June 2023
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Get to know: Katelin Blackwood
#WeAreNorthern Meet Katelin Blackwood, Transformation Lead, Outpatient Services. Q: What is your coffee order? A: Tea at home and hot chocolate if I am out. Q: Tell us about your role at Northern Health? A: I have been at Northern Health for 15 years and currently work in the Outpatients Department. I started as a Clinic Lead for the Gastroenterology Portfolio in 2018, and have now transitioned into a new role as a Transformation Lead, working to further enhance and develop our processes. Currently, I am working on streamlining our planned appointment process by aligning all of our systems terminology,…
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Tracey Webster awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
Tracey Webster OAM, Director, Clinical Leadership, Effectiveness and Outcomes (CLEO), was recently awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours. This prestigious honour is in recognition of Tracey’s many decades of service to nursing and community health. “It’s still a shock because I thought they seriously got the wrong person. But it is also an honour,” Tracey said. “I am not someone that would get something like this, I am just a nurse. When you look at the list of people who received this honour, they are all amazing and I am very…
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Better Connected Care Newsletter – June 2023
Over the past two months, Northern Health (NH) and Kilmore District Health (KDH) have undertaken a thorough consultation process to explore the future delivery of healthcare services in the Northern Growth Corridor. Part of this process included engaging directly with the community of Kilmore and surrounds, and KDH staff and stakeholders so we can collaboratively determine what is needed and wanted. The end result will be closer and stronger partnerships, with the possibility of a voluntary amalgamation between both services. Please click here to read the Better Connected Care Newsletter – June 2023.
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Meet Huggins Mhlanga, Nurse Unit Manager – Broadmeadows Aged Persons Mental Health Unit.
This is a significant time to be working in the mental health sector, as we declare our commitment to the ambitious reform agenda, set out by the Mental Health Royal Commission. Next week, we welcome the Broadmeadows Aged Persons Mental Health Unit (BAPMHU) and the new Specialist Older Adults Consultation Service (SOACS). This is the final transition of services, as recommended by The Royal Commission, into Mental Health. Today, we speak to Huggins Mhlanga, Nurse Unit Manager – Broadmeadows Aged Persons Mental Health Unit. Let’s start with your coffee order? Extra hot latte – no sugar. Tell us about your…
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We Are Northern: This is the TCP team
Northern Health’s Transition Care Program (TCP) provides care coordination and low-level therapy for clients that have had a recent hospital admission, for up to 12 weeks. Based at Bundoora Centre, the program allows clients to continue their recovery while appropriate long-term care arrangements are finalised; this may be a return to the community, with or without community services, including Home Care Packages or permanent residential aged care. There are two arms to the TCP – Home-Based (HB) and Bed-Based (BB). The Home-Based Program is offered in the client’s own home. The Bed-Based program is located within Baptcare, Wattle Grove in…
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EMR training: Anaesthetists training Anaesthetists
Northern Health’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) super user training kick starts today. From designing and building the EMR to testing and endorsing the workflows, the time has finally come to get our staff ready for our EMR go live in September. EMR training will be mainly delivered by our team of 15 EMR trainers. However, we have some special guests who will also be taking on the role to train their peers during the 10-week training period. Jake Geertsema, Ben Peake, Ben Wong, Jamie Mackay, Charlie Harding, Ben Wong, and Jason Ma, Anaesthetists at Northern Health, volunteered to undergo a…
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International Nursing Recruits land at Northern
Since October 2022, Northern Health has focused on a targeted program of attracting and recruiting internationally qualified nurses and midwives, as part of its Nursing and Midwifery recruitment strategy. In undertaking this work, senior nursing leaders from Northern Health recently attended job fairs in Ireland, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, promoting the diverse and exciting healthcare opportunities available both in Victoria, as well as in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Grant Taylor, Director of Nursing Workforce, advised that the program has been an enormous success having recruited and onboarded a total of 18 new nurses since the program…
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Get to know: Karen Ayres
#WeAreNorthern Meet Karen Ayres, Support Services Supervisor at Bundoora Centre. Karen began her journey at Northern Health in 2016 as a Patient Services Assistant (PSA), a year later accepting the role of ‘In Charge’. Now, as a supervisor, she looks after the 15 to 20 PSA’s working at Bundoora. The Support Services student placement program, which offers a number of institutions the opportunity for their students to gain real world experience at the end of their course, recently extended beyond the walls of Northern Hospital Epping. Karen has been instrumental in providing a welcoming environment for the first student to…