SummitCare would like to congratulate Suzanne (Suzie) Stevens, Manager, Care and Wellbeing, Baulkham Hills, on receiving the highest Royal Humane Society of NSW Award for the most outstanding act of bravery.
Presented by the Governor of NSW on 21 November 2024, Suzie was awarded a Gold Medal and their highest award, the Galleghan Award, for her courage. “I am extremely honoured,” Suzie said humbly. “I didn’t think what I did was brave. I’m still struggling to accept that what I did was brave.”
Suzie was at the right place, at the right time but it was who she is as a person that made all the difference.
Driving home from work as a Nurse Unit Manager, Suzie could see people standing around a bus stop. Thinking it was a car accident, and still in uniform, she stopped to assist. “I could see a woman with a child lying on the grass a little way back. I asked if everyone was ok - as people were standing a distance from them and not helping.”
Suzie thought they were injured and started walking towards them when someone yelled out, ‘careful, she’s got a knife!’. The woman had the knife to the boy's neck and yelled, ‘stay back, or I’ll kill you’.
Suzie could see a cry for help in the boy’s eyes and started engaging with the woman, as police had not yet arrived. “I was trying to de-escalate the situation. I found out she had kidnapped this boy off the school bus, he was 13. She was high on meth and her brain had told her that she needed to kill someone and today.”
Suzie kept talking to the woman. When police arrived, she became nervous but grateful they saw she was interacting with the woman and stayed back.
”When she realised the police were there, that escalated her behaviour. I began talking louder and getting her to focus only on me, saying, ‘Just keep talking to me, don’t worry about what’s happening around you,’ and doing what I could to get her to release the boy.”
“Out of the corner of my eye I saw a policeman inching slowly towards the woman. Eventually, he was able to sneak up behind her and ripped her away from the boy. I felt like he (the boy) was braver than me. He stayed there still, not making a sound.”
Once the boy was free, he ran to Suzie and gave her a huge hug. He was extremely grateful. Suzie said she never felt fear or hesitated. “I didn’t actually think about it - I just went into auto pilot. I had to do something.”
Suzie was chosen by police for this award because her act of courage and bravery saved that boy's life. This award gives public recognition to acts of bravery by bestowing awards on those who risk their own lives in saving or attempting to save the lives of others and by so doing promote brave and courageous acts in the community.
As an additional honour, Suzie has become one of four nominations, and the only person from NSW, to be considered for the prestigious International Stanhope Medal, presented by the United Kingdom's Royal Humane Society.
SummitCare is extremely proud to have Suzie as part of our team. At SummitCare, we believe in providing excellent aged care and enabling wellbeing for all those in our residential communities. To deliver this all day, every day we need a diverse team of amazing people whose compassion, empathy and experience provide superior care for our residents.
