Winners helping young people succeed

Succeed Healthcare Solutions has won the inaugural EPIC Assist Award for Accessibility and Inclusiveness Excellence at the 2022 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards.

The new category was presented in memory of Matt McCracken OAM, who was a fearless advocate for people living with a disability and was passionate about creating a bespoke category to acknowledge and recognise the work of businesses who celebrate accessibility and inclusiveness.

North Lakes-based Succeed Healthcare Solutions offers occupational therapy, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, and therapy assistants (with speech therapy partnership) for young people aged three to 35.

Thrilled to win

Chief Success Officer and founder Leanne Hopkins said she was “very surprised, totally shocked” by the win.

“We have a family where disability has touched our lives and it’s given me a lot more skills and knowledge than I would have had without that and it’s a great way to turn some of those learnings into something that can help other people as well,” Leanne said.

She said other businesses would be enriched by striving to be more inclusive.

“I think they will find that they will be better than what they are now by doing that.

“Twenty percent of the population have a disability and there’s a lot of positives – you can definitely turn something that might be seen as a weakness into a positive.”

Succeed Healthcare Solutions primarily delivers its services through clubs, in clinics, the community, outdoors or via tele-health.

Helping young people

“Struggles that develop in the child, teen and young adult years can often have significant long-term impacts if not addressed adequately,” Leanne said.

“Yet teens and young adults are the least likely to seek the support they need.

“Succeed Healthcare Solutions’ source of inspiration in applying for this award is that the organisation has a strong commitment to adopting and promoting access and inclusion to improve the lives of people with disability as part of its day-to-day business operations.”

Life-changing experience

The business was born after Leanne volunteered for almost a year with orphans in Romania.

One of them went on to become a doctor and is writing a book about her.

“That was a life-changing experience,” she said.

“What it taught me was that if I could do that, I could go through anything.”

There were 68 finalists in this year’s awards and the winners were decided by a panel of 44 judges from a mix of public and private sector organisations from across South East Queensland.

The 2022 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards were presented by Moreton Bay Regional Council and delivered by Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism (MBRIT).

See photos from the night and read about the other winners here.

Entries for the 2023 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards are now open. Click here to find out more.