National Rural and Remote Health Awards bring 'powerful acknowledgement' for heroes of community health

Canberra turned on some wintry spring weather ahead of the third annual National Rural and Remote Health Awards on Wednesday but still managed a very warm welcome for over 180 attendees, including 30 finalists, at the National Press Club of Australia.

Canberra turned on some wintry spring weather ahead of the third annual National Rural and Remote Health Awards hosted by RDN's Rural Health Pro on Wednesday, but still managed a very warm welcome for more than 180 attendees, including 30 finalists, at the National Press Club of Australia.

“We saw snow this morning on the mountains in the distance, it was beautiful,” said Rachel Abbott, who had flown in with niece Sheena Abbott from a hot Alice Springs, to represent the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress’ Culture Care Connect (CCC) Suicide Prevention Team.

The all-Aboriginal team of five provides holistic support following suicide attempts, suicidal distress, or deaths by suicide, and between July 2024 and June 2025, the team supported more than 200 clients.

“To be acknowledged is just so powerful,” Rachel told RDN after being presented with the 2025 Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healthcare Award. “I was shocked, I was shaking,” added Sheena, who was on her first visit to Canberra. “It’s just deadly.”

The contrasting desert heat of the Alice and Brindabella snows above Canberra were symbolic of the rich diversity of Australian rural and remote communities represented.

“These Awards are a really wonderful gathering of the rural and remote health community, and that’s important because rural practice can feel isolating and it’s vital to meet with people who are facing similar challenges and learn from each other and support each other,” said Rural Health Pro Manager, Jessica Rostas.

“From the most remote corners of Australia to the national stage in Canberra, the Awards offer an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the inspiring stories of our rural health professionals and their innovation, dedication and passion for community.”

The Awards were entertainingly MC’d by ABC Canberra’s Ross Solly and former RDN Cadet Dr Pippa Kensit, with addresses by National Rural and Remote Health Commissioner, Professor Jenny May AM, and Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health, the Hon Emma McBride MP, as well as a video message from Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd AO, who was represented by Dr Susan Wearne.

Dr Kensit also conducted a “yarning session” sit-down interview with RDN Chair, Professor Peter O’Mara, in his capacity as a clinician and Director Thurru Indigenous Health Unit at the University of Newcastle.

Gratitude for recognition ran deep among finalists and award recipients on the evening, but each had in mind a deeper resonance. “It’s nice to be recognised, especially at a forum like this,” said Christine Mann, Executive Director, First Nations Health at North West Hospital Health Service (NWHHS).

“But it’s a bit deeper than that, a bit more meaningful given Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) has been rife, particularly in rural and remote areas a lot of people have lost their lives, so we made a commitment a few years ago to commit to action. But people’s grief and suffering is ongoing when they’ve lost loved ones, and those people mattered.”

Christine was attending with the All in!! Working Collaboratively to Drive Down Rheumatic Heart Disease in Remote First Nations Communities team, which won the Rural/Remote Multidisciplinary Health Collaboration of the Year Award.

Through combining the expertise of healthcare professionals, community leaders, and social services in a groundbreaking collaboration, All In!! has achieved a reduction in RHD prevalence.

RDN Article Image CaptionsBorders (44).png Loretta Juhel travelled down from Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, to represent the Shire Council’s collaboration with All In!!. “I run the Orange Sky laundromat on Mornington Island and work for the Council,” Loretta explained.

“The laundromat is very important on the island, for clean linen and bedding – I didn’t realise until we started how many people didn’t have washing machines so it’s a much needed service.”

“It’s not just a place to come and do your washing – people come for a yarn, have a cuppa tea, I even have visits from the school children across the road. It’s more than a laundromat.”

“No success can come from any one service alone, we’ve really had to partner together,” added Christine Mann. “Particularly around the social determinants to move forward like Loretta is talking about.”

These words rang true across the category winners at the Awards throughout the night.

Moree dietitian Renaye Madden performed a little dance of joy as she stepped up to the stage to receive the Dedication to Health in a Remote Location Award.

An Associate Lecturer in Allied Health at the University of Newcastle’s Department of Rural Health and dietitian at Pius X Aboriginal Medical Service, Renaye has led and co-designed several community-driven initiatives, that have significantly improved health outcomes for Aboriginal families and is currently seeking funding on a cook book authored with Kamilaroi elders to bring back recipes from their childhoods.

“Working in a remote location, getting recognition just really spurs you on, but I am really conscious that I have an entire community and two really supportive workplaces that allow me to work alongside them,” she later told ABC New England’s Heather Richardson. “I’m really honoured to receive this award.”

A remarkable team of six women at Yackandandah, Victoria, were recognised with the Rural/Remote Disability or Aged Carer of the Year Award for their dedicated care for Meg Casley, a non-verbal young woman with cerebral palsy who lives at home with her family in the rural community.

Asked by MC Ross Solly what inspires the team, disability support worker Jemasyn Bertilli answered “Meg. To put it plainly, her.... I mean, every time we walk in, she has the biggest smile and the best laugh.

“We just know that we are making her life better by showing up each day and it makes us feel valued. And we know that we're making her feel like she deserves to feel as a human and be acknowledged and loved and cared for in a right way.”

RDN Article Image CaptionsBorders (43).png Picking up this year’s Rural/Remote Health Professional of the Year was central QLD rural generalist Dr Andrew Scott, whose first senior medical role was on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. Dr Scott now travels between Rockhampton, Emerald and Gladstone providing top-of-scope care for rural communities, including performing endoscopies using an endoscopist-directed nurse-administered sedation model (EDNAPS) at Rockhampton, removing the need for an anesthesiologist, freeing them up for complex cases, reducing costs, and improving patient access to care by streamlining the process.

The Rural/Remote Innovator of the Year Award was this year won by Outback Active, which operates primarily in Katherine and surrounding areas. Outback Active delivers tailored exercise interventions assisted by exercise professionals and allied health students to support preventative allied health care in remote Northern Territory Communities, addressing barriers of geographic isolation, workforce shortages, and cultural accessibility.

Pharmacy 777 Pilbara received the Rural/Remote Health Employer of the Year Award, and has been a cornerstone of healthcare for the last 20 years in one of Australia’s most remote regions, the Pilbara in Western Australia.

Redefining rural pharmacy care and transforming access to care across the Pilbara, Pharmacy 777 Pilbara has grown from a single store with three pharmacists, to a network of four locations with a team of 25 pharmacists and more than 100 staff.

Workforce wellbeing and sustainability is central to the Pharmacy 777 model, which supports full-scope practice development. This commitment is backed by a strong workforce development framework and offers structured professional growth pathways—from school-based traineeships to leadership roles. Staff benefit from paid training, mentorship, and purpose-built housing, addressing critical retention barriers in the region.

The Milton-Ulludulla Times on the NSW south coast was pleased to report that home-town heroine Marion Hatwell, practice manager at the Milton Family Medical Practice and South Coast Skin Cancer Clinic, was awarded for Excellence in Rural/Remote Health Administration, calling her win one for the “little guys”.

Her nominator, Dr Flore Meike, highlighted Marion’s contributions to leadership, service expansion, community engagement and cultural responsiveness.

Courtney Smith-Garbutt, a medical receptionist at Bullinah Aboriginal Health Service, was named Rising Star in Rural/Remote Health. Courtney identified a critical gap in diabetes education and took action—securing grant funding, coordinating a multidisciplinary team, and successfully delivering the Bullinah Diabetes Management Education Day.

“As a mother of four young children, I can see how important it is to inspire and encourage the next generation to care for their communities, to value connection, and to understand the difference they can make in rural and remote health,” Courtney said.

Courtney's proudest moment as a ‘rising star’ in rural and remote health? Inspiring her community and the next generation!

“I am most proud of inspiring my children and community to prioritise their health, believe in their potential, and recognise the positive impact they can have on improving the wellbeing of others”, she said.

The National Rural and Remote Health Awards were launched by RDN’s Rural Health Pro in 2023 and aim to connect and support the Rural Health community around Australia. RDN Chair, Prof. Peter O’Mara, a proud Wiradjuri man and rural doctor, was delighted with the quality of this year’s nominations and, in particular, the engagement from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care organisations.

“When you look at the list of people and the things that are being achieved it is absolutely amazing - it is inspiring to us all and that’s the most important thing – to be inspired by these Awards, which allow for sharing of stories between what one community is doing and how we can apply that to another location,” Professor O’Mara said.