General News
19 February, 2022
Horsham nurse receives prestigious award
Rotary Club of Horsham East awards decorated Horsham nurse Wendy James with the Paul Harris Fellow.
MEMBERS of the Rotary Club of Horsham East recently came together to celebrate Rotary member Wendy James becoming the 40th Paul Harris Fellow.
Ms James has been a member of the Horsham East Rotary for 20 years and has been a large contributor to the Rotary Exchange program. She has also served as a longtime midwife and nurse working at the Wimmera Base Hospital.
The Paul Harris Fellow is a Rotary award given in recognition of the outstanding contributions made in a community.
“It was a big surprise but I feel very honoured to have received the award,” Ms James said.
“I’ve been working as a nurse for 40 years. I’ve worked various roles and I’ve spent time in an executive position in the nursing department.
“It’s been a lifelong passion and I think that was a part of my contribution to the community.
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Rotary Club of Horsham East president Pam Clarke said she was excited for Ms James and believed the award was long coming after her years of work in Rotary.
“It’s wonderful. Wendy has been a long serving member of the Rotary club. We did a list of everything she’s done and accomplished and we were in disbelief,” she said.
“It’s not just what she’s done for Rotary, it’s also the enormous work she’s done for the Rotary Student Exchange program and the massive amount of work she’s done in her profession of nursing.
“She’s an outstanding member of our community and well deserving of the Paul Harris Fellow.”
Amongst her many contributions and accomplishments in Rotary, Ms James said she saw her time introducing Sterile Water Injections practice as a key highlight.
“Sterile Water Injections were being well-used in Canada and the Scandinavian countries but it somehow never quite got to Australia,” Ms James said.
“When I came back to Australia from my Rotary Group Study Exchange in Norway I started ringing around all the maternity hospitals and no one had heard of it.
“Now it’s a recognised and validated method to help women in pain during labour without drugs.
“Basically, Rotary is what led to that change in that medical practice in Australia.”