By Pam Kiriakidis
Mitchell Shire residents Roslyn Stewart and Suresh Jain were recipients of this year’s Victorian Rural Health Awards, celebrating outstanding health professionals across rural Victoria.
The awards – acknowledging significant contributions of individuals and teams making a difference – were held virtually online last month, with 11 categories announced.
Broadford’s Roslyn Stewart was presented with the Outstanding Contribution By A Rural Health Consumer Advocate Award – an award dedicated to a consumer, carer or community member who has contributed to healthcare through their own lived experience.
Dealing with her own mental health battles for 40 years, Ms Stewart has been a volunteer consumer/lived experience representative on the Goulburn Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee for the past three years and was recently appointed to represent the Hume region for the Royal Commission’s Mental Interim Regional Body.
Her dedication to shaping better mental health services began when she relocated to Broadford 17 years ago to care for her ill mother. Ms Stewart joined the Suicide Prevention Network to improve the services she saw only exist in Melbourne to help her eating disorder.
“When I came up here to work, I realised that people didn’t have the support I had in Melbourne, there just wasn’t anything and I felt I’ve been supported so I needed to give back,” Ms Stewart said.
After developing an eating disorder at 18-years-old, with several hospitalised visits as she worked as a pharmacist in Melbourne, Ms Stewart felt she was in a good position to assist care and has provided Mental Health First Aid Training to her community over the years.
“I’m real, when I wrote the chapter for the book last year [for the Mitchell Shire Suicide Prevention Network] I wrote it because I was on my journey with anorexia. I thought even if I helped one person, it’d be worth it,” she said.
“I hope that my honesty and my willingness to listen, and explaining what each person has to say is worth something and worthwhile and will bring about change.”
Kilmore general practitioner Suresh Jain said he was ‘humbled’ to receive the Outstanding Contribution By A Rural GP or Rural Generalist Award for his work at Kilmore Medical Centre.
“I consider this to be a recognition of rural generalist as a specialty, I thank my colleagues for nominating and supporting me during my stay in Kilmore, also for their work in this district,” he said.
The medical field was not his first preference when finishing high school, but he followed his parents’ advice and graduated from Gandi Medical College in India in 1966.
Migrating to Australia in 1970 for an adventure, Dr Jain landed his first medical job at Royal Hobart Hospital and shortly after moved to Ballarat. However his career took a back seat as he focused on recovering from a serious car accident in Melbourne.
After recovery Dr Jain began his rural career in Hopetoun and settled in Kilmore in 1974 where he bought a practice, working as the only doctor in Kilmore, Broadford and Wallan for a few years, and at the Kilmore District Hospital, managing accidents and emergencies.
While a few clinics began opening in Wallan, in 2000, Dr Jain and a group of doctors built the Kilmore Medical Centre, which later sold to new owners.
Dr Jain said Kilmore presented opportunities in emergency, surgery, medical and birth deliveries, as well as providing him with community engagement through being an active member of Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell.
“I have been very fortunate to enjoy the support and trust of the local community, friends and colleagues and also very well supported by my wife Jeannette and whole family,” he said.
“I have grown up with the rest of the community in Kilmore and I feel that I have improved a lot and kept up with continuing education, thus upgrading my skills and knowledge constantly.”
