One of the very important jobs that members of the Executive team do at this time of the year is to judge the Christmas Decorating Competition.

Inundated with entries and enthusiasm, the judging road trip, consisting of Michelle Fenwick, Basil Ireland, Pina Di Donato, with special appearances by Debra Bourne, Jason Cirone, Belinda Scott and Director of Public Affairs, Emma Cutajar, was ‘jolly green to go’.

Zipping along Cooper Street to number 230, judges were greeted with an abundance of tinsel, baubles, and good cheer. Teams went to great lengths to impress judges with their dance moves, printed t-shirts, creative visual displays, and the occasional chocolate bribe. From the elegant and beautiful to the quirky and intricately creative, the judges were in complete awe of staff efforts.

But these judges couldn’t be bought, although they very much appreciated the chocolates! Back to Northern Hospital Epping, and with so many entries, the team was only able to visit half of them on that day. Completely blown away by the quality of the entries, the competition was fiercely competitive.

Sustainability was a key feature with many recycled and reusable goods being repurposed into decorations. The Grinch was a popular theme among staff this year, something some of the judges could relate to. Other notable themes were snowflakes, gingerbread, winter wonderland, and Santa’s workshop. Northern Health’s values, safe, kind, together also featured in some displays.

The road trip zoomed (safely) down the freeway to arrive at Kilmore District Hospital where the Food Services Department, the Enviro Team and Outpatients showcased their spectacular displays. Special mention to the District Nursing team and the Education team, who had even gone to the effort of superimposing Jennifer Gilham’s face on their Santa display. A repurposed bathtub was crafted into a sleigh, complete with reindeer by the Enviro team, proving why they are masters at their craft.

Back down the highway, it was Craigieburn’s turn to shine with a beautiful display at reception, captivating patients, and visitors with their multifaceted decorations.

A new week brought another round of judging. The day started back at Northern Hospital Epping, for the remaining entries. With so much still to see, judges were delighted once again with the quality of what was on show. Playing to their strengths, the Digital Health Education team’s digital fireplace was a mesmerising feature worthy of a special mention.

Aligning with the staff barbecue, the road trip headed to Bundoora campus. Previous winners, Ward One, did not disappoint with their stunning display, while over at Ian Brand Residential Care, residents captured the hearts of our judges as they proudly presented their handmade decorations, posing for photos as their fellow residents sang Christmas Carols in the background.

It was then time for Broadmeadows Hospital to impress the judges. Beautiful displays all around made it increasingly challenging for judges to separate the entries. Small teams decorated their spaces beautifully, reflective of their team culture with Unit One and the Surgical Team outdoing themselves once again.

Last, but certainly not least, judges journeyed to the Northern Community Care Unit in Preston. Here they were treated to a beautiful array of lovingly handmade decorations, with a Christmasy atmosphere and space for residents and staff to enjoy the festive season.

Overall, the standards were extremely high with over 50 entries.  Judges were impressed with the level of creativity, care and teamwork that had gone into the decorating. Staff worked on their days off, and during breaks to ensure patient care was prioritized. Many were first time entrants, while others involved patients and residents in the crafting of decorations. Judges would like to thank everyone for making Northern Health’s campuses look so festive and cheerful over the past few weeks.

Find out who the winners are in the video below.

 

Congratulations to all of our winners!

You will receive an email next week about how you will receive your prizes.

Wishing all of our hardworking staff and volunteers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As we bid farewell to another remarkable year, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve shared with our vibrant online community. From heart-warming stories to health tips, memorable visits from prominent figures and outstanding achievements by our Northern Health staff, let’s relive the best-performing social media posts that made 2023 truly special!

1.VIP Visits, EMR and Better Connected Care!

The visits from the Premier of Victoria, Dan Andrews in February, to announce the completion of the new acute mental health building, followed by the Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas MP’s visit to highlight the Maternity in the Home and Medical Obstetrics at Home Programs, surely sparked a media frenzy!

Subsequently, after meticulous planning over the past two years, the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) seamlessly went live across all operational sites. Then, in November, we celebrated a historic milestone with the amalgamation of Kilmore District Health and Northern Health, to provide a Better Connected Care to our communities.

2. Heart-warming patient stories: Tales of triumph!

Patient stories took the spotlight on our social platforms, ranging from inspiring tales of recovery to heart-warming acts of gratitude, including special features on Valentine’s Day and NAIDOC Week babies. Emotive storytelling, coupled with impactful visuals, highlighted the resilience and strength found within our healthcare family. 2023 also brought us a bundle of joy times three – the triplets Ibrahim, Amir and Maria! In a rare and heart-warming occurrence, our maternity ward celebrated the birth of the adorable triplets. Their journey, documented through a series of posts, melted hearts and brought joy to all of our 2K followers – a milestone which we celebrated in November! Yay!

3. Northern Health stars: Staff nominations and awards! 

Northern Health stands as a testament to exceptional dedication and achievements, with numerous staff members earning well-deserved recognition and accolades for their outstanding contributions. Notable individuals such as Tracey Wyllie, Dr. Amanda Baric, Dr. Joe Rotella, Eleanor Johnson, Professor Don Campbell and many others have been acknowledged for their remarkable work. Furthermore, commendation is extended to collaborative efforts, such as the Mental Health Division Drive Safe Program, recognized for impactful initiatives. The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (Paediatric Service) celebrated a triumph by winning the Victorian Public Healthcare Award for their innovative contributions to healthcare.

In August 2023, the very first episode of Visiting Hours premiered! Breaking new ground, Northern Health launched its very own podcast, delving into health topics, expert interviews, and community stories. Each episode sparked conversations and garnered a growing listener base eager for insightful discussions.

As we close the social media chapter of 2023, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our online community for the likes, shares, comments, and, most importantly, the sense of connection and support. Here’s to another year of health, compassion, and thriving online engagement!

#NorthernHealthSocialWrapUp #YearInReview #HealthcareHeroes

For the sixth consecutive year, ISS Facility Services has spread Christmas magic and joy to the Children’s Ward, generously presenting gifts donated by our local community.

Snez Poposka, Facilities Service Manager at ISS, initiated the Christmas Appeal in 2017 with the aim of bringing smiles to children’s faces during their hospital stay throughout the Christmas and New Year period.

The concept originated six years ago when Ms Poposka, a mother herself, empathised with the idea of sick children spending Christmas in a hospital bed instead of with their families. Determined not to let any child miss out on the festive joy, the annual donation drive has grown, reaching over 500 gifts donated to the children at Northern Hospital Epping.

These heartfelt gifts, surpassing 100 each year, are contributed by the compassionate staff at ISS, Northern Health and the local community. Witnessing the joy on a sick child’s face upon receiving a game or toy is a special reward for Ms Poposka.

“The collaboration between ISS and Northern Health staff, alongside the support from the Northern Health Foundation, has successfully brought this heart-warming initiative to life,” she said.

The donated gifts include soft toys, colouring books, puzzles and games, showcasing the kindness and generosity of the community. ISS recently delivered these gifts, and the colourful, wrapped presents brought smiles not only to the children, but also to their families.

Ms. Poposka expressed her deep gratitude to all the ISS and Northern Health staff, as well as the Northern Health Foundation, for their unwavering support and generosity throughout the years.

“This collaborative effort has truly made a positive impact on the community and exemplifies the spirit of giving back during the holiday season,” she said.

Alecia Caddy, NUM, Children’s Ward, Northern Hospital, Epping, said, “Christmas and the Holiday Season is such a magical and fun time for many children and to be spending part of that time in hospital away from their family and friends can be quite challenging. We know there are many choices when it comes to donating and we are truly grateful that the ISS team chose to donate to the children on Ward 2. Your support means the world to us! Without it, we would not be able to have the impact we do on our community – thank you.”

Pictured in featured image: Children’s Ward staff and patient with Snez Poposka, Facilities Services Manager, ISS and Saj Amerasinghe, Key Account Manager, ISS.  

Eleanor Johnson, Research Midwife at Northern Health, was selected for a prestigious MACH Track fellowship. She is one of only eight innovators who have been given this honour, which will allow her to combine postgraduate research training and clinical work.

MACH Track is a structured, mentored and fully funded career development program created for exceptional research-minded health practitioners, pursuing post-registration clinical training or career development in any of the ten health services affiliated to MACH.

The program seeks to develop the future leaders of healthcare innovation by offering an opportunity to integrate pre-PhD, PhD and initial post-PhD research training with completion of vocational training of the highest standard.

This program will enable Eleanor to continue her research with Kate Chaouki, Clinical Midwife Consultant, focused on partnering with consumers and community stakeholders through co-design to optimise abortion care in Melbourne’s north. Eleanor also had a top 10 abstract at Northern Health Research Week 2023 for part of this research.

“I want to acknowledge and thank my colleagues, supervisors, the Northern Executive team and MACH for their guidance and support of this research. I feel very lucky and grateful to have been able to undertake the MACH Health Service Research (MacHSR) Fellowship last year and now be part of the 2024 MACH-Trak Cohort. It was exciting to meet the other MACH-Trak trainees that are from a range of different clinical backgrounds at our Orientation in November and learn more about their areas of interest,” she said.

Honorary Associate Professor Laura Bignell, the inaugural MACH-Track Co-Director for Midwifery, says she is delighted to welcome the first midwife to the program.

“I’m thrilled we have our first midwife joining the 2024 MACH-Track cohort, who has the opportunity to bring research breakthroughs to the clinical frontline.”

“It’s a testament to the reputation of the MACH program, which offers excellent support to health professionals looking to combine a clinical and research career. Eleanor is an exceptional midwife, who has already done great things in the MacHSR Program, and I wish her and all the cohort every success as they begin their impressive research projects.”

Earlier this year, in June 2023, Dr Sanjeevan Muruganandan, Respiratory Physician at Northern Health, was awarded the 2023 MacHSR fellowship for his work on malignant pleural effusion (MPE) – fluid around the lung caused by cancer.

“MPE care is a neglected area and there is a lot of variation in care. My vision is to transform MPE care by using innovative, digitally enabled models to move MPE care from hospital to home. The MacHSR Fellowship will enhance my knowledge, research and leadership skills,” he said.

For more information about opportunities for supported research training, please visit: https://machaustralia.org/future-leaders/mach-track/ and https://machaustralia.org/machsr/ or you can email Eleanor Johnson at eleanor.johnson@nh.org.au

This morning, Northern Health virtually hosted the annual Length of Service Awards for 2023.

More than 470 staff were recognised for achieving between 10 and 50 years of service, with many of our staff providing service since the days of PANCH. Combined, these staff have contributed to more than 6,600 years of service to Northern Health.

More than 220 staff watched on as their colleagues celebrated significant milestones. The ceremony also featured a series of fun throwback videos that highlighted major events of each year.

Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, opened the ceremony by acknowledging the large number of staff working across Northern Health.

“It is great to see how our health service has continued to grow, with the inclusion of Kilmore District Health staff who joined us as part of the voluntary amalgamation on 1 November 2023, expanding the range of services we provide to the communities of Melbourne’s northern suburbs,” he said.

Two staff members have been with Northern Health the longest, celebrating 40 and 50 years of service. Kerrin Camen, Clinical Nurse Specialist, celebrated 40 years of service, while Liuba Vulic, PSA, celebrated 50 years.

Siva Sivarajah and Debra Bourne, Chief Operating Officer, presented Kerrin and Liuba with their awards. Both Liuba and Kerrin reflected on their many years of service.

“I can’t believe it, 50 years. I love my job, I love the people who I work with. It is so important to stick together and be nice to each other. Every job can be hard sometimes, but I believe that tomorrow will be a better day – start every day fresh,” Liuba said.

“I am so happy with the people I work with. I see beauty in every person I work with.”

For Kerrin, she said she felt very proud to reach 40 years.

“In theatre, my favourite memories are the caesarean patients. It’s just beautiful and amazes me that you can make a little baby… It’s such a satisfying job because at the end of the day, you feel like you have made a difference.”

Members of the Executive team presented the awards for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35-year recipients. Wanda Stelmach, Chief Medical Officer, also celebrated reaching 30 years of service at Northern Health in 2023.

Michelle Fenwick, Executive Director, People and Culture, closed the ceremony by congratulating all staff on another year of providing care to the community.

“I am proud to be part of an organisation with such a rich history, and whose staff are so dedicated, passionate and hard working,” she said.

“Congratulations on providing another year of care to our growing Northern Health community, and we look forward to continuing the same level of exceptional care in 2024.”

Congratulations to all our recipients today!

Click here to watch the full ceremony.

Featured image L-R: Michelle Fenwick, Executive Director, People and Culture, Kerrin Camen, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Liuba Vulic, PSA and Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive.

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Carolyn Baker, Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Northern Health.

Q: Carolyn, could I start with your coffee order please?

What a great, quintessentially Melbourne question. I will start with an espresso please then follow up with a flat white thank you.

Q: Tell us about your new role at Northern Health.

I’m the Chief Legal Officer here at Northern Health. The role is head of legal and accountable for managing legal risk for the health service. Practically speaking I don’t do this alone, my best work is done through our team of great lawyers. There are generally two parts to running a legal function, the reactive and the proactive. The first is 70-80 per cent of what we do – responding to requests or situations as they occur, whether they are contract matters, consumer related matters or FOI. In this space, having clear and effective operational protocols and processes is key, to ensure we are responsive and constructive and always prioritising the most critical legal risks. The second aspect is using our knowledge and experience to identify ways to proactively reduce legal risk through process change, education etc. In my first few months as Chief Legal Officer, my focus has been on listening to feedback and working with the team to design our operational protocols. These will be on the Legal page of the Intranet very soon.

Q: Briefly, can you tell us of your roles and career prior to Northern Health? Have you always wanted to work in healthcare?

I’m a lawyer by training and in the last 10 years my practice has broadened to a mix of General Counsel / CLO and Corporate Services (HR, risk, safety and sustainability). The Northern Health CLO role, being a single function, is a fun return to my GC roots, in a completely new industry. I joined Northern Health because I find complex environments interesting. Also, I have always been curious about healthcare as I have several relatives in clinical professions.

Q: Your first impressions of Northern Health?

It’s big! The size of the health service, in people terms, is hard to get my head around. People have been very welcoming and patient, which I really appreciate.

Q: How do you unwind from work?

Daily meditation is my thing, I swear by it. Also, I use my commute in the car to listen to podcasts and relaxing music. In the morning it’s usually business stuff, in the afternoon some classical music or running podcasts.

Q: What is something that most people would not know about you?

Most people I work with don’t know that my second job is as a musician. I am a classically trained mezzo-soprano and work freelance as a church singer.

Q: What is your favorite holiday destination?

There are so many! The destinations I have been to that I reflect on most often, are San Sebastian, Spain and Luang Prabang, Laos. Eating, exploring and relaxing.

Earlier today, Northern Health hosted the 2022-23 Northern Health Annual Meeting.

Held virtually, the Northern Health Board and Executive were joined by members of our local community, including consumers, partners, volunteers, and of course, our wonderful staff, to hear about the health service’s highlights and achievements from the 2022-23 financial year.

Jennifer Williams AM, Board Chair, opened the meeting, acknowledging that, although we have many exciting projects and developments on the horizon in 2024, today was about looking back at 2022-23, and some of the highlights during this time.

“Following from the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health system, Northern Health became a designated mental health service on 1 July 2022,” said Ms Williams.

“Our Australian-first, Virtual Emergency Department became a state-wide service, and was renamed the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department.”

“We also had productive discussions with Kilmore District Health about a voluntary amalgamation, which would see significant benefits to the Northern and Kilmore communities. This was effectuated in the current financial year, and I look forward to sharing more about this work next year.”

Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, reflected on the operational achievements.

“While we continue to treat COVID-19 patients, we have worked hard to integrate this care into our normal health services and have seen a return to some level of business as usual,” said Mr Sivarajah.

“Delays to our elective surgeries were necessary for us to prioritise care for COVID-19 patients. However, we have been able to increase elective surgery over the past year, performing 20,287 procedures – the highest number since 2020. As a result, our wait list is almost back to where it was before the pandemic.”

“In the past financial year, we admitted 114,224 patients to hospital, conducted 254,397 specialist appointments and assisted with the birth of 3,252 babies,” Mr Sivarajah said.

“Northern Health experienced substantial growth, a trend which we expect to continue over the next few years. We are committed to investing back into our services, infrastructure and staff, so we can continue to meet the growing and diverse needs of our community.”

Basil Ireland, Chief Financial Officer, presented the Financial Report, which included an operating surplus of $0.4m. This is in comparison to an operating surplus of 0.1m in the previous financial year.

Mr Sivarajah was also proud to acknowledge the hard work of all staff at Northern Health.

“We are grateful to each of our staff for their continued support and commitment to Northern Health. Our values of safe, kind and together continue to underpin the work of our staff, and has been the driving force behind our achievements,” said Mr Sivarajah.

“2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year, and I am proud of what we, as an organisation, have achieved to keep our community safe and healthy.”

Featured image: Basil Ireland, Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer Williams AM, Board Chair and Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive.

You can watch the full Annual Meeting here.

Read more about Northern Healths highlights and Achievements in the Northern Health Annual Report here.

Watch the below video to see some of the highlights from 2022-23.

 

 

Twas a few weeks before Christmas,

for our Northern Health Volunteers,

They gathered at Casa, warmed by the cheer.

Full of good food and acknowledging each friend,

Taking a moment to reflect at year-end.

 

This Christmas, let our gratitude sing,

For the love and care you all bring,

To volunteers, our hearts enfold,

You’re more precious than purest gold.

 

In corridors where care and kindness dwell,

Amid the season’s merry swell,

There shine some stars that brightly gleam,

The volunteers, a cherished team.

 

With hearts as warm as crackling fires,

You give your time, your love, desires,

In our health service’s gentle embrace,

You bring a smile to every face.

 

The greatest present, only realised by a few

Is the gift you give to yourself…by volunteering… a happier you!