Allied Health Professions Day saw the Murrumbidgee Local Health District celebrate some of its wonderful staff who care for communities across its District.

They include Sarah Woolner is a Senior Dietitian at Leeton and Narrandera Hospitals.

As a sole practising generalist dietitian, Sarah sees people of all ages and for all kinds of conditions that might be affected or influenced by their food choices.

She sees inpatients in Leeton and Narrandera Hospitals and community outpatients.

Sarah is also the Dietetics lead for the Virtual Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (VGDM) education program – providing introductory diabetes education and diet information for women newly diagnosed with GDM.

“I've worked with MLHD for 15 years in this same generalist role. It has provided me with a great work/life balance to grow my little family with flexible hours only five minutes from home,” Sarah said.

“I'm grateful that I have been able to make a long career out of dietetics; it's all I wanted to study from the time I was in high school.

“I have most enjoyed seeing our VGDM service grow and change. We're preparing for another program change in the coming weeks and it's been great to see this finally come together.

“I also enjoy working with students and seeing the amazing contributions that they make to our services.”

Sarah believes the positives of working in a small rural town will almost always outweigh the negatives.

“I'd encourage people to embrace the opportunity to get a broad clinical experience in our great small and larger towns with our supportive allied health teams,” she said.

“I've lived in the MLHD area almost my entire life. I love that even after all this time, there is still lots to see and do.”