Synopsis
RCH is excited to be celebrating Allied Health Professionals Day on 14 October 2020. Allied Health Professionals Day first began in the UK in 2018 and has since become an international event to recognise and celebrate the Allied Health Professional community.
More than 20 Allied Health professions contribute to Great Care at RCH and have played an active role in the hospital’s response to COVID-19. During this Grand Rounds, we will highlight the many different roles required to deliver Great Care and explore some ways in which Allied Health services have been adapted, expanded and re-imagined during 2020. We will take a look at the role of Allied Health on the frontline, as well as essential Allied Health roles behind the scenes. We will also bust some commonly held myths about the work of Allied Health professionals!
Come along to this Grand Round to hear about the important work of the many Allied Health professions at RCH and their ongoing contribution to the community throughout and beyond the pandemic, and almost certainly learn something about Allied Health that you didn’t know!
Speakers
Bernadette O’Connor has been Director Allied Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital since late 2011, just after the move to this new hospital. For 3 years before that Bernadette managed the Speech Pathology Department. Bernadette has worked over a 39 year career in public and private health in clinical speech pathology and leadership roles. She is passionate about promoting Allied Health services to enhance, improve and ensure safer and higher quality paediatric healthcare.
Ruth Nicholls is the Clinical Education Lead for Allied Health at RCH. Also Speech Pathologist by background, she is passionate about the integral role that Allied Health plays in the healthcare system and the importance of interprofessional learning and collaborative practice in great care.
Melissa Hughes is the Inpatient Stream Leader for the Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service, a trained physiotherapist with a background in nursing. Her role includes coordinating the interdisciplinary rehabilitation program.
Anne-Marie Adams is the Chief Sleep Scientist and has worked at RCH since 2006. During her time at RCH she has also previously managed the Respiratory Function Unit and completed her PhD. In 2015 the RCH Sleep Service officially opened and performs sleep studies for complex children with a question about sleep apnoea and/or hypoventilation assessments, CPAP, Bi-level ventilation and invasive ventilation assessment and titration. The sleep service is unique as it is mobile, including home sleep studies.
Carlie Alicastro works as Child Life Therapist in the Medical Imaging Department at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. She also hosts and co-produces ‘Be Positive’ and ‘Hospital Lingo’ on RCH TV which helps to alleviate the stress and anxiety related to the hospital experience on children, young people and their families, here at RCH and the wider community.
Sarah Connolly has been Manager of Social Work and Pastoral Care Services at RCH since 2014. Sarah has particular interests in improving health outcomes for vulnerable children and families, as well as staff support and development.
Bronwyn Christiansen is the Principal Scientist in Anatomical Pathology, one of the departments in Laboratory Services. Although most people think of blood when talking about Laboratory Services, her department handles all of the surgical specimens for analysis. She is lucky to have a great, passionate team and she really enjoys the variety of work – something different will happen every day!