District celebrates 2025 Excellence in Allied Health Awards
Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) is delighted to announce the recipients of its 2025 Excellence in Allied Health Awards, with a presentation ceremony at Orange helping to mark Allied Health Professions Day on 14 October.
This annual event acknowledges the passion and dedication of allied health professionals and their support staff across Western NSW, and recognises the monumental contributions they make to their communities.
Angela Firth, WNSWLHD Executive Director of Allied and Population Health, said it was a pleasure to congratulate each recipient as well as those who were highly commended in each of the seven categories.
“We had 60 nominations this year and they were of an amazing calibre, so it was once again an extremely difficult task to select the recipients of this year’s awards. I’d like to wholeheartedly congratulate them all,” Ms Firth said.
“As always, this event gives us an opportunity to come together as colleagues and friends to celebrate the work and accomplishments of our allied health professionals. It’s something I look forward to every year.
“To be able to mark the occasion on Allied Health Professions Day 2025 was quite special and our award recipients will once again be put forward as nominees for the NSW Excellence in Allied Health Awards too.”
Ms Firth said the event is not just an opportunity to celebrate the award recipients, but also provides a chance to recognise the dedication, commitment and achievements of the District’s entire allied health workforce.
“We have more than 650 allied health staff in District and they do amazing things every single day. They work extremely hard to deliver essential services in our hospitals, health centres and in the community too,” Ms Firth said.
“From dietetics to occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, radiation therapy, social work, psychology and more, our teams deliver services face-to-face and virtually, also playing an important role in promoting wellbeing.
“I can’t wait to see, hopefully, a number of our award recipients now also recognised at the state-wide awards.”
2025 WNSWLHD Excellence in Allied Health Award recipients:
- Allied Health Professional of the Year: Lisa Onley (Exercise Physiology; Orange/Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol
- Aboriginal Allied Health Professional of the Year: Tara Swainston (Occupational Therapy; Dubbo Health Service)
- Early Career Allied Health Professional of the Year: Tony Craw (Speech Pathology; Orange Health Service)
- Allied Health Researcher of the Year: Linda Krogh (Pharmacy; District-wide services)
- Allied Health Leader of the Year: Corey Hemopo (Medical Imaging; District-wide services)
- Allied Health Educator of the Year: Victoria Young (Medical Imaging; District-wide services)
- Allied Health Assistant/Technician of the Year: Mariah Delany (Rural Health Allied Assistant; Nyngan/Virtual Allied Health Service)
For more details about the recipients and nominees in each category, visit the WNSWLHD website.