From health checks at pubs and saleyards to bush kids first aid in rural schools; for the past eight years Christine Connor and Letecia Kearney have travelled thousands of kilometres together as HealthWISE primary health care nurses.
No day is the same… the only common element is the pair’s dedication to improving the health of the many tiny communities the Primary Health Care Nurse program services – 11 local government areas in the New England North West of NSW.
As the program comes to an end this year, there is a lot of sadness, but also great pride for everything they have achieved.
Reaching towns of less than 2000 people, Christine and Letecia are our longest serving nurses, and their intimate knowledge and deep love of their communities shines through in everything they do.
“We’re very privileged to be welcomed into these small communities,” said Letecia.
They have driven into smoke to support fire ravaged towns from the front lines, navigated their way around flooded country roads to coordinate rural health education events attracting hundreds and even travelled through the snow with their blood pressure machines to provide health checks to farmers. For many, our primary health care nurses have been the first health professional they’ve been in contact with for years.
“It’s been eventful. It’s been fun. If I was going to do it with anybody, it would be Letecia,” Christine said with a laugh.
“Experienced lots and lots of things. Stayed in some colourful places, ran huge events where we’ve been exhausted. The travel, the places we’ve been to… it’s certainly been absolutely fantastic.”
“It’s just been the best partnership. When we’re working side by side, it’s beautiful.”
Apart from being amazing professionals, they're also beautiful women. They go above and beyond.
Partnering alongside of another trusted organisation has meant that wherever we've gone with them, we get to access community members that we wouldn't normally have access to.
I would imagine that some 75% of the actual school work that we did, if not even more, was based on the fact of the HealthWISE contacts.
Chris and Letecia have delivered the most remarkable footprint of preventative health care across our region.
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At 14 years, Christine has been in the role for longer than HealthWISE has existed, and she has worked as a nurse delivering health care for four decades. She was honoured for her service at the 2023 Primary Care Quality and Innovation Awards, where she was inducted into the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network hall of fame, and was just one of four individuals in Australia to be shortlisted for the 2023 National Rural and Remote Health Awards Health Professional of the Year award.
She knows her communities like the back of her hand and has an incredible breadth of connections. When she sees something impacting the health of people in a certain location, Christine is the first to find a way to help.
In May 2024, the nurses responded to an increased number of women receiving cancer diagnoses in the little village of Upper Horton with a free health education event at the sports club. Local ladies caught up over a warm meal while learning practical information on women’s health and rural services from Christine and Letecia along with their ‘A Team’ of partners from BreastScreen, the Cancer Council, the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program and the Hunter New England Local Health District. Responses from the night were glowing and many commented on the great need for health education in rural areas.
Letecia says some of the work she’s most proud of is in places that lack access to health services, and in those affected by natural disasters.
“A lot of these small communities have suffered drought, bushfires, Covid, mouse plagues, and we’ve been able to stay in touch with them throughout all those disasters. I’m very proud of that,” she said.
Letecia and Christine were on the scene after bushfires in Tenterfield in October 2023, providing health checks and doctor referrals, even contacting second-hand stores to find clothing for those without. They did the same following fires in Tingha and flooding in Bonshaw.
Always working with a collaborative spirit, the pair have forged strong relationships with countless partners across our region, and work closely with the HealthWISE Aboriginal Health team, dietitians and mental health clinicians.
“We are so lucky because with our management, we’ve actually been given the wings to fly. They have allowed us to widen our scope and be able to go into these communities and offer so much more,” said Christine.
