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September 2016
Important dates to remember
WCHN Volunteers Christmas Luncheon
12.00 for 12.30 pm, Friday 2 December 2016
Auditorium, Lower Ground Floor
Samuel Way Building, WCH
International Volunteers Day
Monday 5 December 2016
Manager’s Note
wonderful people as you to assist them.
It doesn’t matter where you volunteer or
what you do, you make a difference. I hear
many of your stories and read much
feedback from consumers and staff about
how much you are appreciated and the
impact you make.
It takes more than a physical and mental
act to volunteer; it takes a decision of the
heart. Thank you.
Thank you too, to Cynthia and Linda for all
their hard work that contributed to a
successful awards event and to their
commitment to support all the volunteers
every day.
Lis Brittan
Manager, WCHN Volunteers
On Friday 26 August we
celebrated the WCHN
Volunteers Service Awards
with 22 out of the 39 award
recipients present to accept
their award from Jenny Fereday,
Executive Director, Nursing & Midwifery,
WCHN.
The awards ranged from 100 hours to
26,000 hours of service and 5 years to 25
years of service. What an amazing
achievement!
The Women’s and Children’s Health
Network is a special organisation at which
to volunteer and work. I think we are all
privileged to be part of people’s lives at an
often significant time and our consumers
are especially lucky to have such
2
Welcome to New Volunteers
The following volunteers have commenced with the Volunteer Unit since June 2016. We give you a warm
welcome and thank you for your commitment to volunteering with the WCHN.
Mary-Anne Bartolo
Kate Nisbet
Jaimie Thompson
Miranda Willet
Diane Young
Guide Team
Cassia Ward Family Support
My Time
My Time
Volunteer Unit
In 2015, Quoc Nguyen (pictured) was selected as the TeamKids Staff Exhibition Award Winner which provided the opportunity for the artist to have his own solo exhibition in 2016 at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Quoc was a member of the Digital Media team in the Centre for Educa-tion and Training at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network and now works as a graphic designer in the New Royal Adelaide Hospital Project Office as part of the Central Adelaide Local Health Net-work. For his solo exhibition, Quoc has produced a stunning set of watercol-our and ink paintings.
Quoc left his home in the Mekong Delta in 1990 and came to Australia as a refugee. After viewing some of Quoc’s artwork, an Australian offi-cial suggested Quoc live in South Australia to foster his evident love of art as he believed Quoc was definitely a ‘good fit’ with Adelaide’s strong art culture. In 1998, Quoc completed his Year 12 at Thebarton High School and graduated in graphic design in 2001.
Quoc’s exquisite paintings clearly show his skills in combining ink and watercolour painting and linking traditional Vietnamese watercolour techniques with Australian content. Quoc loves the rich subject matter offered in Australia, including birds, animals and trees. While his graph-ic design work and visual art complement each other, his art provides the opportunity to relax, whereas his graphic design work is quite exact-ing.
“Painting is very important to my life because when I come home after work and sit down to look at my paintings I feel happy and not useless,” Quoc said. “I am alive and I see some things that are beautiful around me. I feel life has changed a lot for me since I was in Vietnam. When I was there, I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, and what I wanted to do was paint.”
Quoc’s work is now on display in Gallery C at the WCH.
Reprinted from Around Our Region
Quoc’s delicate brushwork depicts beauty of changing seasons
3
This article and photo is reprinted from the local Barossa paper and acknowledges new volunteers Margaret Lewis and Wendy Wigan with long term volunteer Johanna Hahn and parents from an Early
Parent Group.
4
A world-class ensemble of performers from the Adelaide Guitar Festival recently gave two concerts for patients
at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Part of the Festival’s Resonance Program, the initiative aims to bring the festival experience to those who
otherwise cannot attend. Performers at the hospital included the Guitar Festival Director and classical guitar
virtuoso Slava Grigoryan, Australian String Quartet cellist Sharon Draper, blues guitarist Cal Williams Jr; and
flamenco artists Aloysius Leeson and Kristy Manuel.
The concerts took place in the Starlight Express Room and in the Day of Surgery Admissions area of the
hospital and provided several hours of entertainment for both patients and staff.
The concerts were arranged by TeamKids/Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation as part of the TeamKids
Arts in Health program.
Reprinted from Around Our Region
Guitar Festival visit
Sharon Draper (Cello) and Slava Grigoryan (guitar) performing in the Starlight Express Room.
5
A Guide’s story
The Guide Team Role
Coming to hospital as a consumer or visitor, can
sometimes be stressful and confusing. The Women’s
and Children’s Hospital Guide Team provides volun-
teer support to welcome and assist consumers, their
families, and visitors to the hospital. The Guide Team
plays an important part in helping people to confident-
ly navigate the hospital and to find the right clinical or
support service.
The Guide Services Team operates from a base in the hospital entrance foyer in Kermode Street.
Working as a Volunteer Guide
In 2014 and 2015 there were several events that
changed my busy life leaving me lost and in need to
offer myself in a caring role somewhere in the com-
munity. My niece suggested the Women’s & Chil-
dren’s Hospital.
Applying on-line to become a volunteer was challeng-
ing as I hadn’t needed a resume for a long time but
thankfully Lis and Cynthia gave me the opportunity to
join the newly formed Guide Team set to commence
May 2016. During March and April I joined around 40
others for some training sessions, plus group and
personal interviews. Negotiating myself around the
hospital prior to commencing as a guide using Cyn-
thia’s directions was a challenge in itself and left me
wondering how I would ever be able to get consum-
ers from A to B, or B to C, etc.
May 11 was my first initiation along with two other
hard working guides Isabella and David. We were all
quite overwhelmed with the number of inquiries and
queries that we were not prepared for on that day. I
managed to guide people around the hospital with-
out too many hitches, except for the last query.
Thankfully the family were understanding as it took
me around fifteen minutes to get them from A to E
zones.
As a guide we assist many consumers as they enter
from Kermode Street. We may either direct them to
a specified location, or physically walk with them to
their destination. Walking with the consumer is my
favourite part of being a guide as I can chat to them
and know when they reach their destination they
are often more relaxed. Every shift gives us guides
many unexpected challenges as there are many
requests we don’t always have the answer for, such
as some consumers who lose or forget their ap-
pointment paperwork. But after being in the role for
three months the questions are now less daunting.
The opportunity to help a stressed family member
feel a little more relaxed being in a large hospital
complex is rewarding and I personally feel very
blessed to be in this position. Working with the other
guides is enjoyable as they are a friendly, intelligent
and hard-working team, always willing to assist. Al-
so, having the support of Lis, Cynthia, Allan and
Linda makes the role more enjoyable and very man-
ageable. I look around the hospital and only ever
see happy volunteers whether it be in the café or
elsewhere and know the management team have
contributed to making the environment a happier
place for all who enter this hospital..
Marilyn Foran
6
Researching creepy crawlies
High up in lofty perch of the seventh floor in the Samuel Way Building you can look right and squint to find a door with a plain piece of paper blue-tacked with the an inscription simply reading ‘Toxinology Department’. Yes, the Women’s and Children’s Hospital has one. Inside that door is a staff of three dedicated doctors who spend their days making sure that suspicious spider bite you attained won’t cause you too much distress or perhaps prevent that dodgy mushroom you found making you swear off soup for life. If you have ever been unfortunate enough to have been bitten by something nasty or have eaten something a bit suspect you have probably met either Dr. Julian White or Dr. Scott Weinstein in your medical journey. For those who don’t know, these are the guys that make sure your experience is more comfortable. In my volunteering experience in this department I was under the supervision of the final member of the team - Dr. David Bates. While Julian and Scott are clinical doctors, David is the Medical Scientist who runs the information systems in the department and keeps the electronics in the Toxinology Department running ship-shape. In the year and a half I volunteered I spent on average 10 hours a week under the loose supervision of David who I don’t believe ever stopped working. My role as a volunteer involved me researching medical information on the various poisonous plants and venomous animals so that I could provide information for their specialist website. It was time consuming and occasionally confusing with the medical jargon but as evidenced by my lengthy stay I found it very rewarding and I learnt many new things. Some of those things were less pleasant than others but interesting nonetheless. My favourite part though of the whole experience was the fact that I was able to constantly have a cup of tea sitting next to me as I worked. I spent many days peacefully scrolling through medical journals looking for information with tunes in my ears and a mug by my side. It almost felt like a holiday from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and I loved every moment. As of December 2015 I finished my studies at university and relocated from the city so I had to sadly say goodbye to the Toxinology Department. In March this year though, I was lucky enough to be invited back for a week to help out in their biannual Clinical Toxinology short course. This allowed me to meet some of the international authors of the many research papers I had worked with! The week was jam-packed with interesting tidbits of information and a thrilling live snake demonstration. I felt very fortunate to be associated with the Toxinology Department and was so glad I decided to choose to volunteer at the hospital. I highly recommend anyone with the right skills to seek out positions such as this one as they are so rewarding and give you an insight into a world that takes years of education and experience to enter professionally.
Evie Catt
7
Toxinology at the Women’s
and Children’s Hospital - the quiet
achievers
Many people are unaware that the WCHN has a Toxinology Department tucked away in the Samuel Way Building that provides a service to all South Australians, young and old. It has been operating since 1990 and is the only clinical toxinology department in any Australian teaching hospital.
Clinical Toxinology deals with cases of envenoming or poisoning from animals, particularly snakebite, spiderbite and marine envenoming and poisoning. It also covers the treatment of the clinical effects of poisonous plants and mushrooms. Commonly our medical staff are called in by the Emergency Department at the WCH to treat Red-back spider bites and poisoning by mushrooms accidently ingested by children.
The Department also delivers a consultant clinical toxinology service to doctors, hospitals, poisons information centres and antivenom producers nationwide (and beyond). For example, when an adult is bitten by a Brown snake and presents to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, our doctors are involved in guiding the treatment to ensure complete recovery.
Continuing education is a vital part of the Department’s functions, with regular lectures to medical students, medical graduates, nurses and other health professionals, particularly those attending the University of Adelaide, University of South Australia and Flinders University. The Department, in conjunction with the University of Adelaide, runs a Clinical Toxinology Short Course every two years. This internationally recognised course is the only one of its type and attracts doctors and other health professionals from around the world.
We also run a number of websites offering extensive information about clinical toxinology. In particular the Clinical Toxinology Resources website (www.toxinology.com) is a major reference source used by health professionals throughout Australia and the world.
The Department currently has only three staff; Dr Julian White (Head of Toxinology and Consultant Clinical Toxinologist), Dr Scott Weinstein (Clinical Toxinologist) and Dr David Bates (Medical Scientist - Information Systems). We have been fortunate over the years to have enlisted the help of several volunteers who contributed towards to building our information resources for clinical toxinology, and assisted with department activities.
Work performed by these volunteers has principally involved researching medical and biological information on poisonous plants and venomous creatures such as snakes, spiders and jellyfish, then writing concise summaries of clinical aspects, adding descriptions and constructing distribution maps for inclusion on our websites. Their input has enabled us to keep more of this information updated than could have been achieved by our staff alone.
We wish to acknowledge the following who have worked in this capacity as volunteers at various times:
As well as supplying invaluable assistance to our department, these people have also benefited from volunteering in a number of ways. They have developed their skills in research, information systems and application of computers. Many have gone on to pursue successful careers in which these skills have afforded them with a considerable advantage. We believe also that all our volunteers have found their time spent with us to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience (see for example the accompanying piece written by Evie Catt, our most recent volunteer).
Dr David Bates
Medical Scientist - Information Systems, Toxinology
Belinda Baker Veronika Bandara Josh Bizilis Evie Catt Jocelyn Ho
Rebecca Korossy-Horwood Genaya Misso Baz khanum Safdari Joanna Thabthiang
8
WCHN Volunteers
Awards
Presentation
9
WCHN Volunteers
Awards
Presentation
Contact us
Lis Brittan
Manager WCHN Volunteers
Tel: 8161 8475
Cynthia Baldwin
Coordinator WCHN Volunteers
Tel: 8161 6437
Linda Dyett
Administration Officer WCHN Volunteers
Tel: 8161 7471
Centre for Robotics and Innovation Robotic technology is being used to aid the rehabilitation of children with serious neurological disorders
and injuries thanks to a purpose-built gym at the Women's and Children's Hospital.
Known as the Little Heroes Foundation Centre for Robotics and Innovation, the new facility houses
equipment that provides tailored therapies to aid in walking, arm movement and coordination.
Rehabilitation clinicians believe the more therapy a child with neurological dysfunction can access, the
greater the benefits are likely to be.
Robotic technology is a way of giving children a greater amount of therapy without necessarily involving
a lot more cost in terms of therapist time. The robotic equipment is also useful for developing
cardiovascular fitness for those children who may not do much physical exercise due to their disability.
This technology helps children with a range of neurological disabilities caused by brain tumours, brain
injury, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and neuromuscular disorders. Young people who are current
inpatients or day patients of the Paediatric Rehabilitation program are able to access the technology.
Two robotic machines have been installed - a Lokomat designed to improve walking pattern and
function - and an Armeo, which assists with developing muscle strength, power and range of
movement in the arm. Both pieces of equipment are very precise in the way they generate
movement of a child’s limbs and allow for more efficient and effective therapy.
Reprinted from Around Our Region
Tanna Saunders
demonstrates the
Lokomat machine
with WCH Senior
Physiotherapist
Marianne Spizzo
at the launch of
the Centre for
Robotics and
Innovation .