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The Ramsay Way - Autumn 2016

The Ramsay Way 2016 | 01 9 HOSPITALS Joondalup breaks baby record Joondalup Health Campus (JHC) broke a local record recently with 19 new lives coming into the world on the 18 February across both the public and private maternity wards. JHC Chief Executive Officer Kempton Cowan said the hospital had been experiencing unprecedented demand for maternity services for some time with a 70 per cent increase in deliveries over the past five years. “Joondalup Health Campus is clearly a popular choice for women – in fact, we delivered more than 4,000 babies over the past year,” he said. “The expansion of the hospital with the opening of the Joondalup Health Campus Private Hospital in 2013 gave us increased capacity for the provision of maternity services to meet community demand now and into the future.”  Clinical Nurse Manager Hilda Watson (left) and midwife Justine Hutton (right) with patients Emina Sarajlic (seated) and Leila Timol and two of the 19 babies born at Joondalup Health Campus. The first two patients to partake in the day program, Linzi Ward and Frank Leponis, began their journey back to health and independence today. They took part in gym and hydrotherapy sessions under the supervision of the rehabilitation team at Noosa Hospital. Linzi, a vibrant local artist, had the misfortune to slip in the shower and broke her back in two places. She didn’t need surgery, but spent three weeks in hospital following the accident. Because she has osteoporosis, her back was not healing well and her treating physician recommended she participate in the day program for six weeks. “Dr Ali was just wonderful, very kind and considerate and so understanding that when I left hospital and went home, I would need further support and assistance to heal,” Linzi said. “My program is a combination of physiotherapy, gym work and hydrotherapy sessions. They are a marvelous crew here at Noosa Hospital, very supportive and caring,” she said. “It’s been four months since I’ve been able to exercise because of the pain, and being here in the gym again and working my muscles has made me feel a lot better in my mind and a lot more capable. I’m building up the muscles in my core to better support my back and it feels great to be on my way to my energetic self again.” Frank Leponis had an injury of another kind. He knocked his knee very hard while working on his home and experienced a rapid degeneration in the functionality of the knee. Ultimately, it required a total knee replacement, followed by six weeks in the Day Patient Rehabilitation Program. “I had a few choices of where I could go for rehabilitation,” Frank said, “but I opted to come here, I like it here. The facilities are really good, there is everything you need and the staff has been really encouraging.” “When something like this happens, it takes you by surprise, you’re suddenly handicapped, because you have to use crutches, you can’t stand, you can’t cook because you have to hold onto your crutches and you can’t really socialize because of the crutches.” The Day Patient Rehabilitation Program is designed for patients like Linzi and Frank who have had an illness, surgery or a long hospital stay and require a multidisciplinary team approach to assist with their recovery. The team includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, speech pathologists and exercise physiologists who work with treating rehabilitation and pain medicine doctors at the hospital. Allied Health Manager Kelly Gerrard said the aim is to help each patient optimize their health and independence. “Private health funds cover the cost of the program, allowing our patients to take the weight of multiple expenses off their mind so they can concentrate on their health and wellbeing,” she said. Two new rehabilitation medicine physicians Dr Zeshan Ali and Dr Catherine MacIntosh have joined existing experienced pain and rehabilitation specialist Dr Peter Georgius. Dr Ali and Dr MacIntosh have recently relocated from Mackay and Tamworth to the Sunshine Coast and bought their families with them. Real life ‘sea change’ doctors, both are enjoying calling the region home, bringing their skills and expertise to the area and being a part of a thriving community. Noosa Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Jude Emmer, said the introduction of the new Day Patient Rehabilitation Program was just the beginning of expansion plans to increase the footprint of rehabilitation services in the hospital. “Our aim is to become Noosa’s most comprehensive day rehabilitation facility. Noosa Hospital is able to offer a broad range of inpatient, day patient and outpatient services to the local community. The hospital has a full range of allied health services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social worker, exercise physiologist and dietician. Our facilities also include a hydrotherapy pool, fully equipped gym, group and individual treatment rooms. Our focus is on delivering the highest possible quality care,” Jude said. With an increased number of specialists available to see more patients, Noosa Hospital is well placed to meet the need for rehabilitation services in the area and to enhance its delivery of excellent care.  Fast forwarding recovery Noosa Hospital has launched a new Day Patient Rehabilitation Program as part of its commitment to improving the size and range of quality rehabilitation services available to the local community. Noosa Hospital Exercise Physiologist Glenn Kirby (centre) with patients Frank Leponis and Linzi Ward. Glenn assisting Linzi with exercises in the hydrotherapy pool, Noosa Hospital.


The Ramsay Way - Autumn 2016
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