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Home > Ministers > The Hon Warren Snowdon MP, Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Services Delivery > Media Hub > National Indigenous Health Award Winners Announced

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PDF printable version of National Indigenous Health Award Winners Announced (PDF 35 KB)

29 April 2010

Indigenous organisations and Individuals that have promoted quality and excellence in health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been recognised in new national award ceremony.

Minister for Indigenous Health, Warren Snowdon, presented recipients with their awards at the inaugural Healthy for Life and New Directions Mothers and Babies Services Health Awards in Brisbane on 29 April 2010.

The awards follow a conference bringing together representatives who deliver Healthy for Life and New Directions Mothers programs, which together focus on child and maternal health care, early detection and management of chronic disease and men’s health. (See background below).

Mr Snowdon congratulated the six award winners.

“They highlight the innovation and leadership being demonstrated by organisations and individuals in addressing the Government’s targets to close the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.”

The award recipients are:

• Noel Hayman (Brisbane, QLD) - Winner, Individual Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.
• Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation (Broken Hill, NSW) - Winner, Organisational Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.
• Julie Wilson (East Gippsland, VIC) - Recognition of Service, Individual Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.
• Inala Indigenous Health Service (Brisbane, QLD) - Recognition of Service, Organisational Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.
• Dennis Scott (Bega/Eden, NSW) - Encouragement Award, Individual Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.
• Mawarnkarra Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (Roebourne, WA) - Encouragement Award, Organisational Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.

Nominations for the awards were assessed against the criteria of effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, adaptability, cultural relevance and leadership.

A full list of biographies is attached below and photos are available. (media contact below)

The Rudd Government has allocated funding of almost $1 billion in the 2009-10 Budget for health programs specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Mr Snowdon said progress is being made to close the gap, and that’s been recently illustrated in a report by the National Indigenous Health Equality Council (NIHEC):

“While sustained action is still required, the report Child Mortality Target: Analysis and Recommendations is very encouraging. It shows we are on track to fulfil our commitment to halve the gap in mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under five within a decade.”

Media contact: Alice Plate 0400 045 999 or alice.plate@health.gov.au

Background to Healthy for Life and New Directions Mothers and Babies conference

The Rudd Government has invested $38.2 million this financial year to support the Healthy for Life program, which provides funds to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, as well as mothers, babies and children. It also aims to improve the quality of life for people with a chronic condition and, reduce the incidence of adult chronic disease.

The Australian Government has also invested $90.3 million over five years in the New Directions Mothers and Babies Services program, which also focuses on early childhood, and has established 56 services across Australia to support vulnerable mothers and their babies.

Both programs have been established to recognised importance of providing the best start in life for children and their families in order to give them a healthy future.

For more information is available at www.health.gov.au/healthyforlife

Award Recipient Biographies

Noel Hayman (Brisbane, QLD) - Winner Individual Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.

Associate Professor Hayman has been working in Indigenous health for the past 19 years and his contributions to the Closing the Gap health targets have been substantial. His achievements include improving access to a mainstream health service for Indigenous people (The Inala Community Health Centre General Practice Unit in Brisbane), using a continuous quality improvement model (Healthy for Life) to improve quality of care, provide a teaching unit for the University of Queensland, initiating and completing local Indigenous public health research projects and working in collaboration with local Community Controlled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services to improve health outcomes.

Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation (Broken Hill, NSW) – Winner Organisational Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.

Maari Ma Health’s community leaders recognised that prevention of chronic disease required a whole of life approach which is integrated and inter-sectoral and created the Healthy Start program in line with this philosophy.

The Healthy Start program encourages children and their families to choose healthier attitudes and habits, leading to a reduction in the incidence of lifestyle related chronic disease in later life.

The program has made significant achievements by engaging women during pregnancy and in the first five years of their child’s life. The program also encourages women to build positive relationships which hold their children and families in good stead for the rest of their lives.

Julie Wilson (East Gippsland, VIC) –Recognition of Service Award for Individual Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.

Julie implemented the Early Years Healthy for Life Strategy in Orbost East Gippsland and, in the process, has engaged Aboriginal families who were previously disconnected from early years support services.

Julie has introduced resources and programs to the East Gippsland region such as the Bub’s Packs, Midwives Connections and Expectant Mum’s Packs, Lifestyle Programs and Parenting Programs that engage and support Koori mothers and babies who previously had little contact with the health system. Through participation in these programs local people have increased their confidence in interacting with the early years service providers.

Julie’s energy and enthusiasm for the health of her local community has been a motivator enabling her to grasp the theoretical components of her training and apply them in a range of settings.

Inala Indigenous Health Service (Brisbane, QLD) – Recognition of Service Award for Organisational Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.

In 1994 nursing staff at the Inala Community Health Centre General Practice identified that there were barriers to Indigenous people accessing the unit. This led to a focus on increasing attendance rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the mainstream health services. The Inala Indigenous Health Service (IIHS) was established in 1995 and has grown from 12 clients to approximately 3500 regular clients in 2008.

While the IIHS was achieving success in its own right for service provision, implementing Healthy for Life catapulted the service to become a leading and stand-out model of care. The qualitative and quantitative data highlight the outstanding improvements in health outcomes over the quality improvement cycle and they have out-performed national averages for all indicators.

Dennis Scott (Bega/Eden, NSW) – Encouragement Award for Individual Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.

Dennis is a trained Aboriginal Health Worker who is helping to improve the health of his community. Dennis is one of the team members who established the Koori Diabetes Clinic in Bega and Eden. This innovative clinic has been embraced by the community for its health component and also for the opportunity to gather and network with each other.

Dennis also worked with local agencies to run a men’s camp that targeted young and middle-aged men who were failing to use health services. This camp engaged this hard to reach group and sent a strong message to the men and their families that their health was worth looking after.

Mawarnkarra Health Service (Roebourne, WA) – Encouragement Award for Organisational Contribution to Closing the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcomes.

The Mawarnkarra’s Mums and Bubs program provides health education, incorporating relevant cultural beliefs, to pregnant women, mothers and families. The program was created to fill identified gaps in the health service provided to Indigenous and post natal mums by the Mawarnkarra Health team and community elders.

One of the strengths of the program is its interconnectedness with focuses on social-health, women’s business, men’s responsibility taking, nutritional benefits, exercise and raising self esteem through knowledge and empowerment.

The program brought about significant change to the way young mothers and fathers, together with extended family, think about motherhood and children within a cultural context and within best practice models.