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BREAST CARE NURSES RAISING
AWARENESS
ANTIBIOTICS: HANDLE WITH CARE
THUNDERSTORMASTHMA WARNING
PALLIATIVE CAREEXPANSION
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERS MAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
CONTENTS
About us ..........................................................................2Wagga Breast Care nurses raising awareness ................3Music Video’s beneftis go far beyond its health reach .........................................................................................4Healing Hands .................................................................6Humans of the Hospital - Mulla ......................................7Hat trick for Wagga .........................................................8Renal Dialysis opens soon ...............................................9New Midwifery birthing services ..................................10Construction tender awarded ......................................11Community Health building to stay ..............................12Theatre upgrade ...........................................................12$35M Hospital upgrade ................................................13Purple Princess ..............................................................14New forecourt taking shape .........................................14Surgery grows ...............................................................15Upcoming Events ..........................................................15
ABOUT USMurrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) provides a range of public health services to the Riverina and Murray regions of New South Wales, Australia.
We provide services across a geographic area of approximately 125,561 square kilometres, and around 240,754 residents live within District. People of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage make up 4 per cent of the population. We employ over 3,800 staff; and operate 33 hospitals.
We are also supported by dedicated volunteers including 33 Local Health Advisory Committees and United Hospital Auxiliaries connected with each of our hospitals. We are grateful for the generosity of all of our volunteers across the district who give their time to support patients, their families and staff.
Our services are provided through:• 1 Rural Referral Hospital• 1 Base Hospital• 8 District Health Services • 5 Community Hospitals • 16 Multipurpose Services • 2 Mercy Care Public Hospital• 12 Community Health Posts • 1 Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service
PUBLICATIONWe would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land covering Murrumbidgee Local Health District and remind people that we live and work on Aboriginal land.
Welcome to the first issue of Murrumbidgee Matters Magazine.
This quarterly publication is developed by Murrumbidgee Local Health District. Information correct at time of printing.
Publication costs are subsidised by income generated from advertising.
FRONT COVER Child’s Play - photo by Jacqueline Cooper
CONTACT USEDITORIALSally Druitt, Public Affairs ManagerT: 02 5943 2009E: [email protected]
ADVERTISINGSetchen Brimson, Marketing & Community Engagement ManagerT: 02 5943 2010 E: [email protected]
MURRUMBIDGEE LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICTLevel 1, 193-195 Morgan StreetWagga Wagga NSW 2650E: [email protected]
All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission of Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
OUR VISIONWellness is our goal
Excellence is our PassionOur People are Our Future
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If Sue Munro and Monica Jessop could get just one message out to Wagga residents, it would be “get to know your own breasts”.
The pair are Wagga-based breast nurses with the McGrath Foundation were at Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital to support during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
There are now 117 McGrath Foundation breast care nurses in Australia, and in addition to Ms Jessop and Ms Munro, others are being located in Griffith and Young with plans to fund more.
Ms Munro and Ms Jessop encouraged people to “learn what’s normal for you”.
“The easiest way to do that is have a good look and feel,” Ms Munro said.
The two nurses also wanted to emphasise that their advice was not just for women.
“This year, 144 men in Australia will be diagnosed with breast cancer,” Ms Munro said. g
WAGGA WAGGA: BREAST CARE NURSES RAISING AWARENESS DURING OCTOBERArticle contributed by Jody Lindbeck, Fairfax media
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
In Conversation with …
Leanne Sanders
“I’m everything I am because one person believed in me.”
That’s Leanne Sanders’ dedication to her mentor, the late Athol Boney, who helped a teen mum, with a Year 9 education and a history of domestic violence, have the confidence to complete a university degree and see that life could, and should, be better.
“He taught me everything from culture to values – to look at things differently to how I grew up thinking things were,” Leanne said.
MUSIC VIDEO’S BENEFITS GO FAR BEYOND ITS HEALTH MESSAGEArticle contributed and reproduced with permission by Austalian Centre for Arts and Health, and writer Alison Houston.
A mark of who he was and what he stood for could be seen in the way he signed off his emails with the quote “Being Aboriginal is a reason to succeed rather than an excuse not to”.
It’s that attitude and background which Leanne, who gained a Bachelor of Health Science Indigenous Mental Health from Charles Sturt University and has 12 years’ experience working within Aboriginal communities, uses to make such strong connections with teenagers as Aboriginal Immunisation Health Worker for Murrumbidgee and Southern NSW Local Health Districts.
It’s a relationship which goes beyond her role, with Leanne passionate about ensuring kids and teens know they are both valued and valuable, improving Aboriginal health, halting the increasing number of Aboriginal youth suicides, and Closing the Gap.
And she believes music has a huge role to play.
The evidence can be seen in the ‘Whatchya Gunna Do?’ immunisation music video – written and rapped by Wagga Wagga teens after a program of four workshops with professional musicians and
an Aboriginal Elder – to encourage others to be vaccinated.
It was recognised recently with the Murrumbidgee Aboriginal Health Award, having been used by the NSW Ministry of Health in their World Immunisation Day promotions and distributed to health and community care centres and schools throughout the Murrumbidgee and Southern NSW Local Health Districts.
But Leanne said while the recognition was wonderful, “I just do things from my heart”.
And she said the collateral benefits from the video were many – giving the teens a sense of accomplishment and improving self-esteem, building understanding between indigenous and non-indigenous participants, and providing them with a new way to express themselves and release their feelings.
“Not one of these kids had ever done music before, but they became little celebrities,” Leanne said. “They were in the newspaper, and the Elders and the community watched the video at a special launch and celebrated it with them.
“Kids from schools where it was shown in assemblies
MLHD’s Aboriginal Immunisation Health Worker Leanne Sanders received a standing ovation for her presentation on the ‘Whatchya Gunna Do?’ music video at the 9th Annual International Arts and Health Conference from October 30 to November 1 in Sydney.
The video went on to win the Australian Regional Arts and Health Excellence Award – wonderful international acclaim for this outstanding project.
PAGE 5
were snapchatting them and congratulating them.
“They were so proud of what they’d done. To be recognised by the whole community is wonderful, and everyone saw the shift in these kids.”
As an added bonus, the teens went back to their families and became the educators, checking who had and had not had their vaccinations.
Leanne made the conscious decision that both indigenous and non-indigenous people would be involved in the music video.
“I hate segregation and I made it very clear from the beginning that I would invite non-indigenous kids to take part in the project as well,” Leanne said.
“It’s all part of reconciliation – building positive relationships … One girl had never even spoken to an Aboriginal person before, and she came away with friendships and knowledge.
An Aboriginal Elder showed the teens how to play traditional instruments and do traditional dancing.
“A lot of the kids said it was the best day of their lives. None of them had had that cultural experience before – and the fact indigenous and non-indigenous were part of that musical journey and learning about that helps to close the gap,” Leanne said.
It’s just one way in which she believes music can help us to connect with others and express ourselves.
“Music is so therapeutic at any time – it’s like meditation – and then to have
your own words within that is very powerful,” she said.
It’s a lesson she had reinforced to her recently when returning to her tiny hometown of Finley, NSW (with a population of about 2000) for a cousin’s funeral – one of a frightening number of youth suicides.
She showed the immunisation video to some of her primary school-aged cousins, and was surprised the next day when they presented her with their own song.
“They had all written me a song about their grief; how they were feeling and school bullying,” she said.
“Music is an incredible tool because it helps these young ones express themselves … They’re writing down their feelings when they write songs, but they’re not even aware that’s what they are doing.”
As a result of the video’s success, Heaps Decent, which was involved in the production and has been working with young people from marginalised and disadvantaged communities since 2007, is continuing to work with teens in the area when possible, dependent on funding, giving them a way to tell their stories their own way.
In workshops, the teens spend two hours with facilitators making a beat, writing and recording a song.
Leanne has a gift for thinking outside the box, and having held a number of the
sessions at the Riverina Community College, is moving the venue to the PCYC, allowing the teens to see first-hand, and almost by osmosis, what courses and opportunities are available simply by being there.
“These are kids that would never usually walk inside the doors of these places or access services, but they get to meet the staff and it starts to knock those walls down and starts a relationship,” Leanne said.
She also hopes to build on what she learned regarding the teenagers’ interest in their culture and wanting to know who they are, discussing with an artist uncle the possibilities of a traditional-style corroboree, with music, art and dance.
The possibilities, lessons and gains from a single music video appear almost endless. g
See the video at Whatchya Gunna Do? at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW54z1cIYv8
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
Children and families in Young are set to benefit from a new pilot program treating young burns patients within ‘cooee’ of home.
It’s an all too familiar scenario – someone who is not well, having to travel to the big smoke for medical assistance – that has a fresh solution on the horizon.
When it comes to sick or injured children (in this case those with significant burns that require frequent dressing changes and observation) repeated visits to city specialists create layers of stress for families. Travel and accommodation costs, time away from work and school, and often weeks or months of time apart all take their toll.
A pilot program, initiated at the Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital working with the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at Westmead, is looking to devolve care back to hospital staff in Young, saving much disruption for families.
The local team is in the process of being suitably trained and resourced, so that they can link with specialists via Telehealth, and complete paediatric burns care in Young.
Kristine Arthur, Young’s Acting Facility Manager, hopes the program can “help speed the recovery” of young burns patients, who sometimes need treatment every three days in early stages.
“Some people don’t have the time or money to go back and forth to Sydney,” she says. “In many cases, after an initial Sydney visit, patients will now come back with a care plan for the staff here.”
Helen Johnson, Clinical Nurse Educator, is putting together various resources such as toys and iPads to distract young patients during treatments.
Advances in technology are central to this new approach. Being able to share real-time photos and observations makes “new things possible” in the eyes of the staff involved. g
Article contributed by Merry Kirkwood, Young Local Health Advisory Committee
HEALING HANDSBarham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
PAGE 7
I am a proud Aboriginal woman called Georgina but most people call me Mulla. That is the name my grandmother gave to me as a baby.
I grew up in Walgett in Northern NSW and my tribe is the Kamilaroi or Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay people. I have fond memories of growing up in Walgett. My culture was taught to me by my mother and her side of the family.
Mum worked as an educational assistant for 30 years and my dad worked as a plant operator for 35 years at the local council. Dad said he jumped out of the window at school at the age of 12, and never went back. They both had a strong work ethic and just as well because they had seven kids to feed and raise.
My Mum’s family were on Angledool Mission and back in those days Aboriginal people were put on missions which means they were moved from one town to another. Mum’s family moved to Lightening Ridge mainly for my grandfather to find work at the opal mines and later the family moved to Walgett.
My culture was taught to me by my mother and her side of the
family. She would tell us that the bark from Leopard wood could be stripped and used for a tooth ache and that the root from the Quinine tree could be boiled-up to cure chronic illnesses but it is very bitter.
Our nation doesn’t eat animals that are our totems. My totem is a baby emu so I am not allowed to eat emu because it is very spiritual to us. When I tell these things to medical students they’re always intrigued. We show them our community and we tell them our knowledge and these are things they don’t learn in their classrooms.
My uncle moved to Wagga Wagga in the eighties and my husband David and I and our kids would come and visit him. We decided to move here; we didn’t know how long we would stay but we have never looked back.
I put my kids through Mount Austin and now I am a grandmother. My husband is a renowned artist and I am his apprentice. He does all the fine stuff and I do the dot work.
I see all the Indigenous patients that come into the hospital. I advocate for them and their
families and our community and look after their social and emotional needs. It’s a big role because many Aboriginal people don’t understand the hospital system.
We are trying to make a difference and to close the gap but it takes time and understanding. g
HUMANS OF THE HOSPITAL
Georgina O’Neill, Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer & Aboriginal Health Education Officer, Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital.
Mulla
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
WAGGA WINS JUNIOR DOCTOR AWARD THREE YEARS IN ROW
For an unprecedented third year in a row, a doctor from Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital (WWRRH) has won the NSW Junior Medical Officer (JMO) of the Year Award.
Dr Thomas Melhuish was recognised at the NSW Health and Australian Medical Association’s 2017 Doctor-In-Training Awards for his leadership, clinical excellence and passionate dedication to rural health at a ceremony in Sydney on Thursday 2 November.
Thomas said: “This award is a product of the senior mentorship, peer-support and positive workplace culture provided to junior doctors at WWRRH. It’s the tireless work and vision of our training directors and medical administration, with the support of the executive and extended hospital staff, which creates an environment where it is possible for individuals to pursue these achievements.”
“It’s hugely flattering to have my work and accomplishments recognised by both peers and senior colleagues, but it simply proves again that WWRRH is a regional centre of excellence in medical training,” he said.
WWRRH Director Helen Cooper said the award was a significant achievement for the hospital:
“The commitment to investing in JMO training is clearly evidenced by winning this prestigious award three years in a row.”
“Ultimately this leads to high levels of patient care and people in our region can be assured they are receiving the best possible care from our doctors at WWRRH,” she said.
Thomas was recognised particularly for his commitment to teaching, developing and supporting world-class local research and fostering further development opportunities for his peers. While originally trained in Sydney, he got a taste of rural practise as a medical student at Dubbo Base Hospital, before moving to Wagga in 2016.
Last year, Dr Hannah Kempton was named recipient of the NSW JMO of the Year Award. In 2015, it went to Dr Marianne Turner.
In another accolade for WWRRH, Manager Medical Administration Gillian Green was a finalist in the JMO Manager of the Year Award also presented last night. g
HAT TRICK FOR WAGGA WAGGA
“
“
The commitment to investing in JMO training is clearly evidenced by winning this prestigious award three years in a row.
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
PAGE 9
The Deniliquin Health Service will soon have a new, $961,000 nine-chair renal dialysis satellite service with work on the unit now underway.
Minister for Health Brad Hazzard said the new service – due to open in January next year – will more than double the capacity of the existing four-chair unit and employ three additional nurses.
“This is a significant enhancement to renal dialysis services for the Deniliquin community and surrounding areas now and well into the future, Mr Hazzard said.
“The more than doubling in capacity means an additional five patients can receive vital dialysis each week and will ensure future patients do not have to travel to get this life-saving treatment.
“The Deniliquin Renal Model of Care Community Working Party, the Local Health Advisory Committee and wider Deniliquin community have worked hard to advocate for this service and I’m very pleased to be able to deliver it for them.”
There are currently four patients receiving three dialysis treatments each week but the new unit will be able to accommodate up to nine patients three days per week.
Mr Hazzard also announced that Albury-based Joss Group has been awarded the contract to construct the new service in the vacant maternity unit at the hospital.
Six nurses are currently trained to work in the unit and more nurses will undertake the training.
A visiting Nephrologist from
Albury in partnership with Royal Melbourne Hospital began a new specialist kidney clinic at Deniliquin Hospital in October.
The project is scheduled to be completed in early January 2018.
It follows an announcement of the NSW Government’s $647,000 expansion of the renal dialysis unit at Griffith Base Hospital.
Early kidney disease has no signs or symptoms and can affect people of all ages. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, weight problems, people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, smokers and those with a family history of kidney problems should ask their doctor for a Kidney Health Check every two years. g
DENILIQUIN:NEW $961K RENAL DIALYSIS SERVICE OPENS SOON
$961KRENAL DIALYSIS OPENSSOON
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
From 21 November, Leeton Hospital will offer a new midwifery model of care which will allow well women with uncomplicated pregnancies to birth with midwives at the hospital.
Hospital Manager Anthony Naylor said the local midwives are looking forward to introducing this new service for the Leeton community.
“Our midwives are excited about the start of the new model of care which has been developed in
consultation with pregnant women and their families, local clinicians and the community,” Mr Naylor said.
Obstetricians will continue to be involved in the care of women with complex pregnancies who require specialist obstetric services from larger hospitals.
“Leeton midwives are now inviting women early in their pregnancies to arrange an antenatal appointment to discuss
a pregnancy care and plan for birthing,” Mr Naylor said.
Women can self-refer to the service or obtain a referral from their family GP.
Mr Naylor said the philosophy of the midwifery model is to focus on supporting women through the pregnancy, birthing and postnatal journey.
“The focus is on the woman’s unique needs and expectations to support her and her family to achieve their goals,” he said.
This model is supported nationally and internationally as a service providing safe, quality care to women and their families.
“Women who have experienced this type of care report a greater understanding of their journey, state they are well prepared for parenting and report a high level of satisfaction with their care,” he said.
Women receive antenatal education and care from a small team of midwives and birth in a supportive environment with midwives who have provided care during the pregnancy.
Postnatal care can be in the hospital or the home environment with the midwife visiting with the family.
Women with complicated pregnancies will continue to be referred to Griffith or Wagga Wagga Hospitals for a higher level of care. g
LEETON: NEW MIDWIFERY BIRTHING SERVICE STARTS
PAGE 11
Member for Albury Greg Aplin, MP, has announced the award of the construction tender for the Tumbarumba Multipurpose Service (MPS) redevelopment to Richard Crookes Constructions, following a panel review.
“The award of the tender to carry out the main works construction for the project is an important achievement for the Tumbarumba community and means that construction can soon commence,” Mr Aplin said.
“The upgraded facility will provide flexible services to better respond to the Tumbarumba community, and enable a more efficient
delivery of those services through integration, coordination, and innovation of health care.”
The new MPS will ensure that patients have access to first-class health service facilities.
The two-storey MPS project includes:
• A new acute inpatient wing
• Refurbishment of the existing residential aged care building
• A new residential aged care wing
• Expanded Emergency Department including two resuscitation bays and consultation/triage rooms
• New and expanded Community Health area
• Lounge for families of Palliative Care and other patients.
Health Infrastructure and the Murrumbidgee Local Health District will keep the community and staff informed as the project progresses with construction expected to begin shortly.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2020. g
TUMBARUMBA MPS: CONSTRUCTION TENDER AWARDED
TUMBARUMBA MPS
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
TEMORA: THEATRE UPGRADEThe upgrade of the Temora Hospital operating theatre is progressing, with clinicians and other hospital staff working with the architects on the layout and design.
“The draft plans have been amended based on feedback from the user group,” Director of Operations Brett Thompson said.
Services are continuing as usual and MLHD is committed to delivering the best possible care to the Temora and district community.
The Local Health Advisory Committee and Temora Council have been provided with regular updates on the project’s progress.
Construction is scheduled to commence early in 2018.
Barham Multipurpose Service (MPS) will keep the Community Health building remaining at its current location as part of the MPS redevelopment.
Initially it was thought the building would have to be removed to make way for the redevelopment, MLHD Regional General Manager Rosemary Garthwaite said.
“We are keeping the Community Health building where it is and converting it into staff accommodation,” Ms Garthwaite said.
“This is a great win for everyone and its importance as a community asset has not been lost on the redevelopment team.”
Ms Garthwaite added: “We are listening to what the community wants. Our design team were able to retest the design and identified an opportunity to reuse the building that the community had hoped would stay on-site.”
This week, the redevelopment team have been meeting in Barham discussing more plans for the MPS.
We are also refitting the existing operating suite to convert to Residential Aged Care (RAC) for use as a temporary facility during the move.
The Community Health building was officially opened in 2012 by the then NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Health, Melinda Pavey MLC, and the Member for Murray Darling, John Williams MP, on Thursday 28 June.
The community raised hundreds of thousands of dollars towards the building cost of $500,000. g
BARHAM MPS: COMMUNITY HEALTH BUILDING TO STAY
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
PAGE 13
Griffith Base Hospital will be modernised and expanded as part of a $35 million upgrade.
Ms Berejiklian visited the hospital in June with then Member for Murray Adrian Piccoli to look at the facilities and meet with staff and patients.
“This funding boost recognises that while Griffith Hospital provides a quality service to the local community, the physical environment and capacity of the hospital needs to be developed,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“While detailed scoping work has to be done over the next 12 months, I know it is a priority of the Local Health District that ambulatory care facilities, including oncology, are significantly upgraded and expanded to support staff to provide the best possible care.”
Mr Piccoli said he was very pleased the NSW Government was ensuring Griffith Hospital would benefit from its regional health infrastructure investments.
“I am proud that as a Government we can commit to stage 1 of the redevelopment of Griffith Hospital. Our local community will not only benefit from better critical care services and increased capacity for treatment clinics, but patients will enjoy a much more comfortable, welcoming environment,” he said.
It is anticipated that the redevelopment will include:
• Refurbished and modernised medical and surgical inpatient accommodation
•Upgraded and increased capacity of ambulatory care clinics and treatment spaces, including renal dialysis and oncology
• Upgraded critical care services, including the Intensive Care Unit
• Improved access and onsite parking
Ms Berejiklian said the funding will be in addition to $647,400 allocated to the renal dialysis unit in 2016 and $720,000 to upgrade the maternity unit in 2014.
“The NSW Government has made an unprecedented investment in delivering world-class health infrastructure with more than $7.7 billion to be injected into building new or upgraded hospitals and healthcare facilities over the next four years,” she said. g
GRIFFITH:$35 MILLION FOR HOSPITAL UPGRADE
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
My name is Wendy Swann but I am better known as the Purple Princess or just plain Princess. I got that name by accident.
About seven years ago I dyed my hair purple by mistake and I had to come to work so I just sort of winged it and of course the kids loved it. I added the tiara and the wings a bit later.
I do it for the kids because emergency departments can be frightening places. If a child sees someone dressed up as a purple fairy it takes their minds of the pain they might be experiencing and they can focus on something else. Being a Purple Fairy didn’t just happen by magic. Earning my wings involved a lot of study but what kid what’s to know that?
I am a Nurse Practitioner and a Midwife and I have a Master’s Degree in Nursing from Sydney University. I am trained in Critical Care medicine in rural and remote areas and I also worked for the Flying Doctors Service.
I enjoy being at the cutting edge of medicine but sometimes it can be an intense environment for both patients and staff. So if my purple dress-ups can give people a smile, that’s great. I’d like to think that’s the case anyway.
PS: We always need stickers and coloured pencils for the children that come to ED. Please let me know if you can help me out. g
HUMANS OF THE HOSPITAL
Wendy Swann, Nurse Practitioner – ED Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital
Purple Princess
The Wagga Wagga Health Service campus redevelopment is progressing with a new forecourt taking shape.
Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital Director Helen Cooper said the forecourt and car park will be completed by the end of 2017.
“The completion of the forecourt along with more
parking spaces signals the end of stages 1 and 2 of the $282.1 million hospital redevelopment,” Ms Cooper said.
Ms Cooper said planning for stage 3 is well underway with enabling works for Stage 3 advancing quickly. g
WAGGA WAGGA: NEW FORECOURT TAKING SHAPE
PAGE 15
Narrandera Hospital celebrated Perioperative Nurses Week (8-14 October) as the amount of surgery performed at the hospital continues to grow.
Cluster Manager Craig McColm said the hospital has seen an increase in surgical activity since late last year with the introduction of orthopaedic surgery for minor procedures, such as carpal tunnel release.
Narrandera Hospital has visiting surgeons who provide a range of procedures including hernia repairs, removal of lesions, colonoscopies, gastroscopies and minor orthopaedic procedures.
The hospital now offers surgery four days a month, instead of three days a month, since an orthopaedic surgeon began visiting Narrandera in November last year.
“Orthopaedic surgery has not been offered at Narrandera before,” Mr McColm said
“We are delighted to be providing the community with a growing range of procedures locally,” Mr McColm said.
The hospital is also upskilling its nurses to work in the operating theatre, with two Registered Nurses and one Enrolled Nurse recently trained to join the perioperative team.
Perioperative Nurses care for patients before, during and after surgery and work closely with surgeons, anaesthetists and other operating theatre staff.
The hospital celebrated Perioperative Nurses Week by recognising their operating theatre nurses during the week. g
NARRANDERA: SURGERY GROWS
UPCOMING EVENTSWorld Cancer Day (4 February 2018)
Melanoma March (1-31 March 2018)
World Oral Health Day (20 March 2018)
World Tuberculosis Day (24 March 2018)
World Autism Awareness Day (2 April 2018)
April Falls Day (1 April 2018)
World Health Day (7 April 2018)
World Hemophilia Day (17 April 2018)
World Lupus Day (10 May 2018)
International Nurses Day (12 May 2018)
World Hypertension Day (17 May 2018)
World Thyroid Day (25 May 2018)
World No Tobacco Day (31 May 2018)
Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (1-30 June 2018)
World Blood Donor Day (14 June 2018)
Barham
Hay
Hillston
CoolamonJunee
Gundagai
Boorowa
Adelong- Batlow
Tumbarumba
Corowa
FinleyDeniliquin
GRIFFITH
Narrandera
TemoraYoung
Cootamundra
Tumut
WAGGA WAGGA
Harden- Murrumburrah
Leeton
Lockhart
UranaJerilderie
Berrigan
Tocumwal
Henty
CulcairnHolbrook
West Wyalong
Lake Cargelligo
MURRUMBIDGEE
MATTERSMAGAZINE
ISSUE 1 SUMMER 2017
SMALL STEPS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
CHOOSE SMALLER PORTIONSAND LESS KILOJOULES 1 EAT MORE
FRUIT AND VEG2
SIT LESS ANDMOVE MORE5MAKE WATER
YOUR DRINK4BE ACTIVE EVERY DAY 3
MAKE A CHANGE TODAY AT
MAKEHEALTHYNORMAL .NSW.GOV.AUSHPN (CPH) 160070 © NSW HEALTH.
