Australia Day Honours 2024

Durack-based Advanced Care Paramedic (ACPII) Kevin Homer and Longreach Senior Operations Supervisor (SOS) Erin Saltmarsh were named in this year’s Honours List to receive Ambulance Service Medals for distinguished service as members of an Australian ambulance service.

Kevin is being recognised for his dedication to providing the highest standards of patient care, his passion for continual education and mentoring early career paramedics, and importantly, his exceptional ability to communicate with patients, their friends and family, as well as bystanders and his own peers during stressful situations.

Kevin's long and distinguished career started with the former Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade as an Ambulance Officer in 1984 at Spring Hill (working across 12 stations), before moving to Sunnybank Ambulance Station in 1986 where he stayed for 30 years before transferring to Durack Ambulance Station in 2016.

Kevin, a self-confessed quiet achiever, admitted when he discovered he had been nominated for an ASM he couldn’t understand why.
“I just come to work and do my job and treat people the way I like to be treated, so to tell you the truth I didn’t know whether to accept it or not,” he said.

“But perhaps someone has seen something in me they thought needed to be acknowledged, so I really do feel quite humbled by it.

“I’ve always just thought I’m part of a uniformed group of people in teal – a sea of teal – all faceless and nameless but all recognisable and trusted because of our uniforms and this motivates me to maintain high standards.

“I love my job – every day is different so it’s always interesting and I’ve always enjoyed the job, the work, the people and obviously our patients, especially being able to make a difference in someone’s life,” Kevin said.

QAS Commissioner Craig Emery ASM said Kevin was highly respected by his colleagues and has gained a reputation as a dedicated, insightful, and humble paramedic who has maintained a positive attitude and a patient care focus consistently throughout his 40 years in the service.

“Kevin may be a quiet achiever, but he is a very experienced practitioner, and this is reflected within his own professional development, maintenance of skills and work practices,” Craig said.

“Kevin holds himself to the highest standards as well as the countless number of students and novice paramedics whom he has mentored over the years, and in doing this, he has performed a huge service for the QAS.”

Meanwhile, Longreach SOS Erin Saltmarsh is being recognised for her emergency response leadership for large remote events like the Big Red Bash at Birdsville, for natural disaster response, and for her passion for supporting her remote teams in their work.

Erin’s distinguished ambulance career with QAS began 14 years ago as a paramedic at Mackay Ambulance Station before being promoted to Office-in-Charge (OIC) while working at Finch Hatton in 2012 then moving to the Mackay as OIC where she stayed until 2022 when she was promoted to Central West District’s Longreach-based SOS role.

During this time, Erin has developed her skills as one of QAS’s emergency response leaders, being recognised for her exemplary large event planning and management and her ability to bring together all stakeholders to ensure these events run safely and with a high standard of medical care to patrons.

“I love the unpredictability of these events, but also the planning because if you put the effort into a good plan, it will normally go well, but if you fail to plan, then you can encounter problems,” Erin said.

“I always like to look back on previous events, looking at what went well, what didn’t and what we can do to improve each year as we move forward.”

Erin has also been deployed several times to major natural disaster responses and to the QAS State Emergency Management Unit because of her expert emergency response skills.

In her day-to-day SOS role, Erin has provided leadership and oversight to nine remote Queensland Health hospital-based ambulances and one Queensland Health multipurpose health centre and is passionate about supporting the paramedics and health centre staff working in the remote regions.

“Out here you can feel quite isolated and lonely at times, especially if you haven’t come out here with your family, or if you’re working long hours, you may not get a great deal of engagement with people outside work and you can fall into a bit of a hole,” she said.

“In the past I’ve just thought about how I’d be feeling and might like to be treated and try to do this for our staff, so I get to know them and what their interests are, give them a call or pop into the station when I can.”

Erin said her nomination for the Ambulance Service Medal came as a shock to her.

“It was very emotional – I couldn’t believe it and I was shocked,” she said.

“I know I work hard, but I’m not the only one – there are so many other people who work extremely hard in our field and who deserve the recognition as well.

“So, I felt shocked and proud, but I also felt there are plenty of others who deserve this.”

Craig said Erin’s efforts have ensured continuity of service and health practitioner and patient safety in the out-of-hospital environment in remote Queensland.

“Erin’s service has strengthened the connections and relationships which support proactive access to emergency health services in some of Queensland’s most remote and disadvantaged communities,” Craig said.

"Her integrity, leadership and work ethic are highly regarded not only by her peers and QAS, but also by the communities she serves.

“Erin’s contribution to the Central West District, Central Region and the broader QAS has been exceptional.”

Craig said while both officers are being recognised for quite different reasons, their high standards and dedication to their jobs, colleagues and their communities is at the heart of all they do and the QAS is immensely proud of both officers’ achievements.