Lynne Smithies (centre) with her Workplace Excellence Award, along with the Honourable Don Punch MLA (Minister for Disability Services), and Anna Presser (VisAbility CEO)
Lynne Smithies of the Lions Eye Institute was awarded the runner-up for workplace excellence at the recent VisAbility Awards. Over the past three years, Lynne has volunteered her time to help establish connections within the community for people with Stargardt disease via social media and face-to-face meetings. She has recently facilitated peer support groups for people with inherited retinal diseases.
These peer support groups now have a social media presence. Lynne took this on when realising there was a need for this connection in the community and, tying this in with the fantastic support offered by VisAbility, people living with these conditions can now connect and support one another. An honourable mention goes out to Ryan H, Marija C, Michelle B, Michelle S and Purvi P at VisAbility, who have also provided behind-the-scenes support as well as Magda B, Jade K, Glen T, Arif P and Mariia H, and the communications and IT teams at the Lions Eye Institute for their assistance.
Lynne acknowledges the highly beneficial support VisAbility provides and ensures that any patients she comes across at the Lions Eye Institute are informed of their service.
