Congratulations to our Health and Fitness team for their well deserved win at the Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA) Awards for Excellence.
At a time when our workforce needed it most, the team rolled out a game-changing initiative to better support the health and wellbeing of our staff.
The Health and Fitness team developed the Medic Fit program, which provided staff with easy access to quality exercise equipment so they could undertake low-intensity and functional exercises in the workplace.
What makes the program unique is the internal support available from the Health and Fitness team (health coaches and injury prevention specialists).
Along with the exercise equipment, Medic Fit also includes tailored resources – such as a Medic Fit program guide and an online exercise library – and a NSW Ambulance injury prevention program to support staff in safe use of the exercise equipment.
The program has since been rolled out to over 240 worksites across NSW Ambulance.
At the 2022 CAA Awards for Excellence, our Health and Fitness team received the ultimate accolade for their efforts in rolling out the program and ensuring it continues to be of a high standard.
The team won the Excellence in Mental Health & Wellbeing category, beating out nominees from ambulance services across Australia, as well as New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Manager Health and Fitness, Nam Le, was on hand to proudly accept the award on behalf of his team.
“It was certainly nice to be recognised for the hard work the team and I have put in to deliver the program for NSW Ambulance,” he said.
“We’ve had over 1600 employees complete the induction to use the equipment and we get regular emails and feedback from staff who are very appreciative to have this equipment available to them so they can stay active.
“Medic Fit has had a particularly significant impact at regional stations. You can imagine some of these stations are quite isolated, with their nearest fitness facility or gym sometimes over 100km away. Having this equipment on the station makes it easier for staff to stay physically active.”
“It meant there was a lot of pivoting and additional work, health and safety considerations we had to overcome. Fortunately, we had the support to continue with the project at a time when gyms and fitness facilities were being forced to close due to COVID. This meant when restrictions were lifted our staff had another option for exercise to support them to be fit and healthy”
After winning the award, Nam thanked the Executive Leadership Team for supporting Medic Fit’s implementation.
Most importantly, he thanked his Health and Fitness team members: Richard High, Health & Fitness Program Coordinator; Chloe Larcombe, Health Coach; Claire Hately, Injury Prevention Specialist; Emma Ugarte, Injury Prevention Specialist and his Director Megan Kingham.
"I am very fortunate to have such an amazing team who are very passionate about the work they do to
support the health and wellbeing of our staff," Nam said.
"We are very proud of what we have achieved with this program and the support it will continue to provide to staff for years to come."