By Parker McKenzie
Inspiro Health, a healthcare organisation in the Yarra Ranges, handed out its 2023 Tertiary Health Scholarship Awards in Belgrave on Thursday 11 May, with students receiving a total of $22,500 towards accredited health courses.
Inspiro CEO Sue Sestan said when she first arrived at the organisation, she was taken aback by the scholarship program.
“As a healthcare organisation that has been in existence for over 25 years now, we believe that we should be giving back to the community for the services that we need in the future,” she said.
“Everybody knows there is a workforce shortage, so the idea of this is really to encourage young people to take up that option of study or if they’ve already made up their minds, to support it and help see them through their studies.”
This year’s individual awards were renamed in honour of long-serving members of the Yarra Ranges healthcare community Hamish Russell and Stephen Potter.
Mr Russell said the scholarship started through funding raised by the local Lilydale community for medical equipment for the hospital before it became a for-profit business.
“We talked about a number of things, and the one that we talked about that they accepted was when I suggested perhaps you could fund a scholarship for people in the Yarra Ranges who are studying in the health field,” he said.
“Nearly $200,000 now has been given by Inspiro for these scholarships, with between three and four scholarships given every year now since 2000.”
Alannah Finger and Jaimee Cook each received the participation award of $2,500, while Sarah Oliver received the $7,500 Stephen Potter Award and Derek Villaceran received the $10,000 Hamish Russell Award.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Jim Child said Inspiro does an amazing job offering services alongside the scholarships each year.
“I know how passionate they are as well. And we see them in and out of our building and they’ve just got this such strong collaborative relationship with our organisation,” he said.
“It’s also a testament to young people in the room who are studying these are the sorts of relationships you can for being involved in the community.”
Inspiro is a Yarra Ranges founded not-for-profit, offering a range of healthcare services like physiotherapy, podiatry, dental, and NDIS to sexual health.
Zoe Eggleton, a previous award recipient and Tertiary Healthcare Scholarship Ambassador, said she used the money she received from Inspiro towards initiatives run by the Melbourne University Physiotherapy Student Society.
“It’s nice to be able to use the money to put towards the community as well as myself,” she said.
“You feel part of the family which is just so lovely and a representation of the wider Yarra Valley community as well.”
Inspiro has offices in Lilydale and Belgrave, and more information can be found about the organisation, its scholarships and its services at inspiro.org.au
