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Friday, December 15th, is going to be an exciting day for the public in Bega. After five years, the Community Carers Accommodation South East will finally be able to open stage one of their current project. This is just one stage of three, which will eventually be opened to the public. On December 15th, the public will be able to tour the new accommodation facility, which will include six rooms. This is also the day that the CCASE will hand over the operation to Southern NSW Local Health District. CCASE president, Lynne Koerbin, is very excited about this part of the project. “This is a huge milestone for us and definitely worth celebrating! What started as the seed of an idea from Janet Brandon while she was president of the Rotary Club of Pambula in 2012 has transformed into a community project that has been embraced across south-east NSW and resulted in a fantastic facility being available at our new hospital.” The CCASE began in 2012, when members of many clubs in the area came together for this project. Some of the clubs they came from included Lions, Rotary, CWA and Eden Lioness. They came up with a plan to construct, design, and help fund an accommodation facility for carers. This facility would hold 18 carers and be handed to the health district upon completion. Within the five years the CCASE has raised money to fund the first two phases of their project, leaving them with one more. Each phase is a wing that will consist of 8 rooms, which will also include an en-suite in each one. This project has gained support from the entire community, regardless of income status, job status and many other categories. Many of the local businesses have helped to fund this project as well; such as Bendigo Bank, NSW Ministry of Health, Bega Cheese, and many more. Some of these businesses donated land and some donated money. This community as a whole has come together to create this wonderful accommodation facility. Lynne Koerbin has said, “Both were instrumental in contributing substantial funds that helped guarantee success with an application for a matching government grant, which ended up being the tipping point for being able to get started on construction in 2016” about Bendigo Bank and Bega Cheese. Smaller businesses have also contributed to this project by donating supplies or offering great discounts. Different clubs in the area have also helped with funds, and even individuals have made donations as well. When this facility is handed over to the LHD on Friday, they will begin to start booking people who will need the accommodations. Some people that may need accommodations include people traveling for treatments, family members of patients in the hospital, and people that need to be close to the hospital for procedures. “The need for a carers accommodation facility has really resonated with so many people - many have experienced the need first hand, while others have got behind the project simply because they recognise how important it is for our rural area to have a facility like this available,” Lynne Koerbin said. “This has been a community driven project for the benefit of the community - and its absolutely wonderful to see it come to fruition.” You can stop by the open house between 2 and 5pm and help the LHD and CCASE celebrate this victory. The official opening begins at 11:30am.
Bega Regional Hospital Carers Accommodation Opens
Lang Walker, who is a businessman, donated a whopping $26 million to Western Sydney University. This generous financial sponsorship from Walker is intended for the construction of a professorship at one of WSU’s buildings and a medical center at Campbelltown Hospital. This is in line with the university’s efforts in joining an infrastructure surge which includes metro train, light rail, and a new airport. "We've got a lot of land in the Macarthur region. We want to give back to the universities, the medical side of things and sport," said Lang Walker. It was also announced by Western Sydney University around December of last year that the Walker Group will be the developer for its vertical campus at Bankstown. This project will be worth $300 million and will have enough room to cater to 12,000 students. Mr. Walker also added that this is not their family’s first-time to invest in medical research since they’ve previously provided funding at the St Vincent's Hospital and Chris O'Brien Lifehouse. "We've sat on a number of forums out there in relation to Peter Shergold and Barney Glover. We became involved in an A-league soccer team, the Macarthur Bulls and we approached the university to do a center of excellence at Campbelltown. And we're sponsoring the Charles Perkins Football Academy. So we thought a medical research center would be essential in the region." Mr. Walker said. Mr. Walker’s company is currently involved in central Parramatta’s redevelopment, that’s worth $3.2 billion. He also added that most likely, his family will continue to be south-west Sydney’s benefactors. The total cost of the medical research center’s establishment is $50 million, and ⅖ of that is funded by the Walker family. Meanwhile, the university has also contributed $12.5 million from its own resources into that project. The other partners include the South-Western Local Health District, the University of New South Wales, and the Ingham Institute. “There is a priority triangle happening here which is Bankstown, Liverpool, and Campbelltown,” said Barney Glover, who is Western Sydney University’s vice-chancellor. $6 million from the total donation of the Walker family will go into the construction of the professorship at WSU’s main campus. On the other hand, Professor Glover revealed that the huge amounts of investment in the Western Sydney Airport are a large contributor to the overall growth of center Australia. "Universities help to create cities and catalyze further development. Particularly if you think about something like the Metro rail being extended to Bankstown. There is a priority triangle happening here which is Bankstown, Liverpool, and Campbelltown. These are important cities and now they're undergoing urban regeneration," he said. Navitas, an education company, was privatized Navitas back in March 2019 after the co-founder Rodney Jones and public shareholders were bought out by BGH Capital for $2.3 billion. This incident has allowed the University of New England to develop an indigenous education program. Max Schroder, one of the co-founders of Navitas, also gave $1.3 million to support indigenous scholarships at the University of New England. This doesn’t include the $500,000 he previously donated to aid 40 students who were already under the indigenous education program. Mr. Schroder also added that the sale of his Navitas funds back in 2019 "enable me to assist others from challenged and disadvantaged backgrounds to gain the opportunities I enjoyed. Since the scholarship programs have been running for a number of years and developing to address newly perceived needs, it has been my intention a pragmatic approach always be taken.”
Lang Walker gives $26m to Western Sydney University
Great news for Australia: the very first Victorian Heart Hospital is now under construction at Monash University Clayton campus. This Australia's pioneer is $543 million worth, and its due date is in 2022. Thanks to the state government, Monash Health and Monash University, the idea was born in 2014. The idea is being realized for cardiac patients of all ages. This will be the first state-of-the-art cardiac facility that will provide holistic and innovative patient-centered care in cardiac disease, as well as research and world-leading education in Australia. It will also be an education center. Monash Health and Monash University has partnered up to provide training options for undergraduate and postgraduate medical, science and nursing students, subspecialty training fellowships for cardiologists and cardiac surgeons and provision of Ph.D. and Masters placement for professionals. Jill Hennessy MP, who is the state’s health minister, met Monash Health president Dipak Sanghvi, his chief executive Andrew Strapp, director of the Victorian Heart Hospital, Professor Steve Nicholls and Monash University vice-chancellor Margaret Gardiner at the beginning of construction. “Modelled on successful specialist heart hospitals across the world including Barts Heart Centre in London and Montreal Heart Institute in Canada, the hospital will bring together the world’s best in cardiovascular care, research and training in a patient-focused, integrated specialist unit,” Monash University emphasized in their statement. For this intensive project, the Victorian Health and Human Service Building Authority hired John Wardle Architects from Melbourne and Conrad Gargett, who designed The Lady Cilento Children’s hospital, Hervey Bay’s St Stephen’s Hospital and Queensland, the first completely digital hospital. Its capacity will be 195 beds, also including ER, laboratories, high qualified surgical experts and of course, telemedicine for local and international patients. It will allow a significant number of surgical operations, lab procedure, emergency calls and consultations per year. More good news is coming from the government. They’ve selected a site in inner west Melbourne for a brand new Footscray Hospital. It’s going to be involved with a 504-bed capacity, and it will replace the hospital in nearby Gordon Street and the due date is after 2025.
Australia Gets its First Heart Hospital
Kira is an 11-month-old fighter. Not too long ago, she suffered from five fatal abdominal and cardiac illnesses. One of her life-threatening conditions include being born with a heart located outside her chest.   She’s currently preparing for her first birthday, a celebration although typical to other babies, is already a big milestone for Kira. Her parents, Kim and Chris Gascoigne didn’t think she would make it this long. At the same time, this year also marks the 150th birthday of the Royal Children’s Hospital.   “We are incredibly relieved that Kira finally got to come home with us. We are so grateful for all the staff at the RCH for helping her get to this point,” Chris said.   Kira can be considered a miracle baby in so many ways. She was conceived through several IVF rounds and was the only embryo that survived genetic testing.   When her mom, Kim, had her 22-week checkup, the scan revealed a deadly and rare condition about their baby’s heart. But the couple didn’t lose their hope just yet. At this point, their baby was already moving inside her mom. The pair also had shortlisted several baby names to choose from. They were also daydreaming about their many family adventures in the future and the books that they’ll be reading to her.   A week later, they acquired an updated diagnosis which gave them more reassurance. Although her heart problem was still there, they learned that it was easier to fix than what they initially thought. Furthermore, they would be able to enjoy six months at home with her before her operation and treatment commence.   Kim gave birth to Kira on February 22 of last year. She was able to breathe without any apparatus but it was noticeable that her breathing was laborious. When she was then taken to the resuscitation station, her father immediately noticed that her heart was flapping under a piece of skin.   Typically, parents of a newborn expect to examine all the external body parts of the baby such as toes and fingers. Making sure that their organs are inside her body is certainly not common.   At that moment, he knew that it didn’t look right. After pressing a buzzer, the room was suddenly filled with twelve more medical personnel. Kira was sedated and was prepared to be transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital.   “We didn’t even know if she would survive that first night. It happened so quickly, I didn’t feel like I had a baby,” Kim said.   The Pentalogy of Cantrell was the diagnosis of Kira’s condition. This refers to a cluster of abnormalities, which in Kira’s case involved four heart defects, that prevent blood circulation in the body altogether.   Kira’s heart was positioned outside her chest and only covered by a thin membrane. Also, one of her breast bones was missing.   When Chris relayed the news to her wife, Kim was still admitted to another hospital since she just gave birth. In her room, she would Google tons and tons of information to have a better grasp on the diagnosis, only to find heartbreaking results. Online sources showed that 95% of babies born with ectopic hearts do not survive. Luckily for the three of them, Kira was cared for at a renowned health center that had previously performed more ectopic heart surgeries than anywhere else in the entire world. All of those operations were successful as well.   During the first three months of Kira’s stay in RCH, the main priority was to keep her condition stable. For Chris and Kim, this meant that they will be experiencing their “firsts” with Kira quite differently than most parents.  They were able to first cuddle with Kira while she had tubes attached to her tiny body. She had her first bath at nine weeks old. Her first walk, on the other hand, was around the cardiac ward alongside a monitor and oxygen tank.   “I couldn’t bond with her for such a long time, maybe even until we got home. I had all these plans for what this time with our baby would be, and then I faced planning a funeral. There was never talk about what was ahead, it was only ever one day at a time,” Kim added.
Kira's Courage
Professional athletes are typically provided with the best trainers and medical practitioners who help them with their performance, physical injuries, and other bodily needs. For the longest time, looking after their mental health has not been a priority because of society’s stigma towards it. Not to mention the fact that mental illness is an invisible disease and is usually undetected by the public or even by the patients themselves. Fortunately for athletes of this generation, more and more people are raising awareness of mental health and encouraging psychological or psychiatric treatment. In Australia, a number of hospitals, such as Epworth Richmond which is the largest non-profit hospital in Victoria, have become more welcoming toward individuals who need help. Their psychologists don’t just work with inpatients and outpatients, but also members of the community. Because of this, a number of sporting clubs and organizations have expressed the importance of providing mental health assistance not just to athletes, but to everyone in the team as well.  This urged the Australian Football League to appoint experts in the psychological field. Their Players’ Association Chief Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer recently declared Dr. Kate Hall as the Head of Mental Health and Well-being, and Dr. Ranjit Menon as the Chief Psychiatrist of AFL. These doctors are tasked to improve the industry’s support toward the mental well being of AFL’s current and former coaches, umpires, players, and administration staff. These new appointments were initiated by the Industry Governance Committee after they conducted a thorough review of the mental health state of everyone in AFL. “The mental health and well-being of everyone involved in our game is a key focus, we know it is one of the biggest issues facing the industry and these appointments ensure we have prioritized the well-being of players, umpires, coaches and football administration staff. The combination of a clinical psychologist in Dr. Kate Hall and psychiatrist in Dr. Ranjit Menon is a world-first for a professional sporting organization, positioning the industry towards a best-practice model. Dr. Hall is an experienced clinician and academic who has dedicated her research and practice to the treatment of addiction and mental health issues for over 15 years. Kate will lead the mental health and well-being function for the AFL, overseeing the strategy, implementation, clinical operations and review of all mental health policies, processes, and activities within the AFL, and the wider industry,” Mr. McLachlan said. The Mental Health and Well-being team will be lead by Dr. Hall. Alongside this, she will continue her work once a week as Deakin University’s Senior Lecturer in Addiction and Mental Health. In addition, she will also lead research projects through the research agreement of the Australian Football League with Deakin University. On the other hand, Dr. Ranjit Menon, who is an experienced sports psychiatrist, will supervise all medical interventions through his position. Mr. McLachlan added that Dr. Ranjit Menon is a renowned psychiatrist who has been helping elite athletes for five years. In fact, he has been working with numerous sporting clubs and organizations in Australia. “We’re proud of how through the important work of the Industry Governance Committee and the Mental Health Industry review it has undertaken over the past 18 months, the entire industry has come together to develop a united approach to tackle the complex issue of mental health. We are excited by the appointments of Dr. Hall and Dr. Menon and congratulate them on their new roles. Both have been part of the AFLPA’s national psychologist network for several years and are acutely aware of the challenges facing players and the broader industry. Through the combination of Dr. Hall, Dr. Menon and the existing AFLPA Mental Health and Wellbeing team we have never felt more optimistic about the industry’s prospects of effecting meaningful change in what is our industry’s most pressing issue,” Paul Marsh said. “Having worked for many years to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians, I ultimately believe this role can make an impact on how the AFL industry and broader community responds to mental health issues. I look forward to supporting and expanding on the excellent work of the AFL club doctors and mental health practitioners working with AFL players and will be working to ensure we provide excellent mental healthcare to all players and staff across the system. I am excited by this opportunity to move the industry towards best practice in mental health prevention and early intervention,” Dr. Kate Hall said. “As a passionate advocate and an established provider of mental healthcare of elite athletes, I am very honored and excited to be appointed to the role of AFL Chief Psychiatrist. I look forward to working with Kate and other officials within the AFL governance hierarchy as well as the AFL clubs and their clinical staff including club doctors and psychologists. We will aspire to develop the clinical infrastructure and promote the mental health of athletes and staff across the AFL ecosystem,” Dr. Ranjit Menon said. The Australian Football League is grateful to AFLPA Chief Executive Officer Paul Marsh, AFL Commissioner Helen Milroy, Richmond Chief Executive Officer Brendon Gale, and Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett for their assistance in the hiring process of Dr. Menon and Dr. Hall. Both doctors will officially begin September 2019.   
Statement: AFL appoints head of mental health and well-being, and chief psychiatrist
This article summarizes the past and future development of the Mona Vale Hospital, a trusted name in healthcare and hospital services for more than five decades for the residents of Northern Beaches. The campus will be changing in the near future, alongside the transfer of acute services to Northern Beaches Hospital. This is set to take place in late 2018, and is part of the strong monetary investment in the health and well being of the people of Northern Beaches. During this transition, Mona Vale Hospital still plans to continue serving the community through services that are tangential to those being offered at other hospitals in the area, including Dalwood Children’s Services, Mona Vale and Brookvale Community Health Centres, and Northern Beaches Hospital. At the same time, the Mona Vale Hospital will be updated to better serve the community. To refresh outdated facilities and less-than-ideal floor plans, the hospital is undergoing serious renovations focused on providing the best healthcare available. These updates will include a palliative care ward and geriatric unit, both equipped to house 10 inpatients at a time. The new campus will also include a full-service Urgent Care Centre to ease burdened loads on emergency rooms and provide speedier service for non-emergent cases. They will work part and parcel with three other facilities: the Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit, the Beachside Rehabilitation Unit, and the Mona Vale Community Health Centre. The overall goal is improved health for the Northern Beaches community at large, and these updates to the Mona Vale Hospital represent one of the most influential focuses on healthcare in our community in years. They will provide faster, better, and easier access for the most essential hospital services to our residents.
Mona Vale Hospital Redevelopment
Kardinia Health has three Physiotherapists who can treat sports injuries as well as general physical illness. Ben Bisset, Allied Health Coordinator and Physiotherapist, spoke about the types of sports injuries commonly seen in Geelong, and about his time as a competing national-level triathlete. According to Ben Bisset, who worked for two years within the acute and rehabilitation hospital sector at Epworth Richmond before making the move into private practice, prevention is better than treatment and recovery is probably more important than the actual exercise. It’s something physiotherapists try to teach all their patients. That and the ability to listen to one’s body to accept one’s fitness level. Physiotherapists work with coaches and patients to customise the individual recovery times. If the patient doesn’t have their own coach, then Kardinia Health physiotherapists will act as a coach to help minimise risk and maximise performance. What to do if you’re injured? When you suffer an injury, you should get it checked out as soon as possible. Management of a sports injury within the first 48 hours will have an impact on your recovery. How significant will be the impact of seeking medical treatment? If poorly managed in the early stages, an acute 3-week injury could potentially drag out to 6 weeks or more. Measures to manage the injury might include controlling swelling and support of the affected area along with other general health tips. Furthermore, the injury’s diagnosis is more accurate when the injury is new. Kardinia Health also has the advantage of Dr. Robert Brzozek, a musculoskeletal doctor who is qualified to offer other treatments such as cortisone injections, which often require more than one visit to be an effective treatment. When asked, Ben Bisset said he’d had every injury imaginable when he competed as a triathlete and long-distance runner. With a touch of humour, he says it came in handy since he was already studying to be a physio and that experience was the best teacher.  But, he did say he wished he knew more about injury prevention and how to increase muscle mass during his time as an athlete. Ben still exercises every day, whether it’s surfing, running, or at the gym, and he says he’s less competitive than he used to be. He holds his health as a priority over performance and allows more of the recovery time mentioned above. Because of this, he experiences less sports-related injury. With Kardinia Health, Ben will treat spinal, upper and lower limb injuries, dry needling and exercise therapies, and clinical Pilates.
Recovery as a Simple Tip for Avoiding Sports Injuries
There’s a new women’s hospital coming next door to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in the north-west of the Adelaide CBD in South Australia. Jay Weatherill, South Australian Premier, said the $528 million facility will connect to the RAH and expects a completion date of sometime in 2024. “The new Adelaide women’s hospital, positioned next to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, will be a modern, purpose-built facility that will care for women and newborns for many generations,” the Premier said. The South Australian Government proposed moving the Women’s and Children’s Hospital from North Adelaide closer to the city before the 2014 state’s elections. Though the new Adelaide women’s hospital announced for CBD, the Children’s has been delayed for a short time. The Government has also claimed a site for a new children’s hospital close to the other facilities would be identified by the end of 2019, offering what journalists call a “piecemeal approach”, with a multitude of services under one roof. According to Mr Weatherill, the Government was acting on the “basis of the best advice we have,” and that was to “do it in phases.” “Clinicians said the element that’s most important and should happen first is the bringing together of birthing services and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, so if there’s complications, women can get that seamless set of services,” said Premier Weatherill. The SA budget will offer an additional $24 million throughout the next two years, with a goal of an over $64.4 million upgrade of the current Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital. According to Health Minister Jack Snelling, there are numerous advantages to placing the two hospitals side-by-side. “Our doctors say this model will be of great benefit, in particular in situations where a mother may experience a difficult birth and require acute intensive care at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital,” the Minister said. This will allow rapid access to quality health care for both mother and newborn. “Having access to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital’s helipad will also significantly improve the timeliness of access to air services for high-risk maternal and neonate emergencies.” South Australia provided facts that the new women’s hospital will provide tertiary level maternity, neonatal and perinatal infant mental health services. “By co-locating with the new Royal Adelaide Hospital women with high-risk or emergency care needs will be able to receive timely and direct access to adult intensive and sub-specialty care,” the statement said. This way, doctors and staff could decide case-by-case where seriously ill newborns could be treated. The statement went on, “There will be some newborns that will need to be stabilised at the new Adelaide Women’s Hospital and transferred to the Adelaide Children’s Hospital for specialist paediatric care, including for example, where specialised surgery is required.” “How the care models will work at both sites will be developed by expert clinicians.” A number of staff members will be needed to work across from both the new women’s and children’s hospitals. Before the latest state budget, the Government announced upgrades to other Adelaide hospitals, including the Queen Elizabeth, Lyell McEwin, Modbury, and Flinders Medical Centre. Now, the staff at the current RAH are getting their final training before the state’s largest public hospital opening at their new premises on September 5, 2017. Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the Liberals were committed to a single new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, but that the Labor Government had cut back services and that the project has been plagued by delays that “almost” caused an abandonment of the original health plans. Mr Marshall said, “The people of South Australia deserve the best health system in the country and only the Liberal Party will deliver that.”
New Women's Hospital Announced in Adelaide, Children's Delayed
In South Australia, a mom and her baby were tested positive with COVID-19. The mother is a 40-year-old woman who, with her baby, recently came back from Iran. SA Health informed the public that both the mom and baby’s conditions are stable and are “doing well” in the healthcare facility. Another COVID-19 patient is identified as a 58-year-old man who recently traveled to Taiwan and arrived in the country last March 3. He is now admitted at the Flinders Medical Centre. Just last week, a 24-year-old woman tested positive for COVID-19 as well. She was vacationing around Europe when she caught the disease during her stay in Italy. SA Health is currently doing their best efforts in tracing those who might have come in contact with the patient when she arrived in the country. Back on March 1, a 40-year-old woman landed in Adelaide via Malaysia Airlines flight MH139. During that flight, it was reported that she stopped over at Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, she was positive of COVID-19 as well. “While this is an anxious time, we are on the front foot in South Australia,” Premier Steven Marshall stated. It was also announced by SA Health that the total number of patients in the state diagnosed with said illness has now risen to seven.  
Baby diagnosed with Coronavirus in South Australia
Getting sick or injured during a vacation away from home can always ruin a holiday, but some of the hospital bills in these Countries will cost you thousands. When you get sick at home it’s bad enough, but you usually don’t have to worry about receiving a vicious hospital bill that could leave you scrambling on your next paycheque. There are a couple of places you should be warned of before you visit, as a one night stay at the hospital could cost you over £2500. Analysis done by the World Health Organization (WHO) saw that Monaco is the number one vacation destination that you’re going to have to put out the most money in the case of a hospital visit. Staying the night in a hospital in Monaco without insurance can set you back over £2500! Luxembourg and Norway follow at a distant second and third, with £1300 and £1000 respectively. Bessie Hassan is a travel insurance expert at finder.com.au and said that even though you are paying top dollar for these visits, it is far from a five-star hotel. “Three thousand dollars a night for overseas accommodation may sound like a luxury hotel, but in some places, that’s the cost of a stay in hospital,” she said.  “Trips overseas are already expensive without adding the cost of a hospital stay into the mix.”   There are protocols you absolutely need to follow before you go on vacation, not just to one of these Countries but in general. You should always remind yourself to get travellers insurance, even if the price feels like an unnecessary expense. With the average in traveller’s insurance price being just around £22 for the whole week, you do not want to leave home without it. Ms. Hassen recognises that anything can go wrong when you’re far away from home, and you would much rather be covered then worrying about how much your stay is going to cost you in the long run. “In most cases travel insurance with medical cover is far cheaper than what you’d have to fork out for a hospital stay overseas,” she said. “You never know what can go wrong when you’re travelling so it’s important to have cover in place to protect you if something does happen.” There are however, some spots that won’t totally ruin your bank account if you happen to leave home without traveller insurance. Popular vacation spots in southeast Asia, such as Fiji and Thailand, have beds that average out to only around £22 a day. In the end, traveller’s insurance through your provider is usually dirt cheap, as they realise it is a rare occurrence. You should check in and see what the rates are, because it’s an expense that you should always account for when travelling. £22 a week is a much better deal than having to pay out even the cheapest rate at £22 a day. Be safe and safe travels!
Countries where you really don’t want to end up in hospital