A Victorian micro-business dedicated to improving the lives of people with chronic illnesses has taken out the 2009 Telstra Business Award.
The COACH Program, devised by Dr Margarite Vale, is a telephone delivered coaching program to help people with illnesses such as coronary heart disease and diabetes better manage their health and lifestyles.
The win marks the first time in the 17-year history of the prestigious awards that a ‘micro business’ (one with five or fewer staff) has taken out the top prize.
Telstra CEO David Thodey said The COACH Program was a great example of an innovative small business playing a fundamental role in Australian society.
“Businesses like The COACH Program… capture the powerful entrepreneurial spirit in this country and celebrate the people who form the very foundation of our economy.”
Telstra Business Group managing director and Telstra Business Awards Ambassador, Deena Shiff, said The COACH Program stood out because it translates the best of clinical research into a real world health delivery environment, with a viable business model.
“Although it is a very small business it has the potential to grow and improve the health of well-being of many thousands of people world-wide with chronic disease,” Shiff said.
