Health advocate wins rural award
With a mission to tackle the obstacles of geographical isolation for health, Rebecca Keeley has taken out NSW's top rural women's award.
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Ms Keeley, founder of Yarn, an innovative digital health platform has been named the 2024 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Rural Women's Award winner.
The Canberra-based winner developed Yarn to help overcome the increasingly challenging service delivery options, and growing waitlists for speech pathology services across the country.
"Yarn is more than just a digital health platform - it is a movement towards a more equitable and accessible healthcare system," Ms Keeley said.
"By using innovative technology to support the allied health clinical community and the patients they serve, we can create a future where geography is not a barrier to accessing high-quality healthcare. I look forward to seeing the impact that Yarn can have on the lives of families across the country.
"I'm so thrilled to receive this award so that I can continue to deliver on the vision of speech pathologists across the country, to transform healthcare delivery in rural and remote Australia."
AgriFutures Australia managing director John Harvey said women like Ms Keeley were trailblazers in their communities, making a lasting positive impact on the people around them and their respective industries.
"The award not only acknowledges the remarkable contributions made by these women but also seeks to provide them with the support and leadership skills needed to continue shaping the future of regional Australia. Through this award, we hope to inspire and empower more women to take up leadership roles and make a significant difference in their communities," Mr Harvey said.
NSW Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said these awards shone the light on regional women and their contributions, adding all the finalists were excellent examples of the resourceful and resilient women in regional and rural communities.
The other state finalists were Rae Knopik and Ruby Riethmuller. Ms Keeley receives a $15,000 grant from Westpac to further support her project, and will represent NSW/ACT at the national award in Canberra later this year.
