Women in health excel: MLHD announces finalists for annual awards

All 13 finalists for individual honours at the 2024 MLHD Excellence Awards are women, while 20 teams have been recognised in the group categories.

MLHD chief executive Jill Ludford said the awards represented an opportunity to recognise and reward accomplishments of teams and individuals across the district.

"It's a very exciting time for our organisation as we come together to recognise health staff who have gone above and beyond in their roles within the MLHD," she said.

"We've seen such high quality and diverse nominations this year, the judging panels really have had a tough time determining the top three in each category.

"The Excellence Awards celebrate the achievements of staff and volunteers for their pursuit of excellence and commitment to improving the lives of patients."

The individual categories are for this year's top allied health staff member, nurse or midwife, volunteer, and staff member.

A finalist for volunteer of the year, Samara Franke is a Safewards facilitator at the Wagga mental health unit.

Her involvement in mental health services is extensive, having volunteered with for five years specialising in calming methods, and working with nursing and allied health teams to deliver training to all staff in the mental health units.

She is also the carer representative on the implementation team that meets monthly.

A vocal and enthusiastic ambassador for mental health, Ms Franke has lived experience as a carer for someone with mental illness.

She has been involved in developing resources, the lived experience network and a range of initiatives - including various models of care and procedures.

Also working in Wagga mental health services is Kaitlyn Haran, who is a finalist for nurse or midwife of the year.

She is the transitional nurse practitioner for the mental health inpatient units and has worked to improve the staff's ability to manage distress of patients and empower them to utilise skills and strategies to de-escalate volatile incidents.

Previously, Ms Haran was the coordinator and project lead for the Aboriginal Cultural Day for the Out of Home Care Health Pathway program in 2022 - which won the Priority Populations Program excellence award.

She also led a Clozapine clinic reform project at Community Mental Health, where she trained all of the staff on MyVirtualCare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms Haran currently serves on several committees, including work health and safety, safeguards and leadership.

There are seven team categories, with awards for Keeping People Healthy, Digital Innovation, Enhancing People and Culture, Enriching Consumer Experience, Exceptional Aboriginal Healthcare, Patient Safety First and Research.

The team from the Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) Pathway Intervention Times research is a finalist for the Research Award.

Undertaken collaboratively with Charles Sturt University's Three Rivers Department of Rural Health, the research aims to better understand the connection between Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) pathways and better treatment outcomes.

The results revealed a strong association between ACS pathway use and improved intervention times, which has led to dedicated education and promotion efforts by clinicians.

It also has internal support for a second stage of the project to examine the experiences of ED nurses when deciding whether to use the pathway.

To see all of the finalists for the 2024 MLHD Excellence Awards, and why they're nominated, visit MLHD's YouTube.

Winners will be announced at a gala presentation evening on Friday, June 14.