Local midwife, Whitney Harris, has been awarded Far West Local Health District’s Midwife of the Year as part of celebrations across Broken Hill, Menindee, Buronga, and Wilcannia.
Every year, communities around the world celebrate International Day of the Midwife on 5 May, recognising the important work midwives, like Whitney, do for families in our community. Far West LHD Executive Director of Nursing & Midwifery/Director of Clinical Governance, Wendy Gleeson said the accolade was well-deserved.
“Whitney has been recognised for her dedication in supporting midwifery students learn the craft of Midwifery and promoting a positive workplace culture by welcoming them and taking the time to explain clinical practice,” Ms Gleeson said.
“She is always happy to help and is an excellent educator/mentor. Whitney has also recently embarked on l postgraduate studies to develop additional skills which will support an identified growing area of need for our community.
Mrs Harris will also be nominated in the 2024 NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards, which will be held in Sydney later this year.
Ms Gleeson said today’s celebration was an important opportunity to thank local midwives for their ongoing commitment to high quality care and acknowledge the dedication, skill and compassion they provide to women and their families everyday.
“I want to also extend my gratitude to all our Far West midwives for always striving to provide safe and holistic midwifery care to women, babies and families in our community,” she said.
“Our midwives work tirelessly to ensure excellent care in our rural and remote communities across Broken Hill, Menindee, Buronga and Wilcannia.
“The significance and importance of providing women, their partners and families with compassionate care during pregnancy, birth and beyond, no matter where they live, cannot be underestimated.”
Ms Gleeson thanked our midwives for their dedication to their profession, their care for families and passion for providing excellence in midwifery care.
Midwives provide expert, compassionate antenatal, labour, birth and postnatal care to women, babies and families and work collaboratively with other maternity clinicians to ensure women receive the right care for their individual needs. Midwives provide care in many different settings including acute hospital care and in the community both in Broken Hill and in remote health services.
Across Far West Local Health District, our midwives support the birth of almost 200 babies each year and support an additional 40 women each year who receive antenatal and postnatal care.
Far West Local Health District (FWLHD) is urging residents to protect themselves against Q fever this summer, as warmer weather and high winds may increase the chance of the disease spreading.
Communities in Far West NSW will benefit from a $1.9 million funding boost from the NSW Government to upgrade hospitals and health facilities in the region.
