Pride March is an annual event held in Melbourne as part of the Midsumma Festival, a celebration of LGBTIQA+ culture and arts. This year, it will be held on Sunday, 5 February 2023.

More than 7,400 marchers usually take to the streets in St Kilda each year, and over 45,000 people line the streets and balconies along the march route to show their support.

“The march is all about celebrating the LGBTIQA+ community, and showing support,” said Electra Ulrich, Senior Dietitian and Co-Chair of the Rainbow Working Group.

“A number of different health services march, as well as sporting clubs, schools, businesses and government organisations.”

Northern Health first marched at Pride March in 2020 with the Pride in the North network, and again in 2021.

“This will be the first year that Northern Health will march under its own banner at Pride March. It feels great to be taking part in this important event again, now with visibility under our own banner” Electra said.

“It’s important for us, as a health service, to proactively show support for the LBGTIQA+ community. Unfortunately, the LGBTIQA+ community still experience discrimination. For us, as a health service, it is important to let the community know that we aim to provide safe care. Unless we state this, how will they know?”

The annual march begins at 11 am at the Ian Johnson Oval on the corner of Lakeside Drive and Fitzroy Street, before proceeding along Fitzroy Steet and ending in Catani Gardens.

“We march with other health services – whether it be community health or other hospitals,” Electra said.

“The crowd cheer us on and, in the past, I’ve heard people yell out ‘Northern Health is here!’ It feels pretty special, and I feel very proud to be representing the health service. The march ends at Catani Gardens in St Kilda, by the beach, where there is entertainment and food.”

“The march is family friendly, and we’ve had some staff bring their children along to march too. The day tends to be quite warm, so make sure you are sun smart and carry a bottle of water.”

“We would love to have you march with us. It’s a fun day and many marchers share their experience as something very special! It’s one way you can stand with the LGBTIQA+ community to say; ‘I support you, you matter, and we strive to provide safe care for you,’” said Electra.

“Whether you identify as part of the LGBTIQA+ community, or are an ally, feel free to come along. Bring a colleague, friend, partner and family too.”

For more information on Pride March, or to participate, email the Rainbow Working Group at rainbowgroup@nh.org.au or visit the Intranet for the latest updates.

New Year’s resolutions are a time for reflection—a chance ‘to think about the limited time we have on this Earth and how to use it wisely’.

To start the year, we asked a cross section of our executive team to tell us what they wished for in 2023.

Most preferred to keep it simple, starting with Don Campbell, Clinical Service Director, Staying Well Program, Medical Division Director, Hospital Without Walls. He said his resolution for the new year was to ‘Get back to basics. Be thankful for each day, every day. Smell the roses and leave the roundup in the container!”

His ‘buzzword’ for 2023 would be ‘focus’. As in “focus on a small number of projects and see them through”. He would like to spend the first forty-five minutes each day, “focusing on a long – term issue before I open my emails.”

Wanda Stelmach, Chief Medical Officer, intends to keep her focus on the patient, saying, “My New Year’s resolution is to champion the idea of the patient in the centre of all our endeavours in 2023.”

Simplifying matters, was also a priority for Debra Bourne, our Chief Operations Officer. Her resolutions for 2023 are grounded in the practical:

1. keep my inbox under control and never receive a ‘your mailbox is too full’ message.
2. don’t press the ‘snooze’ button in the morning
3. tidy my desk every night
4. commit to doing the back exercises my Physio prescribed, every day
5. And at every opportunity reduce my carbon footprint

Jason Cirone, Chief Allied Health Officer says a major priority for 2023 for him will be the staff. He believes that “while we will set some important service goals for the new year, they will only be achieved through a healthy, well and engaged workforce, and this is where we will focus our attention and support”.

Pina Di Donato, Executive Director, Public Affairs and Foundation reflecting on 2023 says, “I am reminded of a quote by Anais Nin…. ‘Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one’s courage’.

Her advice “to myself, my team and others is to be brave, back yourself, believe in your ability to affect change and most of all, go out there and make your life as big as you can.’

Being kind, ranks high in the wish list of Belinda Scott – Executive Director, Mental Health.

She says, “My New Year’s resolution is to show kindness to others and to be kind to myself, to feel and breathe, connect with others and find things that bring you joy each day. ”

“My wish for the new year is to continue to make a difference in the lives of the consumers we work with and each other.” she adds.

Anthony Gust, Executive Director, Digital Health, predicts 2023, “will be the year of together.  Together we will continue to look after patients but also each other.”

He says, “For me 2023 is about all staff caring for each other and having peace of mind that they have done their best not only over 2023 but the last three years.”

So as we join them in making plans for the new year, here’s wishing that this will be a year when we will be kind to each other.  Here’s wishing 2023 is the Year of Together.

For weeks, all that staff at Bundoora Centre could talk about was, “Have you seen the ducklings today? Are there still nine?”.

Kelly Pinto, Spiritual Care Practitioner and Duck Watcher first came across them on a hot summer’s day. “I found the ducks seeking shelter in two groups. Half the flock was sitting under a car. The other half were hiding behind some shrubbery, so as not to be seen. Together they slumbered in the shade as a new family, claiming Bundoora as their home and making the most of raising their young.”

Nicky Tully, Clinical Coordinator/ Duck Watcher said . “We watched the ducklings grow their adult feathers as they quickly grew in size. We observed the parents developing their life skills but appeared to be missing road sense as part of their curriculum! Lucky there are road signs near the campus to warn of the duck crossings.”

She added, “Staff watched in delight as nine ducklings grew into adult ducks over six short weeks. The joy of watching these ducklings created chatter around the corridors with staff wondering if the ducklings were safe and well. They were seen taking pictures of the family and dodging a charging hissing protective parent.”

Barbara Hayes, Clinical Lead-Advance Care Planning/Associate Duck Watcher said, “I was delighted to see that the parents were able to successfully raise all nine ducklings.  I noticed that the Dad was very vigilant and kept an eye out for danger.  The ducks have loved the wet weather this year.  When we needed to wade through parts of the carpark, after heavy rain, the ducks were there as well looking very excited by all the water.”

“Security staff also did their bit to protect the ducklings and, on occasions, could be seen gently herding the ducklings and their parents back towards the pond for safety.  Watching the ducks and ducklings each year at Bundoora is good for the soul.”

Nicky was quick to agree, “It brought us together through the colder days of winter, bringing joy to our hearts as we watched nature grow around us.”

 

For the fifth year running, ISS Facility Services have brought Christmas magic and joy to the Children’s Ward, by gifting presents kindly donated by our local community.

Snez Poposka, Facilities Service Manager ISS, began the Christmas Appeal in 2017, with the hope of putting a smile on children’s faces during their hospital stay over Christmas and the New Year.

“The idea was born five years ago. Being a mother myself, I often thought of all the sick children spending their Christmas in a hospital bed, instead of their families. I didn’t want any of those children to miss out on the joy and happiness of the festive season. Each year we donate more than 100 gifts to the children in the Children’s Ward. Over the years, we have donated over 500 gifts to the children at the Northern Hospital, Epping.

“These gifts have been donated by staff at ISS, Northern Health and the community. It’s a special feeling to see the smile on a sick child once they’ve been gifted a game or a toy. It’s rewarding to be able to give back something to the community and it’s fantastic to see that we have all joined forces together, ISS and staff at Northern Health, to bring this initiative to life.”

Soft toys, colouring books, puzzles and games were among the many gifts donated by our kind and generous community. ISS delivered the gifts last week, with many children, and their families, beaming at the sight of colourfully wrapped presents.

“I would like to express my gratitude to all the staff at ISS and Northern Health, as well as the Northern Health Foundation, for their continuous support and generosity over the years,” said Ms Poposka.

Alecia Caddy, NUM, Children’s Ward, Northern Hospital, Epping, said, “We feel incredibly fortunate to be able to have the ISS team visit Ward Two and donate such amazing gifts to children during the Christmas season. The smiles and pure joy that these gifts bring, to brighten their days spent away from family and friends is just so special!”

“We thank you and are truly grateful for your generosity and kindness.”

The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) team is excited to introduce Lauren Andrew as the EMR Implementation and Adoption Manager.

As a physiotherapist by background, Lauren has always been driven by improving patient care and safety. She was first involved in the digital health transformations by implementing an EMR at Royal Children’s Hospital in 2016, and has since worked for almost a decade in informatics. “With projects like EMR, it is really satisfying to see improvement in patient safety and care, and having a single source of truth for clinical data that clinicians can access at their fingertips to drive positive changes in clinical care. This part of the project is what motivates me most”, says Lauren.

One can say Lauren is extremely dedicated to implementing successful EMRs as this is her third EMR project. “I think EMR go live is an amazing time. The energy of the EMR and leadership team working together to support and assist staff to use the system is something really great to experience”, says Lauren. During go live, she often finds herself celebrating the EMR trainers and super users as they worked extremely hard to ensure that their colleagues are well trained and supported when the system is implemented, and that they are the “stars of the show” especially during the first 4 weeks of go live.

With her new role as the EMR Implementation and Adoption Manager, she will be working with the Executives, Site Directors, Head of Units, and Nurse Unit Managers to ensure the organisation is ready for the EMR go live in September 2023. “Implementing an EMR will be a huge change in how Northern Health delivers patient care. For many Northern Health Accountable Leaders and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), who have worked with the EMR team on design and build, they already have a head start in understanding what is being implemented. But for most staff, 2023 will be the year that they learn about the EMR and how to use the system to deliver patient care”, says Lauren.

Speaking from her most recent EMR implementation at Canberra, while implementing an EMR is exciting, it can also be somewhat daunting for staff, as “they will have to learn a new system, support their colleagues, and continue patient care all together in a short time”. One of Lauren’s top priorities in the coming 3 months, other than getting to know our staff and the community we serve, is “to work out how best to design and deliver an operational readiness program tailored for Northern Health”. “Releasing staff to attend EMR training will be difficult. Northern Health has a proud recent history of managing change, and I am confident that we as an organisation will get through it together”, Lauren concludes.

With Christmas just passed, she has revealed to us one of the items on her wish list – that Santa will bring us more nurses in 2023!

A very warm welcome to Lauren from the EMR team!

Christmas spirit is back in full swing at Northern Health! The Annual Christmas Decorating Competition is on again in 2022, after a challenging two years. Staff were encouraged to deck Northern Health’s halls with COVID Safe cheer, get creative and have fun, and they did!

We received over 30 entries from the creative minds of Northern Health, featuring The Polar Express, Dreaming of White Christmas, the Grinch, Michael Bublé and Mariah Carrey singing duet, as well as some hardworking (and cheeky) Elves, to name just a few.

The festive decorations have brought much joy and delight to our staff, patients, visitors and their families.

Northern Health judges, team of Executives, had a very difficult decision to make to choose the winners in this year’s Christmas Decorating Competition. They all agreed that staff have shown incredible skill, craftmanship and impressive creative talent!

And the winners of the 2022 Northern Health Annual Christmas Decorating Competition are…

• First prize – $1,000: Ward 1, Bundoora Centre
• Second prize – $200: VVED, Northern Hospital
• Third prize – $200: Surgical Centre, Broadmeadows Hospital

And we have two Highly Commended departments, winning a $100 each:

1. Craigieburn Centre
2. Support Services, Northern Hospital
   and a Special Mention to the Short Stay Unit at Northern Hospital Epping for their efforts and wonderful sportsmanship 😊 – they win a hamper donated by Northern Health Foundation.

Thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations to our winners. Please see the images from the winning departments below.

Wishing you a happy festive season!

Northern Health’s HRO Explorer Initiative has just concluded, and judging by the feedback received from the participating staff members and departments, it has been a roaring success.

The program itself gives employees the opportunity to work outside of their normal duties in another department to foster relationships and build understanding, ultimately adding individual and organizational value.  It was developed from a submission to ‘The Big Idea’ in early 2022 and then finessed to align with the HRO principle ‘Deference to Expertise’.

Physiotherapist Steph Castagnini, who got to work with HRO reflected, “Overall, I’d definitely recommend the program to staff who are not sure what their next move is – they may rediscover passion for their usual role or open doors to new opportunities.”

Julie Torres, a physiotherapist with Allied Health, opted to explore the Quality and Safety division.  She gained an appreciation for the work involved in following up patient complaints, health literary consideration for education material, and the efforts made to involve consumers in decision making at Northern Health.

Molecular Pathology’s Joshua Smith said of his time in the Digital Health division, “I have always had an interest in IT and data analytics however have never thought of pursuing a career in it. The Explorers Program has definitely made me more interested in working in Digital Health.

Andrea Clarke from Compliance stepped into Strategy and Planning. She realised she had many transferable skills and commented “The work the planning unit does is fascinating. They make very important contributions to future-proofing our health service to meet the needs of our community.”

Although most Explorers expressed difficulty in switching roles for one day a week with no back fill, the over arching theme appears to be that, through the program, participants gained a greater understanding of their chosen department, which they were able to channel back to the benefit of their own work environment.

The Department of Public Affairs consider themselves fortunate to have participated in this program. According to Pina Di Donato, Executive Director Public Affairs and Foundation “I was thrilled to discover that our staff wanted to learn more about what we do in Public Affairs. The program has opened up so many new doors. We suddenly became aware of the skills that were lying untapped within our own workforce. We are pleased to have since welcomed Slobodanka Trajkovski and Stephen Carnell, who has written this story, to our team. They have each added considerable value to the work we are doing.”

The pilot program was spearheaded by the irrepressible Cassie Bramston of the Transformation Unit (HRO).  Despite the hard work of co-ordinating Explorers, substantive departments and receiving divisions, Cassie was able to maintain a level of positivity which filtered down to the rest of the participants, setting the tone for this and future versions of the Explorers Program. Cassie said “It wasn’t until I started to collate responses from the focus group of the participants that I started to realise just how successful the program had been.”

Results were presented to the Executive just prior to Christmas, who, by all accounts, were delighted with the outcome. The next intake for the Career Pathways Program is set to commence early in 2023. Keep your eyes open for a chance to participate in culture changing initiative.

 

 

This year, Northern Health Foundation partnered with Play for Purpose; a not-for-profit online charitable lottery. The first raffle began in January 2022, with its attractive prizes gaining popularity among our staff and northern community, selling over 2,800 tickets in less than three months.

The benefit of this partnership allows charities across Australia to continue raising much-needed funds for their health service. Giving our community a chance to win great prizes, and having 50 per cent of all ticket proceeds directed back to the Foundation, became an innovative way to continue our fundraising efforts, while giving back to our community, all year round.

As 2022 draws to a close, we are thrilled to announce that, with your support and our partnership with Play for Purpose, we raised over $38,000 this year, with two Northern Health staff members winning major prizes. The proceeds will support Northern Health Foundation’s 2022-23 campaign to introduce a new service at Northern Hospital Epping by funding an Anorectal Laboratory. This laboratory will provide access to the latest equipment and treatment plans for OASIS patients (Obstetrics and Sphincter Injuries), without the need to be referred elsewhere.

Pina Di Donato, Executive Director, Public Affairs and Foundation, said, “In a time when fundraising has become restricted and much more challenging, the Play for Purpose raffle has allowed us to continue our fundraising efforts. While this is not solely a Northern Health raffle, it does give our staff and community a chance to win some incredible prizes that we wouldn’t ordinarily have access to.”

We would also like to thank the supporters of our Northern Health Foundation Christmas Raffle. Our lucky first-prize winner was a Northern Health staff member who took home the four-night Daylesford getaway. Together, we were able to raise a total of $4,155 with all funds going towards the purchase of a new Isolette for the Neonatal Unit at Northern Hospital Epping.

We sincerely thank everyone for their support, and look forward to seeing where our fundraising efforts take us in 2023.

If you would like to read more about our major campaign, or purchase your Play for Purpose tickets in Raffle 18, please head to the Foundation website HERE.