By Callum Ludwig and Tanya Steele
Two registered nurses in Healesville have been nominated for the Victorian Rural Health Awards set to take place on June 27 this year.
Both have been nominated for their work within the local highschool scene, going above and beyond to bring benefits to the children.
The two nominees Ms Mandy Ven-Velp Fernand and Ms Claire Oettinger were shocked to be put forward for the awards but both said it was nice to be recognised.
“You never really expect to get recognition, really, you just sort of carry on doing what you’re doing,” Ms Van-Velp Fernand
“It is nice to be recognised for the work that we do, It’s been tough over the last few years with COVID and looking after everybody in the community,” Ms Oettinger said.
The Get Well Clinic in Healesville has been running a programme named Doctors in Secondary Schools since 2017 and both nurses have been vital in the operation.
Ms Van-Velp Fernand has been improving access to local health with Worawa Aboriginal College and Ms Claire Oettinger has been making regular visits to the Healesville High School
Ms Van-Velp Fernand said she has developed a good rapport with the students and making the regular visits to the Worawa Aboriginal College has been rewarding for her as a health practitioner.
“They’re away from home, they’re young, by having somebody going there regularly, then they can gradually get comfortable, it has been really good,” Ms Van-Velp Fernand said.
“The girls really engage well with Mandy and she knows them very well, they’re very comfortable with her and she’s able to give excellent care and support to them and goes above and beyond as well,” Ms Oettinger said.
Healesville High School has also had regular visits from the Get Well Clinic and Ms Oettinger has also put in a lot of effort in reaching out to the school through an egg and bacon breakfast she developed and provides with her church.
Ms Van-Velp Fernand said that Ms Oettinger really goes above and beyond what would be expected to run that programme.
“A lot of the time, we’ve actually run that as a nurse led clinic, so we’ve done a lot in supporting the kids in health education and literacy,” Ms Van-Velp Fernand said.
Both nurses said it is vital for the local children to have an ongoing relationship with a local health facility.
“We can improve their health literacy and just get them on board and engaging regularly it makes a huge difference to their outcomes,” Ms Oettinger said.
“Just that knowing what is available to them and a little bit more information about how to access that and just knowing that we’re local so that they can get it at any time has been really important,” Ms Van-Velp Fernand said.
Providing regular care has produced long term results for the clinic and Ms Oettinger said they now have clients which they have known for a long time.
“Some of them have been coming to us since the early years in high school, and then they’ve graduated and they still come, they come to the clinic as adults and their families come along as well,” Ms Oettinger said.
The nurses have both enjoyed their work getting out into the youth community and said it has been a process.
“We carry laptops and fishing tackle bags and we go out and deliver the care, it’s fun, it’s good and gets us out,” Ms Van-Velp Fernand said.
“And I think both of us have actually surprised ourselves with loving it and really upskilling and engaging in quality improvement and things like that to make sure that what we deliver to the kids is the best that they can get,” she said.
Ms Van-Velp Fernand has been nominated for her contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Ms Oettinger has been selected for her contribution to rural primary healthcare nursing, the awards ceremony is on June 27, 2023.
Both nurses are passionate about their craft and will continue with their work in the Healesville community.
“Thanks to the clinic for nominating us and for appreciating how important a good nurse is, we couldn’t do it without them,” Ms Van-Velp Fernand said.
