Allied Health Professions Day

Tomorrow, Saturday 14 October is Allied Health Professions Day. The theme for 2023 is ‘Stronger together’, highlighting the benefits of multidisciplinary team-based care. This theme is a fitting one for STARS where we have so many different allied heath professionals working together, particularly in the rehabilitation space. I would like to personally thank all the allied health professionals who work at STARS for the amazing work they do every day for our patients.

Shatter the Stigma launch

This week Metro North launched the Shatter the Stigma campaign as part of Mental Health Week. Shatter the Stigma raises awareness of the negative impact that stigma relating to mental illness and problematic alcohol and drug use has on individuals, their families, and their recovery.

Staff from STARS and the Oral Health Centre were involved in raising awareness of the campaign at display stands across the week. People were able to find out more about the campaign, write a pledge, enjoy a cupcake or take home a stress ball. Thank you to everyone involved in launching this important campaign. For more information
see the Shatter the Stigma QHEPS page.

Post-Operative Discharge Support Service (PODSS) goes live

STARS have implemented a post-operative telehealth pathway for patients who are discharged and have any post-operative concerns or questions. The service aims to improve patient access to care following their procedure and avoid presentations to Metro North Emergency Departments. All post-operative patients (excluding Ophthalmology & Plastics) discharged from STARS are eligible to access the Service within 30 days of their procedure date. PODSS will be trialled until 22 December 2023.

PODSS operates Monday to Friday, 7.00am to 3:30pm.

After Hours support via Surgery RMO. Staff are encouraged to engage with PODSS CNCs and utilise provided educational resources. For further information, please contact the PODSS CNC’s via 0439 458 088 or email STARS_PODSS@health.qld.gov.au.

Welcome Professor Peter Reher

Professor Peter Reher has been appointed as Director of the Oral Health Alliance, a partnership between The University of Queensland’s School of Dentistry and Metro North. Peter is a Professor in Oral Surgery, completing his Master in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) in Brazil and later his PhD at the Eastman Dental Institute in London. In the early stages of his career, Peter was heavily involved in the management of very complex maxillofacial trauma and the management of cleft lip and palate patients. Here in Australia, he has been working in the area of oral surgery, including dental implants. Peter’s vision for the Oral Health Alliance is “everyone working together to achieve excellence in delivering dental services, preparing a safe next generation of dentists and reinforcing its research potential and outputs.” Please show Peter a warm welcome to STARS.

Cupcake Competition and Bake Sale

A reminder we are holding our Cupcake Competition and Bake Sale, next Wednesday 18 October 2023. There will be two categories you can enter, Best Tasting and Best Decorated cupcake (theme ‘Celestial’). If you don’t feel your cupcakes are award-winning, you can still donate cupcakes for the Bake Sale. The Bake Sale will take place on the Level 7 Balcony from 11.30am-12.30pm with cupcakes on sale for $4 each. All proceeds from the Bake Sale will go to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Foundation. For more information and to nominate, see the competition guidelines.

Student and Educator Showcase

Last Friday we held our 2023 Student and Educator Showcase event where we recognised the outstanding individuals who demonstrated dedication and excellence in their respective fields. Congratulations to all our winners.

Students of the Year

• Kirsti Yearwood (Medicine)
• Patikirige Ravindu Panchala Edirisinghe (Nursing)
• Denise Loh (Allied Health – Speech Pathology)

Educators of the Year

• David Chang (Medicine – GEMS)
• Maximilian Sakrzewski (Nursing – PACU)
• Katherine Goodchild (Allied Health – OT)

The prizes for the awards were generously sponsored by the STARS Staff Council and UQ Faculty of Medicine, as well as schools within the Faculty of Health and Rehabilitation Science.

STEPtember

STARS Staff have completed their inaugural STEPtember challenge. The challenge saw 149 steppers participate with an incredible 48,040,778 steps registered – the equivalent of walking from Brisbane to Barcelona! It was a hot contest with Walkaholics leading all the way only to be pipped to the post by the Sole Survivors (Michele Sterling, Chloe-Emily Eather, Trevor Russell, Raphael Ohms, Yanfei Xie and Karime Mescouto). Both teams were allocated the bonus 100,000 points for a minimum of three roles within their teams. An amazing effort by all teams, and the volume of walking traffic around the hospital was just fabulous! Congratulations also goes to Michael Hunter of the Active Ingredients team for winning the highest overall stepper award and to Star Trekker for the best team name.

September STARS Staff Shout Outs

From this week I would like to include the STARS Staff Shout Outs in my Acting Executive Director message. Staff Shout Outs provide an opportunity for staff to acknowledge and thank a colleague or team who embody the Metro North Organisational Values of Respect, Compassion, Teamwork, High Performance and Integrity. Congratulations to Candace Bateman, Crystal Cooper, Anthia Gouskos, Bryanna Rose Nisbet, Bronwyn Ward and Katie Schofield for receiving a Staff Shout for September.

If you have noticed a colleague or team who are a positive influence, who collaborate in new and unique ways, or who go above and beyond expectations, you can nominate them for a Staff Shout Out here.

Kind regards,

Dale.