Congratulations to Geraldine Freriks, Infection Prevention and Control Manager and winner of our 2025 Innovation and Improvement Award.

Each year, we recognise staff who demonstrate outstanding creativity and commitment to improving the way we deliver healthcare. This award celebrates initiatives—clinical and non-clinical—that have a meaningful and lasting impact on our organisation, exceed expectations, and align with our values.

Geraldine delivered outstanding improvement with integrity, commitment, and a spirit of collaboration that inspires us all.

Healthcare is one of the largest contributors to landfill globally, and Geraldine led an initiative aligned to our commitment to improving sustainability. She identified two everyday items—tourniquets and goggles—that were contributing to unnecessary waste and costs.

With a change in IPC standards, reusable tourniquets were allowed for the first time. Geraldine saw the opportunity and immediately began redesigning our process to utilise reusable torniquets. The result is safer practice, lower costs, and a dramatic reduction in waste—from over 48 kilograms of landfill per year down to almost none.

At the same time, Geraldine tackled an issue with eye protection. Staff weren’t consistently using the disposable visors provided due to discomfort and design issues. Geraldine sourced a reusable, higher-quality alternative and introduced them across theatre and other clinical areas. In only a few months, this has prevented 950 disposable visors from going to landfill—a reduction of more than 11 kilograms—and delivered ongoing financial savings. Her work has influenced other Gippsland hospitals, amplifying the impact of her vision and leadership.

Both initiatives directly support our Waste Management Plan and Environmental Management Plan actions, and they strengthen our infection prevention practices. Most importantly, Geraldine’s work has a lasting impact: these changes will continue delivering environmental, financial and safety benefits for years to come.

We would also like to congratulate our two other nominees – Wendy Tilling for making significant improvements to the design and use of resuscitation trolleys across WGHG; and Nicole McFarlane – for the introduction of the new VICTOR chart to include parent concern in assessments of paediatric patients.

Geraldine, Wendy and Nicole all demonstrated initiative and achieved significant improvements in their area, which we are extremely proud of.