Media release

President's Award

PRESIDENT’S AWARD
AMA NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2016 (Twitter: #amanc16)


Two doctors, one a passionate advocate for the disadvantaged, the other a pioneering force in the care of military veterans, have been awarded the AMA President’s Award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the care of their fellow Australians.

Dr Paul Bauert, who for 30 years has fought for better care for Indigenous Australians and, more recently, children in immigration detention, and Vietnam War veteran Dr Graeme Killer, who has devoted his life to improve the care of current and retired Defence Force personnel, were presented with the award by AMA President, Professor Brian Owler, during a ceremony at the AMA National Conference 2016 today.

Dr Bauert, Director of Paediatrics at Royal Darwin Hospital, has made an enormous contribution to health care in the Northern Territory, where he has twice been nominated for Australian of the Year.

In both his professional and personal life, he has been a fierce advocate for the disadvantaged and those without a voice in society, politics and the health system. This has led Dr Bauert to speak out over many years on the health of Indigenous Australians, sick and needy children and on the harm caused to children being held in immigration detention.

Alongside this important work, Dr Bauert has also made an enormous contribution to the welfare of his colleagues and the medical profession. He has served multiple terms as President of the AMA Northern Territory, has been a long-standing member of the AMA Federal Council, and has held executive positions with the Royal Australian College of Physicians and the Australian Paediatric Society.

He received an Order of Australia Medal in recognition of his service to medicine, Indigenous health and professional organisations.

The great strides made in recent decades in veterans’ health owes much to Dr Killer.

After a 23-year career in the RAAF, which included being involved in aeromedical evacuations during the Vietnam War, Dr Killer for the next 25 years served as principal medical adviser to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, during which time he helped pioneer major improvements in the care of veterans.

He instituted care planning and preventive annual health assessments, initiated the Health Links Program to provide continuity of care for personnel after leaving the Defence Force and helped establish the DVA’s ground-breaking Coordinated Veterans’ Care Program, which has become a model for GP-led coordinated care across the community.

In his long and significant career, Dr Killer has served as personal physician to several Prime Ministers and Governors-General including Paul Keating, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Sir William Deane, Michael Jeffrey, Dame Quentin Bryce and Sir Peter Cosgrove.

He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1999, for services to the veteran community, is an honorary life member of the RSL, and last year was awarded an honorary doctorate of medicine from the University of Adelaide in recognition of his contribution to veterans’ health.


28 May 2016

CONTACT:        John Flannery                     02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
                       Kirsty Waterford                02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753

 

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