District leaders recognised for their contribution to healthcare and the community.

Members of the Sydney Local Health District family have been named in the 2023 Australia Day Honours List for their contributions to health and their communities. 

Professor Jane Latimer has been appointed as an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for her distinguished service to tertiary education and research, particularly public health, and to women. Dr Latimer is Emeritus Professor in the School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. She was central to the establishment of the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health at RPA and served as its Deputy Director from 2017 to 2022. 

Susan Pearce, Professor Katharine Steinbeck (pictured left), Deborah Willcox (pictured centre), and the late Dr Gregory Kesby (pictured right) have each been appointed as Members (AM) of the Order of Australia. 

The Secretary of NSW Health, Susan Pearce was commended for her significant service to public health administration and governance. Originally a nurse, she has held a number of roles in NSW Health, notably as its Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer between 2012 and 2015 and as Leader of the COVID-19 State Emergency Operations Centre Health Response during the pandemic. She was appointed as Secretary in early 2022.   

Professor Steinbeck was recognised for her significant service to adolescent medicine through a range of roles. She is an endocrinologist and adolescent physician who is currently a Senior Staff Specialist in the Department of Adolescent Medicine at Westmead Children's Hospital and a Professor of Child and Adolescent Health in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Professor Steinbeck was an Honorary Visiting Medical Officer in RPA’s Department of Endocrinology from 2010 to 2020 and was a Senior Staff Specialist in Adolescent and Young Adult Endocrinology in the hospital’s Department of Endocrinology from 1988 to 2009. She was also the Head of the Youth Consultancy Service in the District’s Department of Paediatrics from 1996 to 2009. 

Ms Willcox was honoured for her significant service to health administration, and to the community. She is currently the Deputy Secretary of Health System Strategy and Planning with NSW Health. She served as Director of Operations with Sydney Local Health District from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that, she was Acting Director of Operations for the District between 2013 and 2015 and served as General Manager of RPA from 2013 to 2015. 

Dr Kesby, who sadly passed away in 2021, was honoured for his significant service to obstetrics and gynaecology, and to professional organisations. An obstetrician and gynaecologist who was regarded as an expert in the field of high-risk obstetrics and fetal therapy, he was a Senior Visiting Medical Officer at RPA from 2000 to 2021 and served as the Head of the hospital’s Department of High Risk Obstetrics, Women and Babies from 2005 to 2008. 

Janet Craik was also awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for her service to the community. Known for serving as the Director of the Christian Youth Travel Association for over 50 years, Ms Craik was a Nurse Educator at RPA between 1963 and 1969. 

They are among 1040 Australians named in this year’s Australia Day Honours List. 

The District’s Chief Executive Dr Teresa Anderson AM congratulated each of the recipients. 

“It is wonderful to see a number of familiar faces being recognised for their dedication to their work and their commitment to the people and communities they have served,” she said. 

Dr Anderson acknowledged Cardiologists Dr Gemma Figtree of Northern Sydney Local Health District and Dr Clara Chow of Western Sydney Local Health District, each of whom was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and whose Districts are collaborators of Sydney Local Health District in Sydney Health Partners. 

She also acknowledged Margaret Bennett, Chief Executive, Southern New South Wales Local Health District, and Jacqueline Dominish, Director of Allied Health with Western Sydney Local Health District, who each received a Medal of the Order of Australia, and Vicki Manning, who acted as Director Operations, State Health Emergency Operations Centre for COVID-19 and who was the recipient of a Public Service Medal.