Bayside Health - Alfred Hospital

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5. Linking with our Indigenous CommunityThe expansion of the role of the Aboriginal Liaison Officer at CaulfieldCommunity Health Service (CCHS) to include The Alfred has opened up a wholenew area of work for Sharon Bolger. During her 10 months at Bayside Healthshe has established a close working relationship with the local Aboriginalcommunities through a number of outreach programs offered by CCHS and theInner South Community Health Service. This is obviously a critical step on ourjourney to better meeting the needs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander(ATSI) communities.A small but significant part of the process of establishing effective relationshipswas the recognition and promotion of NAIDOC week across the three hospitalsites. Staff were made aware of NAIDOC week via promotional posters, emailsto all staff and the display of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags inprominent locations.Sharon BolgerWhilst there is a lot of work still to do, Sharon has been focussing on:• Establishing links with Aboriginal services to inform them of her role andto facilitate support for Aboriginal patients who attend Bayside Health• Identifying the training needs of Bayside Health staff and focussing initialeducation sessions on the needs of the staff in the Emergency Departmentat The Alfred• Reviewing and establishing procedures to ensure that individuals from theATSI communities are correctly identified to ensure their individual needsare addressed whilst in hospital, and that appropriate services are involvedduring discharge planning.Bayside Health is in the process of establishing an Aboriginal Working Partyto include staff from the three hospital sites.Work with our GPsThe focus of current efforts being made by Bayside Health’s GP Liaison teamis to improve patient care through better communication between GPs and thehospitals.Referral management guidelines have been developed so that GPs havea clearer idea of the information they need to include, thus assisting withappropriate triaging of referrals.Dr Josie Samers and Judith BushellA part of Bayside Health’s website was developed “For GPs” by the GP Liaisonteam. This gives GPs quick access to information, forms, and contact numbers.The GP Liaison team also assisted in establishing a 1-800 number for The AlfredEmergency & Trauma Centre.16 Bayside Health
Research supportsQuality Patient CareSustainable improvements in clinical practice and patient outcomesare underpinned by excellence in clinical research. Bayside Healthis a partner in one of Australia’s leading centres of clinical research– the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct (AMREP).researchKimberly Finds Strength in her HeartKimberly Cowcher, centre,with familyKimberly Cowcher may not be used to wearing her heart on her sleeve –but she is used to carrying it around in her backpack. The Cobram teenagerhad experienced much sickness in her short life. She was diagnosed withnon-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a paralysing auto-immune disease, and thensuffered heart failure from her chemotherapy. In July 2006 she fell into acoma and her family was told her only hope of survival was an artificialheart designed for adults. Kimberley became the youngest Australianrecipient of the VentrAssist. The artificial heart assist device is connectedto the heart and an external power source. The VentrAssist helps theheart’s pumping function, enabling significantly improved quality of life.The artificial heart allowed Kimberly to enjoy time out with her familyand continue her schooling. “It’s given me a lot to live for,” Kimberly said.“I can breathe. I don’t get short of breath. I’m grateful I’m here.”While most people were expected to go on the waiting list for a hearttransplant once they had recovered physically and mentally, Kimberlyand her family were delighted when her own heart made a full – andunexpected – recovery. Head of The Alfred’s Heart and Lung TransplantUnit, Professor Don Esmore, said that the number of people whose ownhearts actually recover as a result of having an artificial heart implantedwas about five per cent. “Kimberley’s case is unique, as the cause of theproblem was rare and the time she spent with the heart implanted wasconsiderable,” Don said. “But she is doing very well, which is incrediblygratifying. This is absolutely the best possible result for her.”An Innovative Approach to Trauma CareTraumatic injury is a leading cause of death and disability for Victorians.The resuscitation of severely injured patients is rapid, complex and requiresmultiple decisions in a short space of time.The team behind the Trauma Reception and Resuscitation Project havedeveloped an innovative software program to guide the critical first thirtyminutes of trauma care.Associate Professor Mark Fitzgerald, Director of The Alfred Emergency andTrauma Centre, believes that this is a world first and has the potential totransform approaches to treating severely injured trauma patients. “TheVictorian State Trauma System is a world leader in trauma innovations andresearch,“ he said. “The Alfred has one of the busiest and most experiencedTrauma Centres in Australia. This project means that the Victorian communitycan expect to receive state of the art trauma care and that we are doing theresearch necessary to measure its success.”Quality of Care Report 2007 17
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