The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) team is excited to introduce you to our 14 EMR Trainers!

With EMR going live in less than seven months, along with testing the system from end-to-end, it will also be the team’s top priority to engage and prepare our leaders and staff for the implementation. EMR Trainers will play a crucial role in the development and training delivery to more than 5,000 staff who will be interacting with the EMR.

As a part of their onboarding process, the trainers attended ‘Train the Trainer’ workshops from 16 January to 3 February, to familiarise themselves with the system, future state workflows, and change impacts across disciplines. EMR Training Manager, Cliff Wilshire, expressed his welcome to his fellow trainers.

“A very warm welcome to the team. The past few weeks have certainly been a highlight for me. We were able to incorporate work and fun together. On Wednesday mornings, we play EMR charades to refresh our knowledge of the system. The winning team receives a token and the team with the most tokens at the end of the year will get a prize,” says Cliff.

Our 14 trainers come from disciplines such as nursing, allied health, mental health and pharmacy.

EMR Trainer, Alison Voss, has been working at our Cath Lab for more than 10 years. “I have been living a double life – working at Northern Health Cath Lab, Austin Health Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department. When Austin Health launched the EMR, it was a steep learning curve for everyone, including me, but I felt much more confident in using the system once I completed the training. I can’t wait to start training and make this transition as smooth for you,” says Alison.

EMR Trainer, Mohamed Hussein, is thrilled to join the team. “I have been working in the operating theatres for over 20 years. In previous roles, I was the CSSD Manager at different hospitals and organisations from public to private sector. Being a trainer and assessor with different RTO’s, I have always enjoyed training my staff very much. When I saw this opportunity come up, I took a leap of faith. Next thing I know, I am a part of the great EMR team at the Northern Health family!” says Mohamed.

“We are extremely grateful to have leadership’s support in recruitment and I can’t wait for our staff to meet the team,” Cliff adds.

In the coming months, you will see our trainers attending and facilitating EMR activities, such as EMR super user briefings, solution gallery (an opportunity to see the system up close), and familiarisations (5-10 minutes bite-sized video demonstrations of EMR functionalities).

Click here to learn more about the team.

For over 30 years, the Humpty Dumpty Foundation has been providing essential, and often life-saving, medical equipment for sick and injured children in hospitals across Australia.

The Humpty Dumpty Foundation is the largest charitable supplier of children’s medical equipment behind state and territory governments across Australia, and is working hard with health officials and communities to ensure all states and territories have the equipment they need. To date, Humpty Dumpty has raised over $90 million, and in 2021, donated a record-breaking 700 pieces of medical equipment nation-wide.

Northern Health Foundation relies on support from charitable organisations like Humpty Dumpty to fund essential equipment for Northern Health. Currently, over 20 pieces of equipment have been donated to our maternity ward and neonatal unit over the past few years. This equipment includes Rad 5 Oximeters, Connex Vital Signs Monitors, a 950 Humidifier and an ECG machine with cart, all contributing to the invaluable resources within our health service.

AV Jennings Foundation partnered with Humpty Dumpty to support the purchase of the 950 Humidifier for Northern Health’s neonatal unit.

Today, Serpil Gurel and Suzan Jabbour from the AV Jennings Foundation, toured our neonatal and maternity wards to see first-hand how the 950 Humidifier enhances care for our smallest patients; our precious newborns.

Molly Mathew, Acting Nurse Unit Manager, Neonatal, was only too happy to provide a tour to our donors saying, “it’s always a pleasure to show donors the equipment they have funded and how it makes a difference to our patients.”

Serpil and Suzan met Jaxx and his mum Brianna who have been with us at Northern Hospital Epping for the past four weeks. Our visitors were able to see how Jaxx’s breathing was being aided by the humidifier.

“The 950 Humidification system is a vital part when using respiratory support within the neonatal unit as humidification assists with the natural defense mechanisms in the airway. Reflexes such as sneezing, coughing, and gagging are supported by the natural filtration of nasal hairs and the upper airway. In preterm infants, these mechanisms can be underdeveloped. The humidification is necessary to avoid drying of respiratory secretions and for maintaining nasal cilia function due to the high flow rate,” explains Molly.

According to Pina Di Donato, Executive Director, Public Affairs and Foundation, who was also on the tour, “Having a donor tour is a great opportunity for us to thank Humpty Dumpty Foundation and their partners for their support, and explain how their generosity has improved patient care. It was a pleasure to have Serpil and Suzan visit us today. We really enjoy the opportunity to connect with our donors in person.”

We sincerely thank AV Jennings and Humpty Dumpty Foundation for their continued support of our heath service, and helping us provide the latest and most essential equipment for our little patients.

 

 

Neonatal Unit, Baby Jaxx with Humidifier machine

Suzan Jabbour and Serpil Gurel next to 950 Humidifier

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Dr Peter Cheng, Emergency Department Physician

Q: Tell us about a career highlight for you while you’ve been with Northern Health. 

A: Working in ED is full of drama and highlights, so it’s hard to pick just one! I don’t ask for much: for me it’s the basic things like reduction of a dislocated shoulder, teaching juniors on the floor, a smooth procedural sedation…but also the heroic interventions like catching a baby in the carpark, or a successful resuscitation of a critically ill patient. In 2015, I was appointed as one of the directors of Emergency Medicine Training. I feel very fortunate to have colleagues who believe in me and continue to support me over the years. It’s an immense privilege to be part of a dynamic group of consultants who care deeply for our discipline, each other and the well-being of our trainees. In my opinion, no other ED does it better than the Northern!

Q: What are you really excited for in 2023?

A: I’m looking forward to promoting the use of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in ED. I get a kick out of watching the penny drop for my registrars when they pick a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, a punctured lung or an obstructed kidney. I believe when more clinicians integrate sonography into their practice, more patients receive safer, targeted and timely care. The future looks bright for POCUS in Emergency Medicine.

Q: What’s your most-used productivity hack?

A: I made and distributed a couple of instructional videos showing others how to store ultrasound images and labelled various parts of the slit lamp to make the eye examination easier. I’m not sure if these are “hacks”, but they are helpful aids for junior doctors who are unfamiliar with the equipment.

Q: Are you a morning person or a night owl?

A: Night owl. In my younger days, I used to be a morning person, but these days I try to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep-in time after a hard evening on-call shift or from staying up late watching Netflix… if the kids will let me!

Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?

A: Can I name two? 1) I was mistaken for Bruce Lee by a patient who presented incredibly disinhibited. Luckily, he didn’t pick me as his martial arts sparring partner! 2) I was introduced to a patient by a respected senior ED nurse as “one of the most caring doctors”, which made me feel quite special, but terribly embarrassed at the same time. It isn’t easy, but it is a reputation that I strive to live by.  Bruce Lee sounds much cooler, though…

 

Northern Health is part of the North Eastern Public Health Unit (NEPHU), led by Austin Health and working in collaboration with Eastern Health.

NEPHU is one of nine public health units across metropolitan and regional Victoria, representing 27 per cent of the Victorian community. It has the largest catchment size of the public health units and supports one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse communities.

The unit was originally established in late 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is funded by the Victorian Department of Health. Following the pandemic, NEPHU is focused on collaborating closely with various community organisations.

The NEPHU team at Northern Health works with the NEPHU teams at Eastern Health and Austin Health across four key areas of work:

• Health Protection, which includes Public Health Officers, Infection Prevention Control, Clinical Nurse Consultants and Team Leaders, as well as Medical Leads.
• Intelligence Systems and Digital Innovation, which includes Epidemiologists and Data Analysts.
• Public Health Integrated Planning and Programs, which includes Public Health Coordinators.
• Engagement, Communications and Capacity Development, which includes Community Engagement Officers, Learning and Development Leads and Communications and Design Coordinators.

Some of the key pieces of work underway in the Health Protection space will include managing communicable disease integrating over from the Department of Health and managing respiratory outbreaks in sensitive settings in the community.

“NEPHU’s vision for the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne is simple – active, connected and safe communities for all, with healthy places, healthy people and a healthier tomorrow,” said NEPHU@Northern Operations Lead, Asmara Jammali-Blasi.

NEPHU’s priority moving forward will be to support population health with strategies on how to improve sexual and reproductive health, increase active living, reduce alcohol and drug-related harm and encourage healthy eating.

“NEPHU@Northern has already achieved a lot, but in reality we are the new kids on the block!” said NEPHU@Northern Clinical Lead, Dr Christian McGrath.

“We still have a lot of growing to do together as we take on new roles protecting our community from communicable diseases and environmental threats and promoting healthy life choices to prevent disease.”

“The next few years we hope to really build and consolidate and work closely with our Northern colleagues to achieve this!” said NEPHU@Northern Clinical Lead, Dr Christian McGrath.

For more information, please visit the Northern Health intranet.

In December 2022, Lloyd Filer attended his work Christmas party at Saluti Restaurant at Pacific Epping, where he suffered a heart attack.

Seated nearby was a table of Northern Health nurses, who attended to him, performed CPR and brought him to Northern Hospital for further care.

One of the nurses who provided medical attendance to Lloyd at the restaurant was Tara Softley, Endoscopy Liaison Nurse at Northern Health.

“Having to commence CPR out in the community was very daunting, and having a full restaurant watch on was very scary. Not only for us, but also for his work colleagues who were with him at the time. We were very grateful that a defibrillator machine was nearby, and we were able to utilise it until the paramedics arrived,” she said.

For Tara, the whole experience was immensely rewarding.

“Reflecting on the event, I am grateful for the career path that I chose. To be able to assist someone in the community and have such a positive outcome was a very rewarding experience. To be able to speak with the patient on the phone weeks later was very surreal,” she said.

After spending a short time in the ICU, Lloyd completed two weeks of rehabilitation. He has made a full recovery and is now back home with his family.

“I had no idea of the critical state of my heart health and have taken the opportunity to remind my friends and family of the importance of a heart health check,” Lloyd said.

“As a former Surf Lifesaver, I’m also reminded of the importance of CPR training as a life skill. I will be eternally grateful to these nurses, as well as the other emergency workers who arrived and provided their assistance.”

Janelle Davies, Endoscopy Liaison Nurse at Northern Health, also helped revive Lloyd. She said that having personal medical information saved on his smartphone was critical, and something they were able to quickly access on Lloyd’s phone.

“Having medical information such as list of medications, medical history and allergies stored on your smartphone is invaluable to first responders,” Janelle said.

Thank you to all of our wonderful staff for the amazing work they do and the care they provide, both on site and out in the community.

 

Featured in the image (from left to right): Casey Muscat, Natasha Josevski, Lloyd Filer, Rebecca Garner, Tara Softley and Janelle Davis

This morning, Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews and Minister for Mental Health Gabrielle Williams MP visited Northern Health to announce the completion of our new acute mental health building.

“This new facility will allow people in Melbourne’s growing northern suburbs to receive the support they need close to their homes, families and support networks,” Mr Andrews said.

This facility will deliver 30 acute inpatient mental health beds with a contemporary and modern design to support recovery, including technologically enhanced sensory rooms and courtyards with in-built exercise equipment.

The patient rooms and communal spaces are light, supportive and flexible so the changing needs of consumers can be accommodated to throughout their stay.

Consumers will also have access to a range of shared internal spaces for social, therapeutic and recreational activities.

In addition to providing the mental health support people need, close to home, the project has supported around 450 construction jobs whilst being built.

Northern Health’s Director of Nursing for Mental Health, Gary Ennis, said the new facility will be helpful in attracting new staff as it will be a great place to deliver gold-standard care to consumers.

“This facility will be a great asset to our local community,” Mr Ennis said.

“It’s fantastic to see the impact the input from our lived-experience consumers has had on the final result – this unit is a functional space for staff to work in and a comfortable environment for patients to recover in.”

Once opened, this facility will allow Northern Heath to treat around 650 additional mental health patients each year and reduce the pressure on our emergency department.

The Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) Program provides one-on-one friendship and companionship to residents of Australian Government funded residential aged care services.

Northern Health has been an auspice for this wonderful program for 30 years, with over 25 aged care facilities in our catchment area that we work in partnership with.

Volunteer visitors make regular visits to these facilities for a chat, to share life stories, play cards or games, read novels together, watch movies, talk about the footy fixture or go on outings.

When face-to-face visits are not possible, volunteers stay connected with residents through post cards, email, and phone or video calls to maintain the connection and support to residents.

The most important qualities of the visitors are their commitment and reliability, kindness, generosity, compassion, ability to focus on another’s needs and to be a good listener. Visits are available to anyone receiving government-subsidised aged care services.

Jennifer Way, who is a Reception and Switchboard Operator at Northern Health, has also been a volunteer at Broadmeadows Hospital for three years.

Since August 2022, Jennifer has been visiting Brenda Simpson at Baptcare Brookview Community Aged Care in Westmeadows as part of the CVS program.

“I visit Brenda and she is a very interesting lady. We talk about family, how she met her husband, what her family went through in World War II and day-to-day news. When I go in to visit Brenda, she is so happy to see me. We sit and chat non-stop for a good hour and when I leave, it makes me feel good knowing that I have made Brenda’s day.”

There is a need to recruit more volunteers, like Jennifer, to take part in the CVS Program, with a particular focus on volunteers that speak an additional language. If you would like to find out more about the CVS Program, contact Kim Berger from the Volunteer Services Team on 8405 8971, or email volunteer@nh.org.au.

Featured image: Brenda and Jennifer.

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Brigid Algie, Nurse Unit Manager (Acting) Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED).

Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?

A: I enjoy that I get to be part of a new, innovative mode of delivering healthcare. Due to VVED being a new service, there are constant changes and challenges occurring. I really love the fact that both myself and my colleagues all have an input into the decision making around how we deliver the service.

Q: What do you find most challenging about being part of a new service?

A: Due to my previous answer it may sound like I am contradicting myself, but as well as change being enjoyable it can also be challenging. We are constantly taking on feedback from patients, other healthcare services and staff about ways we can improve the quality and accessibility care. Constant change can be slightly difficult when we are having to continuously educate and keep all of our staff up to date. The wonderful staff at VVED do, however, continue to rise to the challenge!

Q: Tell us about a career highlight for you while you’ve been with Northern Health.

A: My career highlight whilst being at Northern Health would probably be from a few weeks ago when Dan Andrews came to visit VVED. It was awesome getting to show off our department and watch him deliver a press conference right on our front doorstep.

Q: If you weren’t in your current role, what would you be doing?

A: I’d love to be working overseas in a ski resort as a ski patroller (on a snowboard of course). The idea of combining my passion for snowboarding along with my emergency nursing skills seems pretty cool and I have always dreamed about working in a job that would allow me snowboard every day.

Q: What do you do to relax after a day of work?

A: If the weather is nice I will generally go for a walk, or maybe a bike ride if I’m feeling extra energetic. If the weather is miserable I’m more likely to be found on the couch watching a doco about someone climbing Mount Everest or something true crime.