THE PULSE

Mid-April 2020

Community rallies for our people A community-led initia-

tive is providing hot meals to doctors and nurses and boosting their morale at the same time.

Slade Refrigerated Transport director Josh Slade came up with the idea to provide family-sized meals to hospital staff amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He reached out to busi-nesses and suppliers.

Donations of food and money flowed and the idea became a reality.

The XS Food team is cooking the meals in their Port Macquarie factory, and as the initiative ramps up, Timbertown Pies has offered access to its man-ufacturing facilities.

About 25 meals were delivered to Wauchope District Memorial Hospital as a trial on Thursday, April 3.

The meal service started at Port Macquarie Base Hospital on April 14, with a plan to extend the ser-vice to Kempsey District Hospital.

Mr Slade said the initia-tive would give frontline staff extra time with their families or to rest after their shifts.

Supporters include Ho-kubee Australia, Ken

Little's Quality Fruit and Vegetables and IGA.

XS Food chef/owner Craig Freudenstein is drawing on his experience in corporate and events catering to whip up the meals.

The first lot of meals featured shepherd's pie, lasagna and chickpea/ vegetable rice korma - all in family-sized packs.

"I've got the facilities, the know-how and staff, we might as well give back to the guys who have real-ly put themselves out

there," Mr Freudenstein said.

"For us, it's a nice thing to do."

Rotary Club of Wau-chope president George Campbell said the club was fully supportive of the initiative under its charita-ble status.

"We are pleased to see it going ahead and provide this sort of support to the program," he said.

Hastings Macleay clinical network coordinator Cath-arine Death said the com-

munity-led initiative was a massive morale booster to staff at Wauchope and Port Macquarie Base hos-pitals. "We know we're all in this together, but this level of practical support for our workforce is simply amazing," Ms Death said.

"I simply cannot begin to try to find the appropriate words to express our grati-tude.

"Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, seems woefully inade-quate.

"I just hope every per-

son involved in this cam-paign knows how much of a difference they have made to morale, especially at a time when some of those supporting us have tremendous worries of their own."

Ms Death said please know, at the end of a long shift, in the tea rooms or at home, when our staff open their dinner pack, you have provided much more than just a meal.

Story by Lisa Tisdell Courtesy Port Macquarie News

Perioperative nurses Amanda Barnes and Kristin Matthews collect their family meals from Craig Freudenstein of XS Food and Josh Slade of Slade Refrigerated Transport.

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

Inside this edition

Meals consortium

thanks Wauchope

Page 2

COVID-19 update

for our District

Page 3

Rob’s new look is

a winner at CHHC

Page 4

The Westport Club

offers a helping hand

Page 4

KDH and Paul Dalley

deliver blooms for PMBH

Page 5

Frontline Needs Our

Help delivers snacks to

PMCHC, WDMH, PMBH

Page 6

Breakers AFL Club kicks

a goal for CHHC

Page 7

Bellingen’s cooperative

approach to groceries

Page 8

Locals stand with our

frontline workers

Pp 10 and 11

Easter bunny at KDH

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Special delivery: Craig Freudenstein of XS Food, Josh Slade of Slade Refrigerated Transport and Food Safety Audi-tor Jacqui Ward with some of the family meals deliv-ered to Wauchope District Memorial Hospital’s clinical staff. Dr Kostalas, RN Celia Cotton and Dr Lawrence with their family meals.

RN Sue Dennerley approaches Craig Freuden-stein, grateful for the act of kindness that deliv-ered more than 20 family meals to WDMH.

Hastings Co-op’s Tim Walker, Craig Freudenstein of XS Food, Food Safety Auditor Jacqui Ward and Josh Slade of Slade Refrigerated Transport with (back) RN Joy Barnes and Director of Nursing/Executive Officer Ann Bodill.

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

Total MNCLHD Confirmed Cases:

49 (as at 8pm, 13 April 2020)

Source of Infection

LGA Overseas or inter-

state

Locally acquired – contact not identified

Locally acquired – contact of a confirmed

case and/or in a known cluster

Total

Port Macquarie 24 3 27

Coffs Harbour 13 1 14

Kempsey 3 1 4

Nambucca 3 3

Bellingen 1 1

Total 44 4 1 49

Total Confirmed Cases across NSW

2,870

MNCLHD Cases as a percentage of NSW Cases

1.71%

Total Presentations to MNCLHD COVID-19 clinics

1,094

Total number of tests

performed across the

MNCLHD

3,304

Percentage of Tests

returning a

Positive Result:

1.48%

As part of its COVID-19

preparedness MNCLHD has

been managing

hospital occupancy across

the District.

Current occupancy rates:

Port Macquarie: 66%

Kempsey: 60%

Wauchope: 75%

Coffs Harbour: 61%

Macksville: 66%

Bellingen: 60%

Dorrigo: 85% (includes residential aged care beds)

Emergency Department

presentations have also

been gradually reducing by

approximately 100 each

day across the district. This

is enabling us to continue

preparation activity.

Mid North Coast Local Health District COVID-19 update - as at 13 April 2020

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

COVID-19 has changed the world, but it’s also changing the look of some of our staff.

The best advice from world health leaders is that men who work in health facilities should be clean shav-en.

The stubble, full beard, Verdi, Fu Manchu and goatee might be a win-ning look at home, but Health profes-sionals are warning facial hair could prove hazardous in the spread of coronavirus.

Coffs Harbour Health Campus’ Rob Manning, a team leader for the wards-men, wanted to set a positive example by making the ultimate sacrifice – losing his beard, so he can work on the frontline. He didn’t have to sacri-fice the moustache because the ‘horseshoe’ isn’t considered a risk.

Rob is pictured with Tim Jessop (on the right). Tim didn’t need to shave. He just wanted to be in the photo.

Rob’s new look a winner at work

The Westport Club has made a donation that, for most people, is regarded as price-less!

In the spirit of supporting the local commu-nity during these difficult times, the club has gifted about 700 precious rolls of toilet paper to Port Macquarie Base Hospital.

PMBH is extremely grateful for the gift and mindful of the circumstances in which it was donated. Our thoughts are with the club’s management and staff, as the club is current-ly in hibernation.

Pictured right is one of Westport Club’s staff members presenting some of the donat-ed rolls to MNCLHD Procurement Manager Fiona Patton.

Drum roll for Westport Club

Coffs Harbour Health Campus received beautiful handmade cards accompanied by paper flowers and lovely messages to staff from Coffs Christian College recently.

The cards were made by the school’s Year 2 students.

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

Kempsey District Hospi-tal has received plenty of support from the Macleay community during the COVID-19 crisis.

But Kempsey District Hospital’s staff also wanted to do something special for their colleagues at Port Macquarie Base, and so, on Easter Monday, they arranged for a beau-tiful bunch of proteas to be delivered to each ward, including Renal, Mental Health, Pharmacy, Pathol-ogy and ED Administra-tion.

The stunning flowers were accompanied by a note from KDH, which read:

Dear Port Macquarie Base Hospital staff,

Earlier this week at a Kempsey Health Campus site managers’ meetings, there was a suggestion and unanimous consensus that the staff at Kempsey would like to take a mo-ment to reach out and share our acknowledge-ment of the work you are all doing, particularly in the current COVID-19 Pan-demic.

On behalf of your peers at Kempsey Health Cam-pus, I would like to extend a thank you for your work and support to our local community and the HMCN.

Please enjoy the lovely fresh Proteas as a small token of our moral support from up the highway.

The proteas are from Paul Dalley at the Moun-tain Nursery in Kempsey.

Paul Dalley has been growing Australian native flowers since 1977, and has generously gifted the flowers as his token of appreciation for our front-line staff in Health.

Kind Regards, Jill Wong

Deputy Coordinator Hastings Macleay Clinical Network

Executive Officer Kempsey District Hospital

Hastings Macleay Clinical Network Deputy Coordinator and Executive Officer at Kempsey District Hospital Jill Wong and Alice Geary.

Beautiful blooms on their way to PMBH staff in a show of support from Mountain Nursery and Kempsey District Hospital.

KDH Acting NUM ED Bryce Lecciones, who arranged delivery of the proteas from KDH to PMBH staff, with Paul Dalley from Mountain Nursery, who generously donated the beautiful blooms.

KDH and Paul’s blooming beautiful gift to Base staff

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

Debbie Fowler, Sharon Fuller, Mark Cowdrey, Carl Cochrane, Tanyia Farrawell and Jason Gatt with some of the fruit and snacks delivered to PMBH staff by the online community group, Frontline Needs Our Help.

Jacqui Everingham from Port Macquarie Community Health accepts a thoughtful donation of apple juice from Hastings Co-op’s Tim Walker.

Registered Nurse Lucille Niddrie, who works between Ward 1C and AGEM, thanks the community for its support.

Port Macquarie Base Hospital midwives were pre-sented with chocolate Easter hampers recently thanks to Coastside Church.

Youth Pastor Kirsty Minturn made the special deliv-ery on behalf of the church and its project partner, Panthers Port Macquarie.

Mrs Minturn said the world was a “little bit strange at the moment, so we wanted to bring some sun-shine and love into your world this Easter”.

“We were able to get some Easter goodies togeth-er to share the special message of Easter—that you and your family are loved and not forgotten,” she said. Coastside Youth Pastor Kirsty Minturn presents midwife Jessie Bryans with a gift.

Easter treat for midwives

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

The Coffs Harbour Breakers’ AFL season may have been sus-pended due to COVID-19 but the team is still kicking goals.

Last month Club President Jay Guthrie arrived at Coffs Harbour Health Campus with 160 care packages for patients.

The packages each contain a toothbrush, toothpaste, a televi-sion voucher, three-pack of com-fy socks and some mints, as well as a pen, mouthwash, deodorant and a multi-puzzle activity book or a deck of playing cards.

The team also pulled together a collection of toys for the Paediat-ric Unit.

“This is the first initiative of the Coffs Breakers’ ‘Our Community, Our Responsibility’ program, and it’s timely in that these donations can support people who really need them in our current, uncer-tain times,” Mr Guthrie said.

“Ben Watson, our Project Lead-er, has done an amazing job stringing this all together and

giving up countless hours.

“We hope these packs make a difference to patients at Coffs

hospital and put a smile on someone’s face.”

Coffs Harbour Health Campus

Director of Nursing Carmen Mor-gan said she was delighted to accept the care packages on be-half of patients.

“This is such a thoughtful dona-tion,” Ms Morgan said.

“Some of our patients don’t expect to be in hospital, or come in at short notice, so it’s not al-ways possible to have a bag of necessities with them.

“We have had to limit visitors to the hospital, due to COVID-19, and wind back our volunteer services, so the timing of this donation is perfect.

“The team, and everyone who supported this initiative, are win-ners. Go Breakers!”

Assisting the Breakers with the donation were Clayton and For-ster Accountants, Good Boi BBQ, Sincock Mowing and Property Maintenance, Coles Moonee Beach, Pacific City Lions Club, Morrison's Betta and Absolute 4WD Accessories.

Our Community, Our Responsibility Project Leader Ben Watson and CHHC Director of Nursing Carmen Morgan with the 130 care packages donated by the Coffs Breakers AFL Club and its supporters.

Coffs Harbour Health Campus’ Paediatric Nurse Unit Manager Lisa Hammond and Customer Services Officer Campbell Forsyth with the box of toys, games and colouring in books for young pa-tients donated by the Coffs Breakers AFL Club.

Breakers AFL Club kicks a goal for CHHC

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

The Bellinger River Dis-trict Hospital team has come up with a novel idea to address difficulties some staff are experienc-ing in getting what they need from the supermar-ket.

A trading table has been established thanks to the problem-solving skills of community member Max-ine of Missing Fields Or-ganics.

Maxine thought the initiative was a great op-portunity to give back to frontline staff during the COVID-19 crisis.

A discussion took place at the hospital, where participants focused on how they felt physically

and mentally, and how that can affect relation-

ships with colleagues, patients and family.

“It was decided we needed to look after each

other in order to maintain the gold standard of care we all strive to give,” said Bellinger River District Hospital’s Nurse Manager Janelle Goodall.

“The idea of the trading table is for staff to trade or donate something we have for something we might need,” Ms Goodall said.

“We can, of course, just take something as well,” she said.

“We’ve even received a generous donation of eight rolls of toilet paper, which was the focus of quite a few conversations – a bit of laughter and goodwill in our current situation.”

Gwen Nyhan (left), Tessa Hollinsworth (seated) and Chantel Baker (right) with some of the goodies on Bellingen Health Campus’ trading table.

Bellingen’s cooperative approach to grocery needs

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

PMBH’s Mark Cowdrey, Randal James and Glenn Jhon-son with some of the healthy snacks donated by Hastings Co-op and the Wauchope CWA through the online com-munity group Frontline Needs Our Help.

Staff at Port Macquarie Commu-nity Health Centre enjoyed healthy snacks thanks to the kindness of Frontline Needs Our Help supporters. Pictured are Sheri-dan O’Brien and Anthia Castelletto.

Midwives Jordan Harper and Brooke Butler (left) with a specially baked gift from the Wauchope CWA ladies. The baked goodies were part of a large drop-off at Port Macquarie Base Hospital courtesy of Frontline Needs Our Help and its supporters.

Rebecca Stockwell, from Frontline Needs Our Help, and Hastings Co-op’s Tim Walker with General Ward, Rehabilitation and Urgent Care Centre Nurse Unit Man-ager Kate Williams, Ward Clerk Deslene Anderson and Nurse Gwyneth Trigg, and the donated goodies for Wauchope District Memorial Hospital staff.

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

The Mid North Coast Local Health District has implemented a number of strategies to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading throughout our communi-ty.

The most obvious has been the establishment of the COVID-19 Clinics at Coffs Harbour Health Cam-pus, Port Macquarie Base Hospital and Kempsey Health Campus.

Other measures adopt-ed by the Local Health District include the social media campaign, Stay at Home, aimed at encourag-ing Mid North Coast resi-dents to stay at home to reduce the risk of locally acquired transmission.

The posts, featuring LHD staff holding signs that read ‘I stay at work for you. Please stay at home for me’, have been shared several hundred times in the communities of Bellingen, Macksville, Coffs Harbour and the Hastings.

They also are attracting a mountain of positive comments from the pub-lic.

Here’s just a small ex-ample of the support being shown to our staff:

Coffs Harbour

Derek Bray Can't thank you all enough. Staying home as much as I can to keep you all safe. We need to promise never to forget what you do every day.

Kelly JA Thank you love-ly people for looking after

my grandfather 95 and for offering my grandmother (almost 90yrs) dinner to-night so she could sit with him while he’s having to stay in hospital. Warms my heart.

Knowing I can’t come and help them (I’m Regis-tered nurse in QLD) during this really difficult time.

Nili Ross We are staying home for you as well as for us.

Thank you for your work.

Robyn Sim Absolute heros!!! We'd be lost without you.

Continued next page

Hundreds of locals share Stay at Home campaign

Bellinger River District Hospital—Admin

Bellinger River District Hospital

Wauchope District Memorial Hospital

Coffs Harbour Health Campus

Macksville District Hospital

Bellinger River District Hospital

Bellinger River District Hospital

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

From previous page

Bellingen

Libby Kartzoff Acknowledging your daily courage and commitment. In putting yourselves on the front line, you put your families out there too.

Only your children, and those of teach-ers, are still catching buses to school...and my partner is one of the drivers who proudly takes them. May we all stay safe.

Diana Christian Very special people at Bellingen Hospital thank you and stay safe.

Margot Pleasant You are all wonderful. Keep safe xxx

Vanessa Garrett There’s some pretty special people there ♥️ please listen and #stayathome. Xxx

Jennifer Geraghty Take care everyone stay safe

Jody Newhouse Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Maryanne Paton Thank you and so grateful.

Screening of patients and their carers also continues to take place at every facil-ity, including the Mid North Coast Cancer Institute’s Port Macquarie and Coffs Har-bour campuses.

Coffs Cancer Services’ Office and Busi-ness Manager Glenn Paulus said the MNCCI’s patients and their carers had been “very understanding and apprecia-tive” of the new measures to keep pa-tients and staff healthy.

“While I was assisting with screening, an elderly patient and his son ar-rived. The patient was to have all day chemotherapy and his son had packed lunch to stay with his dad all day,” Mr Paulus said.

“Both understood what and why we were doing this. The son was great and happily drove off and picked his dad up [in the] afternoon.”

Macksville District Hospital—Administration

Coffs Harbour Health Campus—General Volunteers

Bellinger River District Hospital

Macksville District Hospital—General Floor

Hundreds of locals join effort to reduce risk

Macksville District Hospital—ED

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

Youngsters from St Paul’s College in Kempsey donated an Easter hamper, full of yum-my chocolate eggs, to the hos-pital’s frontline workers.

The gift was received with an enormous amount of gratitude and generated plenty of smiles among staff members.

Each year during the lead up to Easter, St Paul’s College Kempsey put the callout to the wider College Community for donations toward their Easter

hamper raffles – an annual fundraiser coordinated by the College Parents & Friends As-sociation.

With the current pandemic affecting the onsite College population, St Paul’s made the decision to cancel the raffles this year and instead gift the prizes to staff at Kempsey District Hospital as way of saying thanks and to spread a little joy during this difficult time.

St Paul’s College Principal Kevin Lewis, on behalf of Stu-dents, Teachers and the entire College Community, wished all at Kempsey District Hospital a Happy Easter and thank you for the hard work and dedica-tion to serving the health needs of the people of the Macleay.

KDH management topped up the hamper to ensure all front-line staff received a gift for Easter.

St Paul’s College shares Easter goodwill

Everyone’s Number 1 Helper, including the Easter Bunny’s, DON Secretary Jenny Clarke, delivers chocolate eggs to CNS2 Moriah Res-urreccion, RN Katie Bettles and COU RN Ashley Haines.

‘Eggscellent’ gift for ‘eggsceptional’ people: Medical Imaging staff Tom Madden, Tim Crowley, Sara Gambaro and Katie Hughes.

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

Josh Slade of Slade Refrigerated Transport delivers donated meals to Wauchope District Memorial Hospital on 9 April, the third to the hospital since the initiative started on 2 April.

Josh Slade of Slade Refrigerated Transport delivers more than 80 meals to Port Mac-quarie Base Hospital on 14 April, as part of a local consortium of business people working together to provide meals, and a morale booster, to local healthcare workers. Josh is pictured above with PMBH’s Deputy Director of Nursing Sharon Gouck, Hastings Macleay Clinical Network Coordinator and PMBH General Manager Catharine Death, and PMBH Director of Nursing Penny Pink. Pictured left is Josh Slade receiving a helping hand from Patient Flow Nurse Manager Sandy Lee to unpack the donated family meals. The initiative has received the support of local businesses XS Food, Ken Little’s Fruit and Vegetables, Hokubee Australia, Hastings Co-op IGA, Morgans Financial Advisors (Financial planners Michael Sheridan and Greg Harris pictured below), Food Safety Auditor Jacqui Ward, and Wauchope Rotary Club.

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020

It’s flu season: Encouraging their colleagues to get the jab are MNCCI staff Joanne Wood-lands, Elizabeth Eggert, Euenita Dungay, Natalie Mikkelsen, Ellen Deeks and Tricia Bourke.

The call for Expressions of Interest for the Career Break Scheme is now open and will close on the 15 May 2020.

The career break scheme is for permanent

full- or part-time nurses or midwives of the health service.

It is not available to temporary or casual em-ployees with NSW Health.

The Career Break Scheme enables employ-ees to defer 20 per cent of their wage for four years and on the fifth year the employee may then take a paid break of one year

away from their position.

Please refer to the HealthShare website for further information on the application process.

Information can also be

located in the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award. Visit https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/careers/conditions/Awards/nurses.pdf

Calling for Expressions of Interest: Nurses and Midwives Career Break Scheme

The Mid North Coast Local Health Dis-trict is conducting staff flu vaccination clinics across its sites.

Clinics are operational at Coffs Harbour Health Campus, Kempsey District Hospital and Port Macquarie Base Hospital.

Flu vaccinations have also been availa-ble to staff at Wauchope District Memori-al Hospital.

Additional clinics are being planned for Port Macquarie Community Health Cen-tre, Coffs Harbour Community Health, Dorrigo Multi Purpose Service, Bellinger River District Hospital and Macksville District Hospital from mid- to late-April with dates to be distributed to staff via email.

To date there has been significant up-take of the flu vaccination.

All employees are reminded that the flu vaccination is mandatory for staff who are classified as Category A – High Risk under NSW Ministry of Health PD2018-009.

Flu clinics ready to see you

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THE PULSE - MID-APRIL 2020