Calvary Bruce Public Hospital nurses recognised at ACT 2020 Nursing and Midwifery Awards
13th May 2020
Congratulations to Kathy Coonan, Nikki Johnston and Rachel Bilten-Simek of Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, who were recognized for their achievements at the ACT 2020 Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards on Tuesday, 12 May.
The awards are an annual event to recognise the contribution nurses and midwives make towards the health and wellbeing of the Canberra community.
In revealing the award recipients Minister for Health, Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA expressed the significance of this year for all nurses and midwives and why this year’s awards are so important.
“Globally, 2020 is being marked as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife and given the exceptional events we’re facing, it is very timely to acknowledge just how much we value the contribution of all nurses and midwives make to looking after and caring for our community.
“Our nurses and midwives have a great impact on the lives of people in our community. As we face the challenges of COVID-19, nurses and midwives across our health system have not wavered in their ability to deliver high quality, people centred health care,” Minister Stephen-Smith said.
Kathy, a Neonatal Midwife at Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, was nominated for the Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Award for her dedication to her career of providing babies, mothers and families the best care during a challenging time in their life. A role model for staff to aspire to, Kathy began her midwifery career in Canberra in 1983 and was of the team that established the Newborn and Parent Support Service at The Canberra Hospital in the mid-1990s, the program to this day allows premature babies to be discharged earlier with skilled neonatal clinicians caring for the family in their home.
Nikki, a Nurse Practitioner at Clare Holland House, was nominated for the Excellence in Quality Improvement/Research Award for her ongoing commitment to improving care for people living in residential aged care facilities and leading the effective integration of evidence-based knowledge into practice through Palliative Care Needs Rounds.
Rachel, a Palliative Care Educator at Clare Holland House, was nominated for Excellence in Educational Practice for her caring and professional nature and encouraging others to reflect on their practice and assist them to develop plans to engage in further education.
See the media release for further details of the awards and winners.
