Awards finalists
Categories:
Young leader
Individual Contribution
Lifetime achievement
Service delivery
Community health outcomes
Working together
Young leader
Matthew Cooke
Queenslander Matt is currently the Secretary and Public Officer of the Bailai Aboriginal Corporation for Land and Culture, Secretary for the Gehgre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation and Chief Executive Officer of the Nhulundu Wooribah Indigenous Health Organisation. While still in high school, Matthew was recognised by his family and elders as a young person with the potential to make a major contribution to his community. They encouraged and mentored him. Matt was elected to the Board of Directors of the Aboriginal Health Service where he put in many hours voluntarily to help develop the business plan. Appointed CEO after a successful six-month trial, Matt has overseen the senior business management of the Aboriginal Health Service and Community Aged Care Package Services; been responsible for strategic planning and HR management; and developed and implemented funding proposals, policy and procedures. Matt has been instrumental in building partnerships and negotiating funding from government and non-government sources. For example, he was involved in the successful grant from the Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund which supports improved health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Ray Lovett
Now 30, he has carried this leadership role through his career as an Aboriginal health worker. Ray has sought out opportunities that place him in a position of being able to lead, learn and contribute to improving health outcomes for Indigenous people – overcoming obstacles, breaking new ground and making a difference. His academic achievements, the changes he has implemented as Operations Manager at Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service, and the focus of his study are underpinned by his commitment to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal people. A registered nurse, Ray completed the Bachelor of Health Science and won the Deans Award for academic excellence.He helped set up a highly successful scholarship scheme which substantially increased the number of Indigenous scholarship holders in the NSW nursing workforce. He also implemented a data collection system that has enabled Winnunga to collect high quality, accurate and consistent data on health outcomes. The focus of his PhD study will be to develop an integrated alcohol dependence screening and assessment tool for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Individual Contribution
Geraldine Hogarth
When Geraldine began, up to 50 children a year were being identified and treated with the disease. Now she may see between three and five children. This resulted in a 25 per cent reduction in trachoma. Early in her career, Geraldine syringed the ears of affected children and developed her program of checking and treating children at WAs Leonora School. The program includes educating parents and teachers to recognise ear health problems, and training parents to treat ‘runny ears’. Geraldine recently developed a resource to help teachers to conduct hearing screening and liaised with Agnew Mining to fund Sound Field Systems classroom equipment to enable hearing loss students to hear teachers and others. Geraldine promotes women’s health, encouraging women to be screened regularly. She is involved in the immunisation program, diabetes management and the child health program. Geraldine is a respected elder recognised across the northern Goldfields. She works with the community and police to resolve youth issues and runs protective behaviour workshops at Leonora School with the Department of Child Protection. Geraldine is keen to acknowledge the positive response from parents, children and teachers.
Mary Martin
An astute and effective networker, Mary’s influence has been as profound as the pride she has in her heritage. She has modelled, championed and strategically influenced the development of doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals, resources and policy. Her work has resulted in significant improvements in cultural understanding and practice by hundreds of health professionals across Australia. This has been achieved through her membership of the boards of key agencies, along with her education and training resource development and training roles. A feature of her approach has been to lead by example in implementing grassroots education and training programs. These have helped to develop enhanced understanding of the health and cultural needs of Indigenous Australians and practice by doctors and other health care professionals. Queenslander Mary is a champion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, with her family and community always being her driving force. She has been involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health since 1976.
Bernadette Shields
Bernadette has never been afraid to tackle the hard issues in Aboriginal health – among them leprosy, sexually transmitted disease, AIDS and substance abuse. Following her early work with people with leprosy, she played a prominent role in establishing mobile outreach clinics for ‘long grass’ people in Darwin. Her concern about the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases coincided with the emerging threat of AIDS to Aboriginal communities. With courage and determination, Bernadette traveled extensively to spread the word about prevention. It was not easy to talk about this sensitive project and Bernadette enlisted the support of her colleagues, elders and community leaders to break the taboos which could have left many uninformed in the face of the AIDS threat. Another hard issue was substance abuse – also a difficult topic to talk about and one with the potential to divide communities. Bernadette’s famous ‘story board’ on alcohol is seen as a great success in educating communities about substance abuse.
Lifetime achievement
Mary Martin
An astute and effective networker, Mary’s influence has been as profound as the pride she has in her heritage. She has modelled, championed and strategically influenced the development of doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals, resources and policy. Her work has resulted in significant improvements in cultural understanding and practice by hundreds of health professionals across Australia. This has been achieved through her membership of the boards of key agencies, along with her education and training resource development and training roles. A feature of her approach has been to lead by example in implementing grassroots education and training programs. These have helped to develop enhanced understanding of the health and cultural needs of Indigenous Australians and practice by doctors and other health care professionals. Queenslander Mary is a champion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, with her family and community always being her driving force. She has been involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health since 1976.
Gracelyn Smallwood
Gracelyn has been a tireless advocate for improved outcomes in Indigenous health for 39 years. The breadth of her career is immense. Gracelyn established the Aboriginal and Islander Health Service in Townsville in 1975 and was the first Indigenous Australian to graduate with a Master of Science in Public Health on HIV/AIDS. Mentor, recruiter, trainer and advocate for the culturally appropriate delivery of Indigenous health, Gracelyn’s combination of western nursing experience and cultural values positions her uniquely to pass western and traditional knowledge to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike. Gracelyn’s initiatives in Indigenous public health programs have been studied by North American and Canadian First Peoples tribes. Her hugely successful Condoman and HIV/AIDS prevention project was taken to South Africa at the behest of former President Mandela. She was also a participant in the Inner Mongolian Barefoot Doctors Scheme. Gracelyn still works as a registered nurse and midwife in Townsville. She is studying for a Doctorate in Public Health.
Service delivery
Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service
This groundbreaking service has become a model for other organisations around the country and is a showcase of what can be achieved in the delivery of Aboriginal health care. The Kimberley region has one of the highest rates of end stage renal failure in the world. Bringing people home to their own land, or as close as possible, and reuniting families is important in providing the best possible health care. The Kimberley Satellite Dialysis Service has consistently delivered an innovative, culturally appropriate service, a high standard of clinical care – and a vastly improved quality of life to its more than 40 patients. Staffing is unique. Aboriginal health workers work alongside registered nurses to deliver clinical care for their own people, each being responsible for their own patients. Drivers bring patients to and from dialysis. A social worker is attached to the service, as is a GP. A nephrologist visits from Perth approximately monthly. In addition, the service, via the BRAMS, has taken on a role in the delivery of care to peritoneal dialysis patients around the region. Being attached to BRAMS also facilitates the delivery of primary health services to these patients, thus enabling holistic care.
Winnunga – Midwifery Access Program
Initially, it was a one woman team, with midwife Carolyn Patterson spending many hours in her car, locating women who had been referred to the program, visiting them at their homes, and providing all necessary pregnancy support services. This evolved and Winnunga collaborated with the Canberra Hospital and Calvary Hospital to engage in shared care arrangements. An Aboriginal access worker joined the team in 2003. This enabled the program to grow and take on more clients. A second midwife joined the team in 2005. Today, the service has more than 40 clients and offers comprehensive antenatal care, birthing support and postnatal follow-up. The Aboriginal Midwifery Access Program has realised significant improvements in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and newborns in the ACT and surrounding areas through service delivery excellence. The program has achieved outstanding results in reducing the number of low birth weight children. Management of gestational diabetes has improved. Women who have previously experienced difficult pregnancies report overwhelming improvement in subsequent pregnancies once they have become clients of the program.
Community health outcomes
Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation
Based in Broken Hill, NSW, Maari Ma’s focus on Aboriginal health is underpinned by unique working relationships with the Greater Western Area Health Service, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, The University of Sydney-Department of Rural Health and Aboriginal Community Working Parties. Maari Ma exists for the Aboriginal people it represents and serves to improve health and wellbeing. One collaborative partnership is the Outback Diabetes and Vascular Health Service Program, involving the Greater Western Area Health Service, Maari Ma and the Royal Flying Doctor Service working together in diabetes prevention and management. The program identified health professionals in the area with an interest in diabetes prevention and management seeking to further their knowledge through an accredited Diabetes Educators Course. In turn, they identify diabetes clients in their communities, organise clinics and coordinate endocrinology clinics. Thirteen participants have completed the course since 2003 and are employed to deliver diabetes education.
Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service
This involves not only providing medical care, but also a range of programs promoting good health and healthy lifestyles for Aboriginal people. Winnunga Nimmityjah’s Youth Diversion Program tackles disproportionate rates of alcohol and other drug use among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The program combines formal education, training and employment with a focus on personal development and links to established referral support networks. Partners in this program include the ACT Government, Department of Education, Science and Training and the Police Citizens Youth Club. The program engages young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women in education and training and subsequent employment options to reduce substance misuse and contact with the criminal justice system. The aim is to achieve both prevention and after care for those at risk of substance misuse criminal justice problems. Helping young people to train and get steady jobs helps to build stable and resilient families and communities, which are then better equipped to cope with current and future substance use issues.
Working together
Gurinny Yealamucka Health Services Aboriginal Corporation (GYHS)
A program of social health empowerment programs implemented by GYHS Aboriginal Corporation has resulted in substantial improvements in the community, previously wracked by suicide, a high crime rate and the breakdown of family relationships. The corporation partnered with James Cook University and the University of Queensland to improve health services through primary and preventative programs, including men’s and women’s groups, the Family Wellbeing Program, crime prevention, mental health promotion, child care links, cultural dance, suicide prevention and alcohol reduction. Today, suicide, crime and injury rates are all down and there are also indications of improved community health and wellbeing. The Gurinny approach is about empowerment in Indigenous settings. It is about recognising and building community strengths, resilience, resources and creativity – rather than bringing skills in from outside. Partnerships are established and the community participates in its own capacity building, including employing community-based researchers. Building on this success, GYHS is now moving to establish a multi-purpose community controlled primary health care service in partnership with Queensland Health.
Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation
Based in Broken Hill, NSW, Maari Ma’s focus on Aboriginal health is underpinned by unique working relationships with the Greater Western Area Health Service, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, The University of Sydney-Department of Rural Health and Community Working Parties. Maari Ma exists for the Aboriginal people it represents and serves to improve health and wellbeing. The Lower Western Sector Agreement Program is one of the innovative programs Maari Ma has in place. This program, now in its 10th year, has been an essential part of improving Aboriginal health in western NSW, collaboratively managing mainstream services and Aboriginal community-controlled health services. Initiatives have meant increased numbers of Aboriginal people employed across the region, senior positions created in Aboriginal health coordination, specific university-based training for Aboriginal health workers relevant to the needs in their communities, and local interaction between Aboriginal community working parties and health services.
