Beaudesert Hospital has shone on the national stage for providing high-quality maternity services for locals, including mothers in Beaudesert’s strong Mununjali community.
Beaudesert Hospital Maternity won the Outstanding Organisation category at the 2022 Hesta Australian Nursing and Midwifery Awards recently.
The prized local service was recognised for its commitment to improving the health and safety of women and babies in rural Queensland and its support of First Nations women by providing safe, culturally appropriate care.
The Beaudesert Hospital unit, which reopened in 2014 after a hard-fought community battle, is considered the envy of rural communities across the state.
Beaudesert Hospital Nursing and Midwifery Director and Facility Manager Jacquie Smith said the win was cause for celebration.
“To be a winner is so exciting and provides positive recognition of the value and importance of local midwifery care for rural women and families,” she said.
“I’m privileged to lead my team and it’s also fitting to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of the wider hospital team who support our maternity service and without whom we would not be able to provide our service.”
Beaudesert maternity offers enhanced healthcare for local women and babies, including expanding its Midwifery Group Practice, which provides individualised continuity of care during pregnancy, labour and birth, and in the provision of postnatal care.
Ms Smith said it was rewarding to realise how much the community values the local maternity services.
“It’s not like a hospital, it’s like a second home. A true testament of this is when we had three generations of family members born at Beaudesert Hospital, with the last two generations being cared for by the same midwife,” she said.
Beaudesert maternity has also increased access to culturally appropriate midwifery and healthcare to First Nations mothers. The service has engaged with community to ensure safe, sustainable, and integrated care.
The service is working to further enhance culturally appropriate care through a Birthing in Our Community (BiOC) model.
Beaudesert maternity hopes to use the prize money to introduce a waterbirth option and develop an onsite lactation clinic.
