This week is Research Week, when we celebrate our many inspired researchers at Northern Health. As Professor Peter Brooks, Research Lead, says in our story today, “What is amazing is the dedication of all our staff who continue to deliver those three ‘Pillars’ of a health system – quality care, education of patients and staff and, of course, research, in these extraordinary times.”

This week, we celebrate Research Week in its traditional ‘October’ time slot. Yet another reminder that we are getting back to some sort of normality, yet still very much aware that COVID-19 remains with us. What is amazing is the dedication of all our staff who continue to deliver the three ‘Pillars’ of a health system – quality care, education of patients and staff and, of course, research in these extraordinary times.

Our keynote speaker to open Research Week was Professor Zoe Wainer, Deputy Secretary for Public Health, Victorian Department of Health. She spoke about ‘Value-Based Health Care’, a topic so relevant to our emerging post-COVID-19 situation as its values have helped chart our course through these last few years, and demonstrated the role the public health system has played in delivering quality patient care. This has been shown clearly in many of the responses to the pandemic, such as Hospital in the Home, the Staying Well Program and the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department. Health is not just about hospitals – it is about a healthy and supportive community. That is what COVID-19 has taught us.

Prior to COVID-19, Northern Health embraced the concept of ‘Virtual Health’, with telemedicine and other digital solutions focusing on community care. This helped to assist us when the pandemic began.

We continue to develop relationships with the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence in Digital Technology to Transform Chronic Disease Outcomes. We  have also generated a number of Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grants now awaiting announcement. Though not all these grants may be successful, working together in teams on the submission of a grant is a very potent learning experience, and just makes future submissions a little easier. It also strengthens the relationship between hospital researchers and our academic partners.

We were pleased with the number of high-quality papers submitted for Research Week, covering clinical trials and literature reviews, as well as our COVID-19 research. Studies investigating some of the challenges faced by our workforce, as well as presentation of new models of service delivery, demonstrate how the pandemic has created new opportunities for workplace reform.

Given it is only six months since the last Research Week (due to the postponement of Research Week 2021), our list of honours and grants is a little smaller, but of great quality. 

• Congratulations to Associate Professor Lisa Hui who, together with Professor Natalie Hannan and Professor Stephen Tong, were each awarded a 2023 Dame Kate Campbell Fellowship by the University of Melbourne.
• Eleanor Johnson was awarded a prestigious Health Services Research Fellowship again by Melbourne University (MACH). These Fellowships provide some salary support for emerging researchers in partner hospitals, and are highly sought after.
• Associate Professor Joe Rotella secured funding for his project – Emerging Drugs Network of Australia VIC Research Nurse Funding, for a total value of $22,000. This will facilitate the employment of a research nurse at Northern Health for a 24-month period commencing in August 2022.
• Funding for Allied Health Research was received by Associate Professor Adam Semciw from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) Value-based Healthcare Grant to the value of $149,000. His project is, ‘Co-Design, implementation and evaluation of an innovative digital care pathway for patients presenting to the Emergency Department with Back Pain.’
• RCPA Quality Assurance Programs Research Grant of $30,000 to develop a quality assurance program for plasma copeptin from the RCPA Foundation to Kay Weng Choy and his team from Northern Pathology Victoria.

These are some of the research highlights over the last six months. They reflect the growing research portfolio Northern Health now embraces. We look forward to this growing more rapidly in the future.

It is particularly pleasing to see that research activity is vibrant in all disciplines, with many of the projects being multidisciplinary, positioning us for a bright future.

Peter Brooks AM

RESEARCH LEAD NORTHERN HEALTH

Today is World Mental Health Day – a day to make mental health and wellbeing a global priority for all.

There’s no doubt that the last two years have been tough, challenging, and at times, taken a toll on people’s mental health and wellbeing.

“The last couple of years have been incredibly testing for our community, and in particular, our workforce – the frontline workers who have cared for the safety of others throughout a period of immense stress, distress and uncertainty,” said Renee Camilleri, Wellbeing Partner, People and Culture.

The theme for World Mental Health Day 2022 is to make mental health and wellbeing a global priority for all. In line with this sentiment, Northern Health acknowledges it is important now, more than ever, that we create a psychologically safe work environment for our staff and celebrate days such as World Mental Health Day to raise awareness and promote the importance of speaking up when our plates are full.

To look after their mental health, staff are encouraged to practice self-awareness, look at their daily habits and prioritise their own self-care.

“These can be simple, manageable acts to implement in your daily routing – going for a walk, cooking your favourite meal or having coffee with a friend. Looking out for, and recognising, signs and symptoms when you don’t feel yourself is a protective factor that can be strengthened overtime, and in turn, can create a greater awareness for how the people in our lives our also coping,” Renee said.

Belinda Scott, Executive Director, Mental Health, said, “Practicing self-awareness encourages you to look at your daily habits and how you can prioritise your own self-care. Asking yourself questions like, ‘How did I speak to myself today?’, ‘What can I do today for my own wellbeing?’ and actively reflecting on what it is that brings you joy.”

“It is important to normalise conversations around mental health and reduce the stigma in reaching out for help. Promoting protective factors and encouraging a workplace that understands life’s challenges and how it can affect our performance, and how we show up to work.”

“We know our people and their families have been significantly impacted by global events including conflicts and wars, public health emergencies, and social and economic inequalities. In addition to our day-to-day work, our mental health can be impacted by what is happening in our world and we hold that in our minds as we celebrate this day.”

October also marks Mental Health Awareness Month. Here at Northern Health, we kicked off the month with an initiative organised by the Black Dog Institute called One Foot Forward, that encourages us to walk for mental health. A Northern Health team has been set up so staff can join and record their kilometres walked during October. More information can be found here.

At 12 noon today, the Black Dog Institute hosted a webinar on common mental health support options, and spoke about how individuals can effectively communicate these resources in their workplace. The Black Dog Instititue also has many resources for the month, and we encourage you to visit their site here.

As always, we encourage staff to look after themselves and each other, and to reach out to our services if you require one-on-one support. Northern Health’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to you and your family – it’s a free and confidential service that offers professional support for work-related or personal issues.

Visit the Intranet for wellbeing offerings and programs available to staff.

Research Week 2022 is now back in its usual time slot. This year too, this will primarily be a ‘virtual’ event with virtual presentations, posters and guest speakers, presenting the work conducted in 2022.

The feature department this year is Emergency Services, presenting a webinar on Tuesday 11 October at 10 am. Click here to join.

Research Week 2022 celebrates our inspired researchers. Click here for more details and the complete program.

Associate Professor Joe Rotella Joe will present on ‘Hyperemesis ad Nauseum: Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS)’. CHS is a condition that affects some, but not all individuals with a history of heavy cannabis use. His presentation will be paired with the findings of a recently published case series of CHS presentations from Northern Health, the largest case series published in the world to date.

“We looked at 142 adult presentations of CHS over six years (the largest prior was 98 presentations in the USA),” said Joe.

“We also examined demographics, clinical features, investigation results (a first for case series looking at CHS) and management.”

Dr Rifly Rafiudeen has worked at Northern Health for the last five years, completing a combined PhD and Interventional Cardiology Fellowship, under the mentorship of Professor Bill van Gaal and Professor Peter Barlis. Rifly’s research is focussed on Type 2 Myocardial Infarction (T2MI), and in particular, T2MI occurring after major non-cardiac surgery.

Rifly will present his findings from a prospective, double-blind, placebo controlled, randomised controlled trial. The trial used ivabradine started pre-operatively to reduce peri-operative MI and improve morbidity/mortality, in elderly patients undergoing surgery for acute fracture. The trial ran over three years, and recruited 209 patients.

“Ivabradine is a relatively new first-in-class cardiac medication that selectively reduces heart rate without affecting blood pressure,” said Rifly.

“It was an ideal choice for our study question, where we were trying to prevent tachycardia without the hypotension that beta blockers can cause.”

Dr David Crosbie, is an Intensivist at Northern Hospital Epping since 2012, and a Visiting Intensivist at The Austin Hospital. David will present on ‘Non-beneficial resuscitation of patients who have an in hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA).’

‘Non-beneficial resuscitation’, is a term they coined to describe resuscitation attempted on someone, who the doctors believe will clearly not benefit from resuscitation-and can actually end up being harmed.

His presentation draws on nine years of data, which built on an existing data base that David expanded on and made more detailed and readily accessible.

‘I got interested in Code Blues in particular, and thought we would look at them from two aspects. Firstly, why there are so many Code Blues, and how many of them are actually cardiac arrests and secondly, how appropriate resuscitation was in such instances.”

“I found that in our initial work that only about one in ten are actually cardiac arrests and what led to this paper was looking at the nine years of data in detail and seeing their outcomes and how they went.”

“Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certainly saves lives if you are an outpatient or out in the community; for example if you are having a cardiac arrest out in the football field,” says David.

“When you are in the hospital and really sick, we have a strong system to rescue and protect you. If that system does not work, it is only then a Code Blue is called,” he adds.

Dr Andrew Casamento an Intensive Care Consultant at Northern Hospital Epping, along with Austin and Warringal Private Hospitals, will be presenting on ‘Fentanyl vs. Morphine for Analgosedation in Mechanically Ventilated ICU patients’.

Andrew will present findings from the cluster-randomised, cluster-crossover trial.  He will also present some post-hoc analysis of this trial and details of a current trial underway of Ketamine as an adjunct therapy for analgesia in these patients.

As Faye Zaibak, Director, Research Operations, has pointed out, our research “improves the overall standard of medical care through the uptake of evidence into practice.”

The webinar on Tuesday 11 October showcasing our Emergency Services is a case in point and one to look forward to.

The complete Research Week event schedule will can be found here.

This week, we celebrate Perioperative Nurses Week.

Every day, our dedicated perioperative nurses at Northern Health show why they are real-life superheroes.

Perioperative nurses care for patients and their families prior to, during and after surgical procedures. They are highly-skilled, compassionate and always up for a challenge.

We take this time to acknowledge the wonderful work of our perioperative nurses all year round.

Our perioperative team have been celebrating all week long, with a number of fun activities including learning dances together, crazy socks, raffles, treasure hunts, bingo, ‘The Amazing Race’ and a bake-off. Well done and thank you to all the staff involved in running these activities!

Here a few reasons why our perioperative nurses love what they do:

“I love being a perioperative nurse because it is extremely rewarding to be able to support our patients as they go through a very vulnerable time that is surgery. Being able to advocate for our patients, while upholding the best quality of care is what we all pride ourselves on. As a perioperative manager, I am truly grateful and appreciative to have such an amazing, kind, and supportive team of perioperative nurses around me,” said Natasha (Tash) Josevski, Perioperative Nurse Unit Manager.

“I have been with Northern Health for almost 10 years. I completed a perioperative placement during my undergraduate studies and knew that is where I wanted my career to be! During my time as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at GOT, I fell in love with the vascular specialty and the intricacies of the surgeries. I was successful in becoming CSSD ANUM this year and it has been the most challenging and rewarding experience so far. The CSSD team are a great resource, as they are so knowledgeable in what they do! The reason why it’s great being part of the CSSD management team is because of the awesome staff members and a great boss, Melanie,” said Melissa Rigos, Acting Perioperative Nurse Unit Manager.

“I have been working in this field for the past 20 years. Prior to this, I started my career in ABI, then moved onto the medical/surgical wards. I enjoy the challenge of my role and know that I am making a difference in people’s lives everyday. I contribute my lengthy service to the amazing team in which I work that are ever so kind and supportive,” said Fran Daly, Acting Perioperative Nurse Unit Manager.

Research Week at Northern Health showcases a range of local and innovative research projects and presentations from research leaders around the world.

The week will be held October 10 – 14, and will primarily be a virtual event with virtual presentations, posters and guest speakers presenting the work conducted in 2022.

This year will feature the work of our Emergency Service Researchers. Dr David Crosbie, Staff Specialist Intensivist and Medical Donation Specialist, will discuss non-beneficial resuscitation of patients who have an in-hospital cardiac arrest. Dr Rifley Rafiudeen, a Northern Health Foundation and University of Melbourne PhD scholar, will present his exciting new paper on Ivabradine. Associate Professor Joe Rotella, Clinical Toxicologist and Emergency Physician, will discuss the diagnosis, proposed pathophysiology and recommended management of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome.

Northern Hospital Epping’s Emergency Department experienced the highest demand in it’s recorded history over the last three years, requiring rapid innovation. Dr Loren Sher, Director of Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED), will also speak at the Northern Health Foundation Corporate Breakfast on Friday, 14 October at Mantra Epping. She will detail the journey from being a research project, to implementing a service that is now a statewide funded initiative. Professor Leigh Kinsman, La Trobe University, will round out the discussion in the Grand Round, illustrating the challenges of rural health emergency medicine.

Staff are also invited to hear about the great work at Northern Health in the oral presentations and poster sessions, then wind-down with a fun trivia session with Dr Shane Huntington as MC.

Faye Zaibak, Director, Research Operations, said Research Week allowed us to come together as an organisation and celebrate the achievements of our researchers.

“Events such as this bring world best thought leaders together to share their experience and perspectives and challenge us to new heights,” she said.

“Research provides early access to innovative treatments and interventions for patients, and improves the overall standard of medical care through the uptake of evidence into practice. This has been shown to improve patient outcomes and safety.”

“The virtual sessions are open to all, so come along, share the link with family and friends and celebrate with us.”

Associate Professor Wanda Stelmach, Chief Medical Officer, encouraged as many staff to attend Research Week.

“The Research Community has once more developed an impressive number of events for Northern Health to enjoy. I highly recommend you join Research Week in particular the poster sessions which highlight the excellent work our researchers have produced,” she said.

A full Research Week event schedule will can be found here.

October is dedicated to raising awareness for mental health. The Mental Health Foundation Australia says it is an important time when the Australian community comes together to raise awareness and promote better mental health for all.

Monday, 10 October also marks World Mental Health Day. The World Health Organization (WHO) encourages us to use that day as an opportunity to re-kindle our efforts to protect and improve mental health for ourselves, for our families and for our communities.

As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis for mental health, fuelling short and long-term stresses, and undermining the mental health of millions. At the same time, mental health services have been severely disrupted and the treatment gap for mental health conditions has widened.

The WHO is encouraging people with mental health conditions, advocates, governments, employers, employees and other stakeholders to come together to recognise progress in this field and to be vocal about what we need to do to ensure mental health and wellbeing becomes a global priority for all.

Here at Northern Health, we kicked off the month with an initiative organised by the Black Dog Institute, called ‘One Foot Forward’ that encourages us to walk for mental health. A Northern Health team has been set up so staff can join and record their kilometres walking during October. Click here for more information.

Black Dog Institute also has many resources for the month and we would encourage you to visit their site here.

On World Mental Health Day, the Black Dog Institute will host a webinar on common mental health support options, and how individuals can effectively communicate these resources in their workplace. The webinar will be held at 12 noon. Click here to register.

As stigma and discrimination continue to be a barrier to social inclusion and access to the right care, we can all play our part in increasing awareness and this October is an opportunity to do that collectively.

Belinda Scott

Executive Director Mental Health

Jason Cirone is Northern Health’s new Chief Allied Health Officer (CAHO).

Jason joined Northern Health eight years ago as the Director of Medical and Nursing Workforce. Since then, he has worked in People and Culture within Operations, Human Resources and Workforce roles. In 2020 and 2021, he worked in Clinical Practice Improvement, supporting our Quality team with Northern Health’s accreditation preparation. Jason was appointed to the role of CAHO in July 2022.

“I have worked in public health since 1998. I have a background in physiotherapy and, early in my career, I did some physiotherapy work in private practice, occupational physiotherapy, community health, and also worked in the USA as a Physical Therapist,” Jason said.

“I love sports, and in particular I am a really big fan of swimming. I originally wanted to be a physiotherapist on the Australian swim team.”

Whilst that never worked out, Jason never misses an opportunity to watch a national or international swimming event, and has really enjoyed his career in Allied Health and management.

“Outside of Northern Health, I am an Accreditation Surveyor. It’s a privilege to enter another organisation, and I am grateful for the opportunity to see how other health services function. There is always a lot to learn, and I often focus on what I can bring back to Northern Health.”

“In 2020 and 2021, I supported Maree Glynn in preparation of our most recent accreditation. It was an amazing opportunity to learn more about clinical operations across our own organisation in a quality and safety context.”

As the new CAHO, Jason’s role is centred around professional governance and strategy for the Allied Health, TALS and Narrun Wilip-giin directorate. He also works closely with operational directors, and is keen to grow the directorate to keep with the health service’s expansion.

“As we acquire new services, or as current services expand, it’s important that Allied Health, TALS and Narrun Wilip-giin complements and supports the organisation in its growth – that is my overall vision,” he said.

“I also want to further develop our research and education for Allied Health, and strengthen our evidence-based practice. I’d like to showcase to the organisation the amazing achievements from the directorate. There are 500 staff, who all do amazing work which is incredibly impactful, and contribute to, not only patient flow and care within the hospital, but outpatients as well.”

Jason sees his new role as an opportunity to apply what he has learned, whilst continuing to learn and grow into a better leader.

“I have been enjoying the new role. Northern Health is a critical community resource – we are consistently relied upon by our community, which is growing very fast. I have come from this community, my family is from this community, and I strongly believe we provide an outstanding and highly valued service,” Jason said.

The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) team is excited to announce that Dr Sing Tan has recently joined the team as the Deputy Chief Medical Informatics Officer.

Sing started his medical career in 2009 as an ICU Intensivist. “I have always been fascinated by technology and the power of data, as well as health system design. ICU was the perfect blend of this. It is a high-tech environment where physiological measurements such as blood pressure and oxygen levels are measured by the second, and the data is then used to titrate and adjust therapies,” says Sing.

Sing has been with Northern Health for three years, and joined the EMR team as the Senior Medical Analyst-ICU when the project kick-started back in 2021. During his time with the EMR team, he has been involved in designing and validating medical workflows, especially in the intensive care space. With the EMR project moving away from system design and build, into system testing and operational readiness, Sing was the perfect fit as Deputy Chief Medical Informatics Officer.

“EMR is a significant transformation project and a key success factor is adoption, therefore Sing’s engagement with our clinicians will be key to its success,” says Trish Aldridge, EMR Program Director.

When asked about what made him decide to transition to a deputy role, Sing said the answer lies within digital health.

“Northern Health’s leadership has a strong commitment to leverage digital health innovations to improve quality, safety, and efficiency for our staff, patients, and community. This role allows me to tap into this territory of the unknown and is a rare opportunity for me to contribute to this major initiative that the whole organisation is working towards, and I am very excited to see the benefits that the EMR will bring to Northern Health,” says Sing.

Having worked at various hospitals with varying levels of EMR adoption, Sing found it most beneficial from a medical perspective when the flow of information between individuals, for example, doctor’s orders to pathology, is improved, and when patient care is improved due to generation of insights backed up by system data.

“With Northern Health EMR going live in September 2023, I hope to see the earliest impact to our medical staff to be a reduction in workflow inefficiencies, such as the 10 minute walk to radiology to put in a request slip, or the minutes spent looking for the patient’s drug chart,” adds Sing.

With great love for his clinical work, he now works part-time in both EMR and ICU spaces.

“The universal experience with EMR go-live is that it will be challenging, even in the most well-planned and executed settings. We fully recognise the challenging clinical landscape at Northern Health, however, I am confident that we can work together and support each other to launch an EMR in a safe and effective manner,” Sing concludes.

A very warm welcome to Dr Sing from the EMR team!