2021
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Safe, kind and outdoors: new courtyard opens
Just a short distance from our Rehabilitation/Supply office at Northern Hospital Epping, there is now a quiet oasis, where staff get to have informal meetings and enjoy their meal breaks. Jason Cirone, Director Workforce Sustainability, says this courtyard and garden came about in response to physical distancing requirements and the need for health services to improve their outdoor spaces. He explains, “This enables us to spread our staff out across the campus, and achieve appropriate physical distancing.” This initiative, facilitated by People & Culture and Engineering, is open only to Northern Health staff, accessible through the use of staff swipe…
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Get to know our EMR Program Director, Trish Aldridge
Our Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Program officially kicked off last month with a team of almost 40 staff members embarking on a two to three year project to successfully implement an EMR across Northern Health. The EMR will be a fully integrated digital patient record that will provide clinicians with a ‘single source of truth’ to support high quality care for our patients. The program will be a major clinical transformation project. Over the next 18 months, staff across all our services will be involved in the design of the EMR. The team recognises it may be challenging for our busy…
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Antimicrobial Stewardship
Heather Mackenzie is the Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Pharmacist at Northern Hospital, and is responsible for making sure that we have a safe and robust antimicrobial stewardship program. Antimicrobials is an umbrella term for antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic medication. The aim of this program is to promote the optimal usage of antimicrobials within the organisation, to make sure that we are giving the most appropriate treatment for patients, prescribing according to the guidelines, and providing tailored care to the individual. “We do that in two ways, one aspect is individual patient review on the AMS ward rounds, and the other…
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COVID-19 Vaccination Program ramps up
In the past week, our COVID-19 Vaccination Program has well and truly ramped up, with all Northern Health staff now eligible to receive the vaccine. The program began with high-risk health care staff receiving their jab and has now extended to all staff – to ensure we protect ourselves, our patients, families and colleagues from the virus that has changed the world as we know it. Our senior leadership and board members too received their vaccinations, and had nothing but praise in how our Vaccination Clinic operated. As Maria Tucker, Divisional Director, Nursing – Cancer Services and Specialist Clinics said,…
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Ward 18 a big fan of the Knitting Guild
Ward 18 was recently delighted to receive a generous donation from the Knitting Guild of four new bladeless Dyson fans to help patients experiencing breathlessness. The Northern Health Respiratory Department has over 1,200 patients admitted each year and a significant proportion of those patients have chronic respiratory disease, with the main symptom they have in their acute illness is breathlessness. Dr Katharine See, Director of Respiratory Medicine, explained how fans can help patients manage their breathlessness. “While we are waiting for treatments for the underlying cause of their deterioration to resolve, we really need to try and control their symptoms…
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Standard 3 – What you need to know
In the lead up to organisation wide Accreditation from 24-28 May 2021, each week Northern Health will be focusing on a different Standard. You will hear from the Chairs of each Standard Committee on what you need to know. This week we spoke to Associate Professor Craig Aboltins, Director Infectious Diseases about Standard 3: Preventing and Controlling Healthcare Associated Infections. Dr Aboltins explained Infection Prevention is a very broad and diverse standard that effects all disciplines, departments and levels of the organisation. Infection Prevention mechanisms are in place to ensure that patients and staff are kept safe throughout their time…
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Long-stay ICU patient visits staff to say thank you
Long-stay patient, 57-year-old Mark Lazaric (pictured above with ICU staff), recently visited the Northern Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to say thank you to the staff that cared for him during his 43 days in ICU. Mark spent a total of almost three months admitted to hospital during one of the most challenging times our health care staff have ever faced – during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. After suffering a major heart attack while walking his dog in August last year, Mark was rushed to Northern Hospital Epping. This week, Mark celebrated an amazing accomplishment – he was…
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Closing the Gap
The objective of Closing the Gap (the National Agreement) is to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to overcome the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians. The National Agreement has been developed in partnership between Australian governments and the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations (the Coalition of Peaks). Our Koori Maternity Service (KMS) and our Narrun Wilip-giin, Northern Health’s Aboriginal Support Unit, have been busy providing ever-improving services for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and Northern Health…