One of Stroke Foundation's most respected advocates has been named the winner of the prestigious President's Achievement Award at the 2024 Stroke Awards.
Brenda Booth OAM claimed the top honours at an event in Melbourne last week. It's the second year in a row the Woy Woy woman has been nominated for the award.
Brenda has played a pivotal role to the work of the Stroke Foundation. She experienced her own stroke in 2001 when she was just 41. Since then, she has been passionate about improving stroke care in Australia.
Brenda has worked in the health and disability sector on the Central Coast for more than 32 years. She is the President of the Working Aged Stroke Group on the Central Coast. Brenda has also played key roles for Stroke Foundation, lending her experience to the Consumer Council, the Research Advisory Committee and the Living Stroke Guidelines.
In 2019, Brenda was awarded an Order of Australia in recognition of her services to consumer advocacy in stroke.
Using her experience and professional background as a Registered Nurse and a Disability Case Manager, Brenda has been involved in a number of advocacy campaigns at local, state, national and international levels. She also played a key role as the stroke survivor in the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care's Acute Stroke Clinical Care Standard, which outlines how a stroke patient should be treated.
Stroke Foundation's President, Professor Linda Kristjanson AO said it was an honour to present Brenda with the President's Achievement Award.
"Brenda is passionate about raising stroke awareness and improving access to services for survivors. She is a dedicated champion and advocate for the stroke community," Professor Kristjanson said.
"Through her lived experience and professional background, Brenda has been a highly effective ally to the stroke community. For more than a decade, Brenda has made an enormous contribution to the work of Stroke Foundation as a consumer representative."
Most recently, Brenda provided valuable insights to the development of the Australian Stroke Coalition Stroke Unit Certification Project. This project activates hospitals to consistently meet national criteria to deliver the best possible stroke care to patients.
"Brenda is a survivor of stroke who has, herself, benefitted from access to excellent stroke unit care. She's generously offered important learnings to the project based upon her lived experience," Professor Kristjanson said.
"Brenda's work is invaluable and is an example of her ongoing commitment to supporting the delivery of best-practice care in Australia."
The Stroke Awards celebrate the unsung heroes in our community who go above and beyond to improve the lives of Australians affected by stroke. This remarkable group of stroke heroes includes survivors of stroke, carers, volunteers, fundraisers, health professionals, researchers, and generous members of the community.
The President's Achievement Award acknowledges exceptional individuals who support Stroke Foundation including community volunteers, corporate leaders involved in our invaluable partnership work, or dedicated clinicians and researchers.
There are eight categories in total: Warrior, Improving Life After Stroke, Creative, Courage, First Nations Stroke Excellence, Fundraiser of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and President's Achievement.
The 2024 Stroke Awards are supported by Medtronic, Abbvie, Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), Ipsen, NAB, Precision Connect and Worrells.
