Congratulations to the 2020 Chief Executive Award winners
Date published: 03 May 2021
Author: Katie Harkin
This year, the CE Awards were about acknowledging the efforts of our staff in the face of unforeseen challenges, from the bushfires to COVID-19, with five new award categories to reflect this.
After a challenging and often exhausting year, the CE Awards were a great opportunity to pay tribute to the extraordinary achievements of our staff throughout 2020.
At the end of March, Chief Executive Carmen Rechbauer travelled around NSW to personally recognise the award winners, with five individual and five team winners announced over two weeks. These exceptional individuals and teams have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to delivering HealthShare services to our people and patients. Congratulations to our 2020 Chief Executive Award winners!
Chief Executive Awards Winners – Individuals
- Chief Executive Award for Resilience: Sharen Ozcan, Associate Director, Supply Chain Operations
- Chief Executive Award for Leadership: Zdenka Fuller, Acting Director, Clinical Support Services
- Chief Executive Award for COVID response: Melissa Kerrigan, COVID-19 Lead, Health and Wellbeing, Workforce
- Chief Executive Award for Bushfire/flood response: David King, Patient Transport Officer, Patient Transport Service
- Chief Executive Award for Partnering for patients: Daniel Flunt, Senior Respiratory Advisor, EnableNSW
Chief Executive Awards Winners - Teams
- Chief Executive Award for Collaboration: Accounts Payable Team
- Chief Executive Award for Resilience: Business Performance
- Chief Executive Award for COVID response: Procurement and Supply Chain Directorate
- Chief Executive Award for Bushfire/flood response: Batemans Bay Food and Patient Support Services
- Chief Executive Award for Partnering for patients: Patient Transport Service Hunter New England Pilot
Our Winners
Sharen Ozcan – Award for Resilience
In 2020, Sharen’s role grew from managing the procurement, supply and distribution of medical products to NSW Health facilities to managing the state-wide supply of lifesaving masks and personal protective equipment to all NSW Government agencies during the State’s worst ever bushfires and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharen’s dedication is second to none, as demonstrated when she personally delivered hand sanitiser to the first NSW school with a positive COVID-19 case to stop the virus from spreading further.
Zdenka Fuller – Award for Leadership
As a result of Zdenka’s leadership, there have been significant achievements across the whole Supply Chain Innovation – Nutrition and CBORD Services Team throughout 2020, including an uninterrupted supply chain during the bushfire crisis and floods in January and February. Zdenka’s leadership goes hand in hand with achievement in her portfolio because of the strong team ethos she has instilled with all of her team members.
Melissa Kerrigan – Award for COVID response
Melissa has been working as clinical lead of the COVID-19 Wellbeing team since the start of the pandemic. Melissa has been available 24/7 as an escalation point, providing quality advice to staff and managers. She has conducted thorough risk assessments, provided advice, guidance and support to staff and managers affected by COVID-19. This ensured that our critical services Melissa Kerrigan could continue through these challenging times.
David King – Award for Bushfire/flood response
During the December 2019 and January 2020 bushfires in the Blue Mountains, David, alongside his team, worked tirelessly through the night and into the early hours of the morning to ensure Springwood Hospital patients and Uniting Care Lewin Nursing Home residents were evacuated safely. He showed professionalism, care and experience to ensure our elderly and recovering patients were safe, comfortable and at ease, even through the traumatic stages of evacuation and transportation.
Daniel Flunt – Award for Partnering for patients
Daniel is a true advocate for patients and their families and is passionate about improving health outcomes of patients. Daniel led a pilot to determine the feasibility of introducing paediatric and adult funding criteria for Mechanical in-Exsufflators (MIE) through the EnableNSW Home Respiratory Program. Daniel’s clinical expertise was critical to the success of this project, and his ability to foster positive working relationships with different experts and teams across the state underpinned the overall success of the project.
Accounts Payable Team – Award for Collaboration
This team has successfully navigated the challenges of 2020 to maintain the financial foundation of a system that has been challenged by extreme environmental, financial and health stressors. A major reason our clinicians had swift access to personal protective equipment (PPE) at the height of the pandemic was because of this team. Accounts Payable successfully created innovative payment methods in collaboration with multiple stakeholder groups, to quickly get PPE suppliers paid.
Business Performance – Award for Resilience
The Business Performance Directorate has shown high levels of resilience this year as it supported the HealthShare NSW and NSW Health COVID-19 response. With up to half of the directorate pulled from their roles into COVID facing roles, all members of the team had to step up, with many staff working in unfamiliar roles or with unfamiliar customers.
Procurement and Supply Chain Directorate – Award for COVID response
In response to COVID-19, Procurement and Supply Chain Operations was tasked with sourcing an extraordinary quantity of PPE, ventilators, pharmaceuticals and other medical equipment to ensure the safety of NSW Health staff and patients. The team immediately responded, working extraordinary hours to secure and manage the distribution of critical supplies. Often tasked with setting up new operations and processes in very condensed timeframes, staff have consistently demonstrated resilience, helpfulness and adaptability.
Batemans Bay Food and Patient Support Services – Award for Bushfire/flood response
The bushfires started around 10 minutes outside of Batemans Bay, directly impacting the hospital, which staff described as feeling like a war zone. Staff worked incredibly long hours making sandwiches, handing out bottled water, and assisting the nursing staff where they could. In the midst of a major disaster, staff looked out for each other, sympathised with the patients, and did their best to keep everyone safe. They worked together as a team to get through a challenging situation.
Patient Transport Service Hunter New England Pilot – Award for Partnering for patients
HealthShare NSW began working with Hunter New England Local Health District and NSW Ambulance on the Hunter New England Pilot to improve service delivery and efficiency in Patient Transport Services, while maintaining patient experience across the district. The improved relationships and more frequent interactions have resulted in better understanding of each other's service scope, daily demands and pressure points, and has provided opportunities to effectively resolve issues and identify priorities in the moment.
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