March 2023

Dr Adam Semciw, Associate Professor of Allied Health, was recently awarded funding from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to develop a digital care pathway for patients attending the Emergency Department (ED) with back pain. In collaboration with the Northern Health Allied Health Department, the Clinical Leadership, Effectiveness and Outcomes (CLEO) team and the School of Allied Health at La Trobe University, $149,000 has been allocated as part of the TAC’s Value-Based Healthcare Grant towards Dr Semciw’s project – ‘Co-design, implementation and evaluation of an innovative digital care pathway for patients presenting to the Emergency Department with back pain.’ “Back pain…

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This morning, 145 Northern Health staff, Board members and guests gathered at Mantra Epping to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023. Attendees were welcomed by Northern Health Executive Director, Pina Di Donato, who highlighted the importance of the event as an opportunity to discuss equal access to healthcare for our local community. “Northern Health is always working towards fixing the gaps in the care provided to women in our region; equality isn’t a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a ‘must have’,” she said. Among those in attendance was the Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Health, who spoke about the diverse and…

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The Kath Atkinson Age Geriatric, Assessment and Management Unit (KAW GEM), is one of two units, along with the Kath Atkinson Wing Older Adults Mental Health Inpatient Unit, based in the Kath Atkinson Wing – KAW AGE at Bundoora Centre. The unit is named in recognition of the outstanding contribution from Kathleen Atkinson to the former Bundoora Extended Care Centre (BECC). In 1972, Ms Atkinson worked tirelessly to help raise funds to build BECC, and in 1973, she formed the Preston Auxiliary, of which she was President. The KAW GEM unit is a unique, 15-bed secure specialist geriatric assessment unit…

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The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards provide a nationally consistent statement of the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations. The primary aims of the Standards are to protect the public from harm and to improve the quality of health service provision. Standard 2: Partnering with Consumers, together with Standard 1: Clinical Governance, underpin the principles and expectations of the eight NSQHS Standards. The standard recognises the importance of involving patients in their own care and providing clear communication to them, as part of shared decision-making and person-centred care. “In health care decision-making we…

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#WeAreNorthern Meet Nikolajs Zeps, Director of Research Q: Tell us about your Northern Health journey?  A: I first did some work at Northern Health in July 2021 as Consultant to review the research activities. This led to a report delivered in November 2022. I came back again in June 2022, to assist with completing some of the recommendations and in December 2022, the role of Director of Research was advertised. I saw a great opportunity to work with Northern at that time, so applied and was very happy to be selected to do the role.  Q: How would you describe…

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Today, Northern Health virtually held the first Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards for 2023, to formally celebrate and acknowledge the amazing work of our staff. We had an outstanding response from our staff, with a number of nominations received across seven categories. Today’s ceremony awarded winners from 2022 Quarter 4 (October – December). Debra Bourne, Acting Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, opened the ceremony by acknowledging the contributions of the more than 7,500 staff across the health service. “Our staff work a wide range of areas, departments and sites and are all committed to providing great care to our community each…

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