This week's message is one of reflection. On Saturday as the Executive on Call, I had the opportunity to speak with a man whose father is in one of our services.

We definitely don’t want them to give up their day jobs as it is clear that COH’s Data and Reporting team are very good at what they do - capturing and analysing health data to support the care we deliver!

Around a hundred staff from across Community and Oral Health and Metro North participated in the Compassion Labs hosted by Mary Freer this week. It was great that we were able to welcome Mary to our directorate, even though we had a few false starts with date changes due to COVID-19.

It was a privilege to host the Metro North Health Board at Nundah this week and I am grateful to the Nundah staff for their hospitality and assistance.

As I prepared the Community and Oral Healthy papers for the Metro North Board meeting to be hosted at Nundah on the 27 September 2022, I felt immensely proud of each of you and of your achievements across COH services.

Community and Oral Health was proud to host two enjoyable and significant events yesterday. I joined the Elders, executive and staff in the Brighton Auditorium for the Metro North Health Equity Strategy - Implementation Phase Community Consultation.

I have mentioned in a previous message about Community and Oral Health being at the forefront of Green Metro North initiatives with the rollout of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems at our sites at the end of the year.

It is the first day of spring and we are thankfully seeing a reduction in pressure on our services due to a decrease in COVID-19 cases. This provides us with a great opportunity to come together, reconnect and re-focus our efforts.

As Metro North Health is starting to focus on getting back to business it is a good time to be mindful of what this means for Community and Oral Health.

I am thrilled to announce the nominees for the 2022 Community and Oral Health Staff Excellence Awards.

It is encouraging to see that we are again back in Tier 2 of our COVID and Influenza Response Plan and experiencing a reduction in active cases and staff being away from work.

There are many teams and individuals across our service who are unsung heroes who don’t get the accolades that they deserve. As part of National Stroke Week, I want to share Bob’s story and the work of the Community Based Rehabilitation Team (CBRT).

As we manage COVID-19 patients in our bedded services or move about the community when transmission rates remain high, its important that we remember to keep ourselves, our families and the people in our services safe.

Thank you for all your efforts over the past couple of weeks as we near the peak of the current COVID-19 wave. It feels like we are again in a challenging holding pattern as we manage the pressures of staff being away and the impact on all of our services.

Our Metro North Oral Health Service has been under a lot of pressure recently and has experienced many challenges due to COVID-19 over the past few years.

COH is a gift that keeps giving! Each day I get to work with amazing individuals and see tremendous cooperation in the interest of providing great services.

We continue to find ourselves in a very difficult, yet familiar situation as we manage the current demands on our services. Today, I will provide you some operational updates.

It’s great to be back in COH after a brief break with family in the bush – there’s nothing quite like looking up to a blaze of stars across an ink black sky to remember that despite COVID-19 and Influenza, we live in a wonderful country.

Thank you for your support as I acted in the Executive Director role over the past week. You will be pleased to know that Glynis Shultz will be back on Monday after a refreshing break.

NAIDOC Week (3 – 10 July 2022) celebrations are held across Australia to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

There is plenty to update you about following a week filled with changes and some great celebrations and announcements.

Reflect about your EXCELLENT colleagues and nominate today!

You would have seen the message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller late yesterday which mentions the relaxation of some visitor restrictions.

Next week, we celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2022 which is themed: “Be Brave. Make Change.”

The Community and Oral Health Reconciliation Action Plan (COH RAP) Working Group pays our Acknowledgement and respect to the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work.

It is great to be back after a wonderful wedding celebration with my family. I want to thank Michelle Kane for her work looking after the directorate while I was away.

It is very important that we spend some time acknowledging our nurses for their inspirational work caring for our most vulnerable. At Community and Oral Health our diverse services are widely spread, and the care we provide is often complex and critical for the well-being of our patients and healthy aging of our community.

To start, I want to thank everyone who has rolled up their sleeves to receive the flu jab. As you would know we have already started to move into a flu season that is going to be very challenging.

Administrative Professional Day is celebrated worldwide to acknowledge our devoted administration staff and to simply say thank you.

We have a lot to talk about this week and lot of great things coming up in the next few weeks and month worth highlighting.

Thanks to Michelle Stute for covering for me while I had a few days leave with my family. I also want to acknowledge the team on call with me over the Easter break – Adrian, Oliver and Belinda. You made my job so much easier with your pragmatic and competent approach to whatever issues arose.

Thank you for your support over the past week as I have acted in the Executive Director position while Glynis is taking some well-earned rest.

We are facing a lot of pressure at the moment collectively across our service, with staff unable to come to work due to COVID-19 or being close contacts, and our virtual ward remains under immense pressure.

As we approach the Easter break, I have reflected on the fact that although we may follow different faiths and spiritual paths, we are joined to together by a shared humanity of compassion and care.

To look back over the past few years and reflect on the achievements of staff during trying times, we can see how far we have come as a directorate.

We had some great candidates nominated for the April monthly Shining Star Awards last month. As you know all of our monthly winners will automatically be nominated for the annual Shining Star Award as part of the Community and Oral Health Staff Excellence Awards 2022.

As you have seen from yesterday’s message we have again moved to Tier 3 due to the increase in the number of staff who are away from the workplace due to having COVID or being a close contact.

There is so much happening at the moment, I just wanted to add a few more important acknowledgements this week. Every day, I am reminded by your efforts that I am indeed privileged to be the Executive Director of Community and Oral Health.

Next week is Harmony Week (21-27March 22), which celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity.

I always enjoy sharing some of the positive stories and innovations being delivered by our great teams and staff.

There is a lot of discussion, conversations and activity occurring around our work towards Health Equity. As a directorate, we are committed to providing equity of access to high quality health care and building relationships based on inclusion with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities.

We have been planning for more severe weather over the next 24 hours which may have potential for impact on our home visiting and broader services due to potential road closures.

Metro North Health is introducing a new electronic referrals system called Smart Referrals Workflow Solution (SRWS) which will go live on Monday 21 March 2022. This new system replaces CRU use of MS Outlook to manage Community referrals and the current eReferrals (CCi Portal) used by Central Patient Intake Unit (CPIU) providing improved functionality and patient safety features.

As I mentioned yesterday, it never surprises me that when we have to manage an emergency or issue, Community and Oral Health staff are ready to respond to whatever is needed. In the face of adversity, there isn’t a better team than COH to be working with – You are all Shining Stars!

Many of you stood up remarkably over the last few days – Thank you!

There has been a lot of movement forward for the directorate over the past week. The BPA survey gave us a lot of meaningful actions and things to think about, especially in the area on how we can improve the environment and amenities staff have access to.

It was great to hear about the appointment of Jackie Hanson to the Metro North Health Chief Executive position. Jackie has always been a firm supporter of the important work we do across Community and Oral Health to assist our hospitals, to reduce hospital stays and re-admission, to provide high level oral health and community care, as well as our staff’s commitment to the COVID-19 response.

Staff wellbeing and connection is crucial to our health and resilience at work at any time and it is more important during these challenging times. As we continue to work through unprecedent disruptions in our working lives, the Community and Oral Health leadership team is committed to all we can do to focus on and enhance staff wellbeing and connectedness.

I am delighted to see so many staff being nominated each month for the Monthly Shining Star award. It is important that we take the time to reflect on how our colleagues are making such a difference.

I am delighted to see so many staff being nominated each month for the Monthly Shining Star award. It is important that we take the time to reflect on how our colleagues are making such a difference.