcast called “Making a Midwife” that enabled midwifery students to share research and tips, as well as to provide a connection for those feeling isolated throughout the pandemic. She also produced a short film that challenged the social norms of how much space women are expected to take up, demonstrating how social norms can impact how women deliver and receive care.

Bonnie is a strong leader in her workplace, passionately advocating for better treatment, retention, and acknowledgement of midwives within the healthcare system. 

Winner

Cathy Halmarick 

Peninsula Health  
Frankston, VIC 

Cathy is a nurse and midwife specialising in sexual and reproductive health for women and people with a cervix.  For over 25 years, Cathy has been responsible for developing and expanding programs for sexual and reproductive healthcare.  

In 2017 Cathy helped establish the Sexual and Reproductive Health Hub in Southeastern Victoria. During the challenging COVID-19 pandemic, she ensured the community could continue to access sexual health services including medical terminations and contraceptives.  

Through her work, Cathy identified that many women were finding the Intra Uterine Device (IUD) process painful. She initiated the use of a ‘green whistle’ to reduce women’s pain experience with excellent results.  

Meaghan Springett

Yooralla
Maroondah, VIC

Meaghan is a Senior Service Manager in a disability service provider, Yooralla. She has more than 16 years’ experience in the disability community, designing and implementing programs to support those with the most complex of needs. 

Meaghan is key to the successful establishment of two services in her local community, including the Hospital to Home (H2H) program and Young Onset Dementia (YOD) service, the first accommodation service in Victoria supporting young people with dementia in a social model setting and not an aged care setting.  

These programs help support people with challenging conditions to increase their independence and quality of life, while also alleviating pressure on the hospital system. Over an 18-month period, the support provided by the H2H program in assisting people moving out of hospital has saved 2,347 hospital bed days.   

Meaghan is a humble and dedicated member of the Yooralla team and inspires her colleagues through her leadership and mentorship

Kylie Straube 

Remote Territory Healthcare  
Berry Springs, NT 

Kylie is a First Nations Nurse Practitioner with more than 20 years’ experience delivering healthcare services in remote communities.  

When her local community’s only medical clinic closed its doors, residents were forced to travel more than 50km to the nearest clinic or go without medical care. Kylie opened the first private nurse practitioners’ general practice in her community – meaning that 7,500 residents could get the care they needed. 

Kylie is dedicated to primary healthcare and is passionate about ensuring that remote communities can access the same quality of care as those who live in cities.  

Winner

The Healthy Communities Foundation Australia Ltd

Collarenebri, NSW

The Healthy Communities Foundation Australia is a nurse-led clinical service that has been operating for more than 20 years to create sustainable models of primary healthcare that reflect the needs and aspirations of remote, and Aboriginal communities.

In addition to providing local access to health care it has established the Dhirri-li Education for Work Centre to train Aboriginal people for entry level roles in the health and social care system to address lack of employment opportunities, and the social determinants of health.

A new community hub has been constructed, which is home to many of the Foundation’s programs. These nurse-led programs include suicide prevention and [CC1] fetal alcohol syndrome screening. Starting mid-2024, the hub will also be the home of a nurse practitioner-led program to improve health literacy among young Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal rural women around pregnancy and reproductive choice. 

The foundation has significantly improved access to primary healthcare services in remote communities. Between 2020/21 and 2021/22, there was a 13% increase in total patients and a 28% uplift in consultations. 

Ipswich AODS

West Moreton Health, Ipswich, QLD

The Ipswich Alcohol and Other Drug Services (AODS) is at the forefront of developing and providing innovative solutions to reduce the harmful impact of drug use. The service operates within a harm reduction framework, with programs to educate the community about safer alcohol and drug use behaviours.

Responding to high rates of hepatitis C in the Ipswich community, the organisation developed a new approach to diagnosing and treating the condition. People presenting at the Ipswich AODS can undergo rapid one-hour testing for hepatitis C and, if required, begin treatment in the same visit. All services are provided by nurses and nurse practitioners. 

Since March 2022, more than 170 people have been tested, 24 have been diagnosed, and eight have been successfully treated.

Pancare Foundation

Heidelberg, VIC

Pancare Foundation (Pancare) is the leading charity committed to raising awareness of Upper Gastrointestinal (Upper GI) cancers. Upper GI cancers affect the pancreas, liver, stomach, biliary and oesophagus, and more than 13,000 people are diagnosed each year in Australia. Pancare supports patients and their families and funds research through fundraising, donors and commercial initiatives. 

The Pancare team provides specialised care through the PanSupport program, which includes Australia’s first Upper GI telehealth nursing service, specialist counselling and care coordination services, educational resources, financial assistance, support groups, clinical trial education, and grief and bereavement support. 

Together with the Pancreatic Cancer sector, Pancare has successfully advocated for a $20 million investment into improving the health outcomes of those living with pancreatic cancer. Since then, Pancare has developed the world first state of the national report into Upper GI cancers, which has been recognised and prioritised by federal government and has triggered funding into the Pancare PanSupport services.