2021
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Our ICT: Stepping up through COVID-19
During numerous changes in operations in the pandemic times, our Information and Communication Technology (ICT) team has stepped up to support the frontline workers and keep staff and the community connected and safe. Vikramjit Multani, ICT Infrastructure Manager, explained how the team has successfully collaborated with other ‘back-of-house’ departments to meet the tight deadlines and get systems up and running. “When COVID-19 came along, testing sites had to be quickly set up in Glenroy, Craigieburn, Northern Health and Meadow Heights. Some of these locations aren’t part of Northern Health, and an immediate response and action was needed from our team…
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30 Years of Ian Brand Residential Care: Prof Len Gray remembers
Ian Brand Residential Care (IBRC) at Bundoora Centre marks 30 years on 24 November. We spoke to Professor Len Gray, who was the first Executive Director of what was then called Bundoora Extended Care Centre (BECC), on his recollections of his time there. Professor Gray currently serves as Director of the Centre for Health Services Research at the University of Queensland. Dr Ian Brand, former CEO of PANCH and who IBRC is named after, describes him as, “A first-class geriatrician who took to managing, as to the manner born.” How did you come to be involved in starting up BECC? …
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A/Prof Natalie Hannan wins National Health Medical Research Council Ideas Grant
A/Prof Natalie Hannan was awarded a National Health Medical Research Council Ideas Grant for the 2021 round (2022 funding) as Chief Investigator A. This proposal was supported by Associate Investigator A/Prof Lisa Hui. Lisa and Natalie lead the NCHER Biobank at Northern Hospital Epping, where part of this work will be carried out. Natalie has been funded for her project, ‘Improving the pipeline for translation of therapies for serious complications of pregnancy’. Says Natalie, “Preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction are deadly complications of pregnancy, without current therapies for either. Development of treatments is seriously limited and pregnant women are excluded…
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Northern Health Foundation: Shout a Coffee to Healthcare Workers
‘Shout A Coffee to Healthcare Workers’ is an initiative by Northern Health Foundation for the community to show their gratitude for staff who are working tirelessly to keep our community safe. This initiative complements Northern Health focus on wellbeing by encouraging a little time out. The campaign which runs till the end of the month, got an extra boost when Northern Health Foundation, Board member Tricia Lee, paid a special visit to Northern Hospital Epping to shout 1,000 coffees for frontline medical staff. The Riverlee Foundation has a longstanding relationship with Northern Health Foundation. Over the years, Riverlee have funded…
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The library comes to you
A new online library service for all Northern Health staff and students has been launched, bringing the library to staff regardless of where they are located. The service provides access to a range of evidence-based resources such as medical literature, databases, education tools, eJournals, access to books and eBooks and point of care decision support tools such as UpToDate. The eLibrary can be used to submit requests for article sourcing by library staff or access expert search capabilities by requesting a literature search. “Both of these valued services help Northern Health staff and students stay up to date with the…
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Bicultural workers in the Community Monitoring Program
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, we have seen very high rates of COVID-19 amongst first-generation migrants in Melbourne’s north, with over 10 per cent of the 15,000 COVID-19 positive people registered in Northern Health’s support programs identifying as speaking Arabic, Assyrian or Chaldean as their primary language. In response, Northern Health’s COVID Positive Pathway program recently recruited a team of bicultural workers to help us better engage with Arabic, Assyrian and Chaldean speakers isolating at home. Flona Yousif and Hala Mehdi were seconded from the Research office at the start of September to work in the service, and Lena…
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Q&A with Dr Faye Zaibak, Director, Research Operations
In this week’s ‘Q & A’, we chat with Dr Faye Zaibak, Director, Research Operations, who has been in this post for just over two months. What’s your coffee order? Tea, no milk or sugar. I am really loving my ginger tea at the moment. Tell us about your time so far at Northern Health? I am blessed to have such a hardworking and dedicated team. I have not met most of the team or researchers in person, as they are seconded to COVID-19 response, which presents a challenge to the continuation of our essential service. Everyone is willing to…
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Pharmacy wins ‘Best Abstract’ and ‘Best Poster’ Awards at UK Conference
Heather Mackenzie, Antimicrobial Stewardship Lead Pharmacist, won the ‘Best Abstract’ and ‘Best Poster Presentation’ Award at the United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) Virtual Conference last week. UKCPA is the UK’s largest clinical pharmacy community, bringing together pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from all sectors. It currently has over 2,600 members, 14 educational groups and 26 forums. “Each year, members are invited to submit abstracts for the annual conference. In 2021, approximately 70 abstracts were submitted, with six selected for presentation. Our pharmacy submission was awarded both ‘Best Abstract’ and ‘Best Poster Presentation,” Heather explained. The poster titled, ‘Experience of a…