The NSW group is a finalist in the Outstanding Organisation category for this year’s HESTA awards which recognises excellence in health and community services.

The Manning Valley’s not-for-profit Bushland Health Group set up a nurse practitioner service in 2009. By providing rapid access to health care, the service has been recognised for significantly reducing the rate of unnecessary hospitalisations among elderly residents.

The judges said the nomination successfully highlighted the increasingly important role of nurse practitioners in aged care services.