Betty Callow is tired of seeing her "mob" and community dying in their 40s and 50s.
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For the ACT Medicare Local Aboriginal Care Coordinator, her work to close the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic illness is deeply personal.
She lost her mum, and her brother and sister died from heart attacks.
"We're dying in our 40s and 50s. It shouldn't be. Heart attacks, suicide," she said.
"In the ACT, it's only a small community here and yet, we're losing people all the time. It's happening everywhere. Why is it happening? What is it that we're not doing? Our people are deserving of the professional services that are out there. That's why I like working alongside our people to try the best service we can and to try and keep them alive."
Mrs Callow is a carer to her four brothers and sisters and in her work with Medicare Local helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait people "navigate the system" and improve their access to healthcare.
Mrs Callow has been recognised for her contribution to the community, winning the individual high achiever award at the 2014 ACT and Region Indigenous Excellence Awards.
She and registered nurse Gabi Curwood visit patients, make appointments with appropriate health professionals and assist them to attend appointments.
Mrs Callow said the poor health outcomes continuing to face the community showed there was still much work to be done to close the gap.
"Actions speak louder than words - people need to be getting to their appointments and followed through to get our health on track," she said.
"We are literally still dying in our 40s and 50s and that's shocking."
Mrs Callow said she was deeply humbled to have been recognised for her work.
"It's about following through and making sure the patients have got all the services in place to try and give them a better quality of life and it's not only them, it's also their family," she said.
ACT Health also held their annual NAIDOC week awards on Thursday where Kim Davison, executive director of Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation, was recognised for her work.
Ms Davison, a proud Aboriginal woman, and her late husband Dennis built the orgnisation offering a place where children and their families can gather and discuss issues they face and receive information on counseling services and referrals.