Regional Nursing and Dietetics Team highly commended
Our dedicated and passionate workforce makes a difference every day in the lives of thousands of West Aussies living with a neurological condition. So, it’s no surprise that the MSWA Regional Nursing Team and MSWA Dietetics Team were recognised at the 2025 WA Disability Support Awards.
More than 700 guests attended the gala dinner at Crown Perth to celebrate the finalists and winners from the awards. The 2025 WA Disability Support Awards recognises the commitment of individuals, teams and organisations in delivering exceptional support to people with disability.
There were an impressive 122 nominations submitted this year across nine categories. Each nomination told a powerful story of passion and meaningful impact on the lives of people with disability, their families and communities.
Minister for Disability Services, the Hon. Hannah Beazley MLA shared, “I am delighted to congratulate all the winners and nominees of the 2025 Disability Support Awards and recognise the huge difference they make to the lives of Western Australians living with disability.”
“These awards shine a light on our local disability workforce and the extraordinary people within it who are committed to providing the highest quality care and support to people with disability, their families, and carers.”
A warm congratulations to our very own...
MSWA Regional Nursing Team
Finalists in Excellence in Regional and Remote Support
The MSWA Regional Nursing Team has demonstrated exceptional innovation and dedication in addressing the unique challenges of delivering healthcare to the neuro community in regional and remote WA.
The neuro community in regional and remote WA face considerable barriers, including limited access to specialist services, staff shortages, and geographical isolation. Despite these challenges, the RNT has developed a holistic and collaborative approach to ensure MSWA Clients receive consistent, high-quality care.
Spearheaded by Clinical Nurse Manager, Nimisha Baird, the small, dedicated team of Neurological Nurses includes Emily Koop, Karen Leggatt and Nadene Doherty who together manage a caseload of over 300 Clients.
Through a combination of Telehealth, home visits, country trips and targeted programs, the team ensures our neuro community receive appropriate chronic disease management. In turn, it improves the physical and mental wellbeing of Clients, allowing them to remain in their homes and communities, reducing the need for hospitalisations.
Michael, an MSWA Client living with MS and his wife, Memma lives in Waroona, approximately an hour away from Bunbury. They’ve felt an immense sense of support knowing that the team is just a phone call away.
“Michael and I have a good connection with the nurses. We can talk to them very easily about any of our problems. It feels like they’re just part of the family,” Memma shared.
The team also established the NeuroConnect Group to improve coordination between service providers in regional WA. This group is a collaboration between neurological care providers to share insights and enhance referral pathways.
MSWA Dietetics Team
Highly Commended in the Allied Health Professionals Award
The MSWA Dietetics Team acknowledged that there was a gap for a standardised assessment tool for nutrition and food services tailored to people with neurological conditions.
The diet for someone living with a neurological condition is extremely important, as food needs to be modified textually due to the increased risk of dysphagia, choking and swallowing difficulties. Previously, such tools had been developed for sectors such as aged care, but not within the disability sector.
In response, MSWA Dietetics Team, which includes Dietitians Misty Reinkowsky, Jodie Roberts, Hannah Papendorf, Mineh Burn and led by Speech Pathology and Dietetics Manager, Pamela Windram developed a tool to assess, review and provide recommendations for menus and recipes. This new tool was utilised across all five MSWA High-Support Accommodations catering to over 46 Clients.
Utilising evidence-based nutrition standards and resources, the tool goes into specificities such as time the meal is served, nutritional adequacy, presentation, dining experience and budget of each site. Additionally, they provided education and training for all cooks.
The Dietetics Team provided a comprehensive rationale for the importance of nutrition with relevance to specific Client’s health and wellbeing outcomes, as well as promoting long-term quality of life. Clients living in the accommodation were consulted during the review process to consider specific likes, dislikes, allergies, intolerances and nutrition requirements. The Clients feedback was segmented into variety & choice, preferences, meal quality, environment and were asked to provide an overall rating, to be reviewed in 12 months’ time. The team then developed a holistic understanding of Client’s experience, and ensured the next steps were designed with individuals in mind.
We’re incredibly proud of our team for their dedication to provide high-quality service, putting our Clients at the heart of the service delivery.
