Health Professionals Awarded for Advancing Diabetes Care in Western and Far West NSW

Dedicated rural health practitioners have been recognised at the University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) 2025 Faculty of Health Scholarships and Prizes Ceremony for their commitment to diabetes education and service to their communities.

The four award recipients are currently undertaking a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education through UTS with support from the Care Partnership – Diabetes (CP-D) program.

The CP-D program is a partnership between Far West NSW Local Health District, Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD), Western NSW Primary Health Network and Rural Doctors Network (RDN) that aims to improve health outcomes for people living with type 2 diabetes in Western and Far West NSW.

The award recipients include:

• Jenni McDonald: An Aboriginal health practitioner working with Maari Ma Aboriginal Health Corporation in Broken Hill.
• Craig Jeffery: An Aboriginal health practitioner working with the Diabetes Unit at WNSWLHD in Dubbo.
• Erin Blanch: An Aboriginal health practitioner based in Gilgandra with WNSWLHD.
• Emma Francis: A registered nurse serving the community in Canowindra with WNSWLHD (pictured right).

These four are among 18 rural health professionals across the Western and Far West NSW regions being supported by the CD-D program to become Credentialled Diabetes Educators.

Read more here.

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Related reading:

• Working to improve Type 2 Diabetes outcomes in Western and Far West NSW (2025)
• Collaborating for Better Diabetes Outcomes in Western NSW (2025)
• The Care Partnership – Diabetes program is building a strong Western NSW workforce (2025)