A nurse who started a charity from a granny flat in her parent’s backyard to reduce hospital waste has taken out one of the Australian nursing profession’s most prestigious honours.

Brisbane’s Claire Lane MACN was today named the 2022 winner of the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers, a national award recognising nurses whose leadership has led to innovative solutions addressing key challenges facing our health and aged care systems.

Claire received the award for her work with Save our Supplies, a for-purpose organisation that collects excess clean usable medical supplies from hospitals. 

Working with Rotary, they redirect the supplies to areas of need, including developing nations, war-torn areas like Ukraine and Flood impact regions of Australia.

The announcement was made at the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) National Nursing Forum in Darwin by Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney.

ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN congratulated Claire on becoming the fourth nurse – and third successive from Queensland – to win the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers.

“Claire is an exceptional woman and nurse who has used her leadership, expertise and passion for social impact – characteristics our profession prides itself on – to make the world and future a better place,” Adjunct Professor Ward said.

“She not only created an innovative solution to address one of the biggest challenges facing our healthcare systems, but has gone above and beyond to use it to improve the health of people across the world.

“She exemplifies the mission of the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers, showcasing to Australians the leading role nurses’ skills and expertise play in shaping the lives of those we care for.

Assistant Minister Ged Kearney noted the honour she felt as a nurse to announce the recipient of the Health Minister’s Award for Nursing Trailblazers. She also reflected on “how proud she was to have been a nurse” and that she wanted “every single nurse to be proud of what you do every day for all Australians”.