AOD Clinician Intake Coordinator – Drug Health Services, Footscray
Cameron consistently offers support and encouragement to his colleagues. He is the first one to offer assistance even though his own role is fast-paced and very demanding. Cameron is consistently positive and productive and he always demonstrates the utmost compassion, respect and encouragement to his clients and colleagues. He often sends emails within the service, publicly praising a colleague for a positive result with a client acknowledging their hard work. Cameron fosters a positive workplace at Western Health by consistently assisting and encouraging others to achieve their best.
Director – Stakeholder Relations and Public Affairs
The thunderstorm asthma emergency placed an incredible amount of pressure on all Western Health services in November 2016. Cathy worked hard to ensure that this extraordinary work was well recognised by our whole health service, the Department of Health and externally using her outstanding media liaison skills. On the day following the event she worked quickly to correctly communicate the facts with many media outlets, with calls from radio, print online and TV coming in by the minute. Cathy worked for a number of months following the thunderstorm asthma emergency to proactively promote the exceptional response of Western Health clinicians through the media. Most notably, Cathy’s extensive research and liaison with Fairfax media lead to a brilliant feature story published in The Good Weekend magazine profiling our patients and the clinicians that provided extraordinary care in testing circumstances. This took facilitating in-depth interviews with around 20 staff and patients, arranging photography and clarifying and correcting many, many facts of the story to make certain that the final piece was truthful and something that Western Health could be very proud of. Cathy dealt with sensitive situations with compassion and respect for the patients and families that Public Affairs liaised with over the months following the thunderstorm asthma event. Many of these patients had been through incredibly traumatic events and Cathy respected that and was able to make them feel at ease to share their story. She took a proactive approach to ensure that Western Health’s outstanding response to the emergency was recognised. Cathy’s efforts were recognised by the Department of Health Media Unit as the best public affairs response from all of the health services who were affected. The media coverage gave public recognition to the work of Western Health. This was a great morale boost for all involved in the event.
Security Officer – Security Services, Williamstown Hospital
Cole is an example of a Western Health employee who works within the values of safety, excellence, respect and accountability. I always feel safe at work when I know that Cole is on site, taking care of our patients, staff and facilities with his quiet and calm presence. He provides exceptional support to the Incident Commanders on site. Cole attends every emergency and code called, and his knowledge and skills help the Incident Commanders manage these events efficiently and quickly
Security Coordinator – Security Services
Danni has been instrumental in the ongoing delivery of Security Services and has made an active and ongoing contribution to the safety of patients, staff and visitors. Her professionalism, when matched with her ‘can do’ attitude and genuine desire to help people delivers positive outcomes on a daily basis. Nothing is ever too much trouble for Danni and when faced with a challenge she engages with all stakeholders to identify and implement a solution that will deliver positive outcomes. Danni models positive behaviour in every interaction with people be they patients, staff or members of the public. She actively displays the Western Health values in her work and is an exemplary ambassador for Western Health. Danni is held in high regard by everyone she interacts with and her efforts in focusing on positive outcomes for Western Health are to be highly commended.
Supervisor – Food Services, Footscray Hospital
Debbie is a true leader who always leads from the front, has exceptional follow up and takes ownership and accountability for the task at hand. Debbie plays a key role in departmental training, is very engaged with her colleagues and is always finding solutions to challenging issues with a positive attitude e.g.- working along with the team, supervisor and manager during the transition to Burlodges ( Novaflex Food Trolleys).
Diet Monitor – Food Services, Footscray Hospital
Dory has been a Diet Monitor for the past 18 years and is a diligent staff member who always serves her patients with a smile. She is always ready to go that extra mile whilst going about her daily tasks with passion and a personalised touch. I have never ever heard a “No” or “Can’t do” reply from her. She is always enthusiastic to learn something new and put it into practice immediately. Dory is well respected by her team.
Douglas Mponda – Alcohol and Other Drugs Clinical Nurse Consultant, Sunshine Emergency Department
On Friday 11th November a patient in Sunshine Emergency Department (ED) walked into the “fishbowl’ and starting assaulting staff. One ED doctor was punched several times in the face, an ED nurse was assaulted resulting in bruising to her arm/shoulder and the plastics registrar sustained a fractured jaw. Douglas and Luigi intervened, at their own risk, and managed to restrain the patient. Without their brave intervention the injuries sustained and the amount of staff involved could have been far worse.
Oncology Consultant – Sunshine Hospital
Dr Oakman always takes time and care when she is consulting with her patients. She is very attentive and shows a lot of compassion. Dr Oakman is always very approachable and gives her time willingly not only to her patients but also to the staff she works with. She explains things in detail when talking to patients and shows a very high level of professionalism at all times. She always greets people warmly, staff and patients alike. She has an excellent manner which instantly puts patients at ease and does her utmost to ensure she gives each person the time they need. Through her work in the Oncology Research Department she has instigated the opening of many new trials for breast cancer which have led to the availability of many new treatment options for our patients. I have worked with Catherine for many years and am also a patient of hers and so I have seen from both sides how caring she is. I have observed this on many occasions and she is consistent with her approach to her work. Nothing is ever too much trouble for her and she will often go out of her way to ensure that things are done thoroughly and followed through. Dr Oakman has been a stalwart of Cancer Services providing caring and compassionate treatment for our patients in both lung and breast cancers. She is a leader in research and has wonderful teaching ability.
Pharmacy Technician – Pharmacy, Williamstown Hospital
Edyta works in a very diverse role with pharmacy staff, Nurse Unit Managers and suppliers. Edyta is always willing to offer assistance to other staff and has a very kind, caring and respectful manner in her communication with staff and patients. Edyta is very efficient in her work and does things to a very high standard. She is also willing to ask for feedback on areas which she feels may need improvement or to clarify things further. Edyta is well mannered, and makes suggestions wherever she thinks a process could be improved but also respects decisions made.
She is also very conscientious and committed to safe work practices and always has a very positive attitude at work. She often takes the initiative to flag things from her daily routine that pharmacists may not otherwise be aware of so that issues are addressed earlier and resolved quickly. Edyta makes the pharmacy department a very pleasant and positive workplace.
Practice Manager – Drug Health Services
Fiona is consistently generous, compassionate, hard-working and is always looking for ways to encourage her staff. During Drug Health Services relocation period, Fiona went above and beyond for her staff and for the service. She orchestrated the move for her staff, and the service, in a way that was efficient and structured. She would ‘check-in’ often with her staff to ensure that they all knew what tasks needed to be performed and whether they required any further assistance. She would ensure that their stress levels were kept to a minimum and that they always felt supported. Fiona ensured that the move went as smoothly as possible for her staff and that their job was impacted as minimally as possible. Fiona is always ‘looking out’ for her staff and ensures that they feel supported at all times. She ensured that she used staff resources efficiently and effectively during Drug Health Services relocation and ensured Outpatient Clinics continued to run with minimal disruption to staff and clients alike. Fiona is respectful, encouraging and unfailingly kind and consistently demonstrates a high standard of work.
Administration Officer – Drug Health Services
Heidi undertook a difficult administrative project by ensuring that all hard copy files prior to 2012 were archived and sent off site for safe storage. This project was completed efficiently within pressing time restraints. Heidi always displays a ‘can-do’ attitude towards her work and is consistently working collaboratively with her colleagues to achieve great outcomes for the service.
Cleaner – Environmental Services Sunshine
Hyacinth is always working hard to ensure the front reception is clean and tidy. She does so much more than expected with a big smile on her face. The front reception is so important to make a good first impression to all visitors, patients and staff and she really takes pride in ensuring this area is kept clean. She is very courteous and friendly with volunteers, staff, patients and visitors and I always look forward to seeing her every morning.
Manager – Simulation & E-Learn, Centre for Education
Janet works tirelessly to provide high quality training to Western Health staff either through simulated scenarios or the online space. Janet is also a fantastic manager, always positive and warm and continually taking the initiative in the simulation space. Janet has built the simulation lab from its inception and now works ongoing to introduce multi-disciplinary programs to support all staff. We have had international recognition by hosting the Harvard course and worked in partnership to run escalation of deterioration scenarios with a variety of health disciplines in collaboration with the universities. Last year the Simulation centre applied and was successful in becoming an Australian Resuscitation Instructors centre for Advanced Life Support. Janet and the team worked closely with the surgical, ICU and anaesthetic departments to host 1-2 day education programs and have supported publications with these areas. Early this year Janet presented at a simulation conference on a ISBAR video the simulation team had produced. Already requests have come from both international and within Australia to use this tool in other organisations.
Patient Services Assistant – Sunbury Day Hospital
Jim is steadfast in his value system and those of Western Health and demonstrates a strong belief in the health service and the services we provide. He is dedicated to being the best person he can be and providing the ‘Best Care’. Jim is very supportive of his team, being a mentor and educator to all staff and he is willing to go above and beyond at all times. Sunbury Day Hospital, thanks to Jim ,has consistently been recognised for its cleanliness, its leading sustainability practice and tidiness. Jim is responsible for this. He is an excellent teacher for all PSA cover at Sunbury and is also an excellent sounding board and support for all staff. Jim is a modest person who consistently demonstrates his respect for others and trying to understand their needs, whether they are patients, staff or visitors. His ability to listen to others, endeavouring at all times to be pleasant, helpful and happy lifts the whole team and anyone that comes into contact with him. It is no wonder that when people come to Sunbury Day Hospital they ask if Jim is here today. Creating excellence happens when there is a belief to truly make a difference and persistence to achieve nothing but the best outcome. These are both qualities that Jim surpasses and his integrity underpins this. Jim is constantly ensuring there is a safe environment at Sunbury Day Hospital and addresses any issues immediately. His energy, enthusiasm and caring nature is contagious and it fosters a positive working environment enlightening all he comes into contact with.
President Sunshine Auxiliary – Community Engagement and Volunteers
Judith leads a team of around 20 volunteers who all belong to the Sunshine Hospital Auxiliary. Judith does this with great drive and enthusiasm and has amazing energy in her role as President. Judith often comes into the shop to do additional shifts and has a ‘can do’ attitude in relation to all that she might be asked to do. Recently ICU asked if any volunteers might be able to donate some knitted rugs that could be given to families when they are sitting by their loved one’s bedside and could then be taken home by the family or patient. Judith within a week had the rugs ready for ICU. Our CEO, Alex commented on a rug that Judith had knitted and asked if it came in blue. The next thing a prototype was knitted up and once given the all clear Judith created the large double bed size rug for Alex. But I must also add that the support that Judith gives to the Volunteer Management Team is invaluable. She will often head off queries about car parking, access and other requests with ” why don’t we see if we can figure that one out ourselves.”
Volunteer – Office for Research
Judy has been volunteering with the Office for Research since July 2014 and the Office for Research staff would not be without her. Judy is very dedicated to her volunteer role, she is reliable with her attendance, accurate with her work and assists our department in a number of ways. Judy’s main role is the filing of study documents and she always takes care to ensure she is accurate and pays attention to detail. Judy demonstrates the Western Health values every day she comes to volunteer; exuding the values of compassion, accountability, respect, excellence and safety. Judy has a friendly demeanour and strong work ethic. She is positive and responsible, openly communicative , takes pride in her work, and always does an excellent job. Judy is also open to learning new things and enjoys assisting us with other varied tasks. Judy’s dedication and commitment to Western Health is truly inspiring and we thank her for it.
Cleaner – Environmental Services, Footscray Hospital (Level 3)
Lynette always enters our area with a cheery and focused demeanour. She goes about her business of making our work space clean with the same level of detail she would her own home, using a bit of old fashioned elbow grease. You can see and smell the difference in the office when Lynette has serviced the department. Lynette makes eye contact with everyone and always asks after our day and wellbeing. She invests in knowing things about our team and even comments with a cheer when the office plant comes back to life! Lynette always asks whether there is anything else that she can do in our area and if we are happy with the quality of her work. She expands and contracts her presence by “reading” the rooms that she enters e.g. She’ll notice when people are on the phone and will ask when a good time to vacuum would be. If she notices an area in the department that can improve e.g. recycling, she brings it to my attention. She takes great pride in what she does and her work is faultless. Lynette is conscious about the safety of others ensuring that she uses a physical A frame when she has mopped and informs each office within our area that there is a slip hazard. Lynette’s interactions with others is positive and uplifting and she leaves our work space feeling cared for.
Speech Pathologist – Allied Health, Sunshine Hospital
Michelle thrives on keeping busy and consistently manages not only her own busy and varied caseload but is always the first person to put up her hand to help her colleagues out – whether that be to take on a few additional patients, manage a different caseload during periods of staff leave, complete the data collection requirements of 4 clinicians on a project or present at a major university workshop with the manager on the role of Speech Pathology in palliative care. She does all of this and more with a smile on her face. Michelle has made a huge contribution to student clinical education over the years, taking intermediate and entry level students. She is also a Mentor to junior staff and is always approachable and happy to answer their questions. Her colleagues say: “I have never met a harder working or more dedicated Speech Pathologist.” “She is a quiet achiever and the backbone of the speech pathology team.”
Purchasing Officer – Sunshine Pharmacy
Mirva is dedication to ensuring pharmaceutical products are available in a timely manner for the patients and clients of Western Health. She is always eager and willing to help Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians source alternatives when there are supply issues and consistently goes above and beyond to facilitate urgent supplies of medications / fluids for critically ill patients, often on short notice. Mirva has been observed to actively contribute to solutions when supply chain issues are identified and communicates well with her colleagues as well as external suppliers.
Operations Support Officer (ICT) – ICT Services
Peter has supported Drug Health Services over the last 6 months to transition several different departments to numerous locations. He ensured all IT issues were addressed promptly and that staff were able to be operational as quickly as possible at their new locations. During this time, Peter consistently displayed a ‘can-do’ attitude, working efficiently and professionally with management and staff alike within our department. He showed compassion and understanding with regard to the difficulties involved in relocating the service to numerous sites and consistently made himself available to assist, even at very short notice. He displayed excellent communication with staff to achieve the smooth transition to numerous sites.
Senior Womens Health Physiotherapist – Advanced Practice, Outpatients and inpatients Maternity/Gynaecology WHS 2C/1B
Rebecca Liberatore has recently returned from maternity leave. In the short time she has been back at work she has achieved a huge amount including completing credentialing for an advanced practice women’s health physiotherapy role. Bec was instrumental in getting this role established prior to her leave and it has been a very successful collaboration between Physiotherapy, Urogynaecology, the Women’s and Children’s division and Outpatients. Rebecca displays immense compassion through her interactions with her patients, is empathetic and relatable with women in all different walks of life and cultural backgrounds. She strives to assist them in achieving their goals and improving their quality of life and social/physical participation. She is accountable for not only her own work and patient follow up but as a senior clinician assists in guiding and supporting the women’s health team. She seeks out opportunities to support the greater women’s health physio team network and is keen to be a part of research to drive evidence based practice and explore gaps in current evidence. Rebecca was a strong advocate in establishing and implementing the physio led advanced practice clinic that seeks to triage and reduce the wait list for urogynae review and commence conservative treatment, which is often effective and enables discharge from the surgical wait list. She is passionate about providing excellent patient care for women at Western Health and is a strong advocate for best, safe and right care. Bec consistently demonstrates all the CARES values and her energy and enthusiasm is appreciated by her team.
Clinical Education Resource Nurse – Williamstown Hospital
On a daily basis Bec consistently displays the Western Health values of compassion and respect. Given the diverse role of a Clinical Facilitator, Bec provides very clear communication to any individual or group she encounters. Working in a small team, Bec is cognisant of and values the diversity within the team, understanding her colleague’s differences, backgrounds and the various experiences they bring to the team. Respect and compassion underpins her approach to the team. Bec’s presence inspires and enriches the team in which she works in.
Operations Manager – Emergency, Medicine and Cancer Services
Tim developed an online tool to assist the organisation in managing excess annual leave. The tool automatically calculates leave balances based on the amount of leave hours planned to be taken. Without this tool, managers would spend a lot of time calculating and checking leave balances. This is a very clever and easy to use tool that removes a huge burden for managers. Tim has demonstrated excellence and compassion by applying his skill to an area outside of his remit and by sharing this knowledge and skill across the organisation, without seeking accolades.
Clinical Placements Coordinator – Centre for Education, Footscray Hospital
Tracy is a dedicated and committed employee who always strives to do the best she possibly can and always delivers high quality work. Tracy has been challenged with multiple personal adversities over the last couple of years – despite this, Tracy is always happy and cheerful at work and happy to lend a helping hand or a piece of friendly advice to her colleagues. Tracy is also studying for her Bachelor of Nursing degree as a full time student and has demonstrated that she is able to manage multiple tasks without it impacting on the end result. Tracy displays compassion in her everyday work – clinical placements are high in demand and Tracy is able to communicate effectively and compassionately with our clinical partners. Tracy is respectful with all her day to day dealings with both our clinical partners and her colleagues and has an ability to communicate effectively in all situations. She ensures that she stays informed of all advancements within the clinical placement space and is actively engaged in implementing the Best Practice Clinical Learning Environment (BPCLE). Tracy is proud to represent Western Health at stakeholder workshops and engagement activities and advocates on behalf of our organisation well. She is a well-respected member of the education team and engages with others professionally and works with a team approach.
Bruno Paladino, Debra Kendall, Sene Matafa, Mary Borg, Maria Lopez, Chi Yang and Nayana Nissanka
The PSA team at 1 West Footscray consistently show a high degree of excellence in the way they approach their work and the quality of the work they do. Under a huge amount of time pressure they regularly take the time to go above and beyond their duties. They show compassion and respect by talking to and comforting patients who are lonely and scared. They go to great lengths to find missing equipment, keep communal areas organised and discharge rooms cleaned while maintaining a calm and positive professional manner. They will use initiative and call families to return missing personal possessions, collect and return faulty equipment, and provide support to the nursing staff wherever possible. They are an amazing bunch of people, hardworking and dedicated to patient care and safety.
Wendy, Demetriou, Susan Dimopoulos, Liz Goga, Sandra Heeney, Elizabeth Millar, Jenny Sali, Colleen Pavia, Lauren Storey, Liz Edmonds, Amanda Culpan and Stav Talevski
The Allocations Team work tirelessly and thanklessly in a highly demanding, complex and stressful job day in, day out, supplying staff to every ward within the entire organisation. They personify all of the Western Health values and are efficient, flexible, approachable and a pleasure to work with.
Melanie Wityk, Fan Loo, Kim Davies, Sally Henderson, Anne Vander Reyden, Vivian King, Rachel Wilson, Lisa Mettrick Kibra Abera and Maria Lubczenko
The leadership team on Williamstown Ground Floor Subacute work tirelessly everyday delivering safe and patient-centred care. They focus heavily on reducing harm whilst patients are in hospital, which is evidenced by the amazing reduction in pressure injuries (approaching 400 days pressure injury free), medication errors and falls. This focus on patient centred care resonates with all staff members in the team and is modelled by the innovative leadership team as the ward continues to strive for “Best Care”. Melanie and her leadership team demonstrate professionalism, patience, courtesy and unfailing good humour when delivering care and assistance to patients and their loved ones. The group lead by example and, even during the busiest shifts, have their sleeves rolled up and are assisting their team wherever they can. This dedication and support is greatly appreciated and respected amongst the staff on Williamstown Ground Floor Subacute and the organisation as a whole.
Study Coordinators for Oncology and Haematology – Angela Baugh, Siobhan Gallus, Nathan Hope, Lisa Magee, Lisa Wilkinson, David Wong, Maria Hadfield, Jessica (Mifsud) Tanner and Carolyn Boyden.
The Oncology Research team consists of a group of dedicated, caring and enthusiastic research coordinators. They are dedicated to working together as a team to provide ‘Best Care’ to their patients and ensuring their wellbeing. They have also worked hard to build a great rapport with other hospital staff across the organisaton.
Dr Ahmed Kadhmawi – Resident Urologist, Dr Chew-Lin Yip – Surgeon, Jing Feng – Registered Nurse, Marijenka Ivakovic – Registered Nurse, Sue Fuller – Registered Nurse, and Arvind Srinivasan – Registered Nurse
Patient nomination:
“I would like to say how grateful I am to the Doctors and Nurses who cared for me during my time in Ward 2 East While being a patient in hospital is never a desirable position to be in, there are some absolutely wonderful people working there who have shown such kindness and care, making a pretty awful situation far less traumatic than it otherwise would have been. All of the staff working in Ward 2 East have been awesome, showing such a high degree of care and compassion.”
Simone Howden, Zeny Chico, Connie Privitelli, Carmelina Djordjevic, Heidi Bourguignon and Helen Klymenko
The Administration team at Drug Health Services delivers quality administrative support and continually develops administrative systems that are responsive to the service needs. They implement continuous improvements and innovation whilst fostering collaboration and shared learning. The team always acts with professionalism and integrity. They provide excellent customer service to both clients and staff alike and are a positive and productive team, consistently following procedure and maintaining professionalism at all times. The Administration team create an open, inclusive work environment that is built on respect, communication, integrity and collaborative team work.
Anna Lidgett – Data Manager, Perioperative & Critical Care Services; Sophie Greig – Clinical Nurse Specialist – ICU; Kimberly Brown – Associate Nurse Unit Manager – ICU, Namita Warrior – Pharmacist; Forbes McGain – Anaesthetist and A/Prof Craig French – Director ICU
This project team worked extremely hard to ensure that ICU were able to implement electronic medication charts into our electronic medical record, ICCA. This project commenced in April 2016 with the successful implementation in February 2017. Over this time as a team they have had to effectively build this component of ICCA from the start. Amongst many challenges they have displayed great multidisciplinary team work in getting this project completed by the required timelines and ensuring that they created a system that met the needs of the medical, nursing and pharmacy staff. As a result of having electronic medication charts, ICU is working to decrease medication errors. They have all worked together to ensure all staff using the system have received training and that all questions have been answered. Further they have continued to ‘fine tune’ the system as small issues have been identified once the roll out of the project has been completed. As a team they have ensured that the medical and nursing teams on both sites have received the same amount of support to ensure that all that are using the system are safe to do so. By working together, and across campus they have displayed that as a team they have been able to achieve a great outcome for all.
Ward 2 C – Footscray Hospital
Patient nomination:
“When I arrived on the ward I was very uptight and my behaviour reflected this. The nursing staff on 2C were very compassionate and understanding and changed my ways within 24 hours of my stay. I am very grateful to them and feel much better within myself. They are very special people with very special gifts and I can’t thank them enough. It is onwards and upwards from here for me thanks to them.”
Volunteers – Tea & Coffee Trolley – Adult Specialist Clinics – Footscray Hospital
Teresa and Maureen are very committed volunteers who provide tea, coffee, biscuits and social support to people waiting for outpatient appointments. They both listen to patients’ stories and if they are upset, they calm them down by offering as much support as they can. They are aware of their boundaries with their Volunteer role and they refer more complex matters to the relevant staff members. They are respectful and inclusive to all patients and staff in the Adult Specialist Clinics and make special effort to support those most in need. They provide excellent service and are quite often sought out by patients and families who have met them previously. They are concerned for the safety of others and report anything of concern within their area of work to the appropriate staff members. They promote a positive workplace through their caring attitude which is exhibited to patients, families, staff and fellow volunteer team members.
Volunteers – Williamstown, Ground floor GEM/Rehab (WACU) Ward
Trish and Christine assist patients with their meal trays at lunchtime, freeing up nursing staff. They interact socially with our patients, some for whom have a longer than usual length of stay in hospital. They always introduce themselves when coming on to the ward, flagging any issues that patients may raise or concerns that they may have themselves about a patient. Trish and Christine listen to our patients and treat each one as an individual They ensure that they clearly document their findings when visiting patients and always ask staff if there is something they are not sure about. Having different faces on the ward for our patients to interact with makes their time on the ward more positive.
Team Leader – Palliative Care Consultancy Service
Anita regularly goes above and beyond her role for her patients and their families, who are often experiencing high levels of distress coping with dying or death. In a recent example, a patient had died in the hospital and was in the morgue for a week as the hospital had difficulties contacting the son who was the only contact noted on file. Anita had met the son while the patient was in hospital so was asked to assist with contacting him. Anita spent her weekend calling the son, to no avail, and in contact with local police. When the police finally gained entrance to the son’s house, they ensured he called Anita. Anita managed to calm the son, ascertain the plan for his mother’s funeral and spent some time talking to the son about his issues and encouraging him to see his GP. This was all on a Saturday and Anita only works weekdays. Anita shows a deep compassion towards her patients and their families who are going through a very tough time in their lives. She holds herself and her team accountable for ensuring all of the patients requiring their review are seen and that excellent, high quality care is provided. Anita is also involved in actively promoting and educating general ward staff on providing high quality care for the dying.
Clinical Education Resources Nurse – Williamstown Hospital
Cindy has been working tirelessly to raise awareness of the health and social inequities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and makes a real contribution to ‘Closing the Gap’. Over the last year Cindy has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in remote communities in far North Queensland and in the Islands of the Torres Strait. Back at home at Williamstown Hospital; Cindy continues to be a great ambassador, providing education to staff about the health and wellbeing issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal Cadetship program. Cindy also organised and hosted an afternoon tea on ‘Close the Gap’ day. This amazing event raised awareness of ‘Close the Gap’, what this means and what the gaps are. It also showcased Western Health’s commitment and the programs and events that occur here. What is especially inspiring about Cindy is that none of this is part of her ‘job description’. She works above and beyond to make a real difference to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders here and in remote communities. Her education of staff focuses on cultural safety and promotes the creation of cultural sensitivity at the ward level.
Clinical Midwife Specialist – Birthing Suite
Shirley has been a midwife at Sunshine for 25+ years. I have worked with her for 15 of those years. In that time Shirley has always maintained a positive work place environment, and is exceptionally supportive of staff – both new and old. When a colleague was dying in palliative care, she provided food and transport to family members. When another staff member gave birth to twins, Shirley sat and provided the new parents with a hot meal and a night out (a bit of well needed respite), and for another staff member who had been doing it tough financially, Shirley took them shopping, bought them a new outfit and took them out for the night. It is through her kindness and support that staff here in birthing suite feel valued and respected. Shirley is an exceptionally caring and kind staff member to both patients and staff. She is always accommodating, and when other wards are busy she will always provide help. She is non judgmental, kind and compassionate and her vast clinical knowledge and experience makes her the most valuable player on the ground.