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National award honours health care for homeless Australians

A program that focuses on the health and well-being of people who are homeless or vulnerably housed has been recognised as making a major contribution to those in need. The program received the Outreach Healthcare Award at last night's CHA awards dinner.

Homeless to Home Healthcare is an initiative of Mater Health Services and Micah Projects. The two organisations have for several years been providing leadership in Brisbane to try to ensure health care can reach people with complex health problems that are not being met by existing health services. St Vincent's Hospital Brisbane was welcomed to the innovative partnership this year.

Nurses’ staff assistance program earns national award

As Australia continues to struggles with the effects of suicide on families, communities and the nation, the work of two nurses over more than six decades has earned them the Catholic Health Australia Nurse of the Year award.

Sian James and Maria Field developed and have for many years presented a suicide prevention workshop for staff at St John of God Hospitals in Richmond and Burwood – both private psychiatric facilities in New South Wales. With many of the hospitals' patients having attempted suicide, the nurses realised that hospital staff needed training and support in how best to deal with individuals expressing suicidal ideation or having attempted suicide.

St John of God Sister honoured for lifetime of service, leadership

From the training grounds of country Victoria to an Irish university, en route to hospitals in Western Australia, Hong Kong and Pakistan and back to Australia again, St John of God Sister Isobel Moran has been a trailblazer in Catholic health and aged care for more than 50 years.

Her enduring contribution to the Catholic health and aged care community in Australia was last night recognised with her announcement as the fourth recipient of the Sr Maria Cunningham Lifetime Contribution Award at the Catholic Health Australia awards dinner in Melbourne.

Ground-breaking research earns national award

First-of-its-kind research assessing the long-term effects of anaesthesia and surgery on older people with mild age-related loss of memory, reasoning and decision-making has earned a hospital department the Catholic Health Australia Leadership in Positive Ageing award.

The study, being conducted by St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne's anaesthetics department under the leadership of Associate Professor David Scott, continues the department's long history of clinical practice in caring for the aged. The department has also initiated a drive for more thorough pre-operative assessment of cognition.

Coalition health policy acknowledges Catholic hospitals' training role

Catholic Health Australia has welcomed the Coalition's commitment to think outside the square in the training of increasing numbers of medical graduates, with Catholic hospitals' role in training acknowledged in the Support Australia's Health System document launched today.

CHA chief executive officer Martin Laverty said the network of 75 hospitals in the Catholic network welcomed the Coalition's commitment of $40 million for medical internships in private and non-traditional settings.