Category: Community

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Humanity, Technology and Health Frontiers will be the focus of the Summit, with the program covering topics such as genomics, robotics, 5G technology, private/public partnerships and artificial intelligence.

The GFCC is a global multi-stakeholder organisation represented in more than 30 nations. It promotes innovation, productivity and mutual learning between countries as a way of supporting the ongoing success of a range of sectors, including health.

Noteworthy leaders in the GFCC network Charles Holliday Jr. (Chairman, GFCC and Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, plc.), Mehmood Kahn (Chairman, U.S. Council on Competitiveness and CEO, Life Biosciences) and Deborah Wince-Smith (President, GFCC and President and CEO, U.S. Council on Competitiveness) will travel to Australia to attend the Summit.

The Morrison Government has committed $300,000 to support the delivery of the Summit.

The Summit will allow Australia to create new partnership opportunities and work with other global leaders to develop innovative health solutions to current and future problems.

Health and innovation are key priorities for the Government, including the recent commitment of $5 billion through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to support breakthrough medical research into new frontiers of science.

Areas of focus include the transformative platforms of stem cell research and genomics, being able to diagnose, treat, and help people recover with genuine precision medicine.

The Summit agenda will address Australia’s future competitiveness with discussions on navigating the Australian context and opportunities for collaboration between countries.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ms Trimmer grew up in Sydney and studied law and arts majoring in English at the Australia National University.

Trimmer stayed in Canberra after completing university and joined leading local firm Macphillamy Cummins & Gibson to practice commercial law, then went onto work at Deacons Graham & James (now Norton Rose Fulbright), before finally finishing her legal career as a commercial partner at Minter Ellison, practicing in both Canberra and Sydney.

Trimmer had her first insight into the workings of government when departments started outsourcing legal services in the late 1990s and she worked on a wide range of matters, including the contracts for the new Australian passport.

It was a high-profile role because it came at an interesting juncture for the legal profession. The practice of law was undergoing significant structural change, with many national mergers of firms; technology changing the way legal services were delivered; and women outnumbering men among graduates going into the profession but still not breaking through into partner ranks to any great degree.

Trimmer says that as president of the Law Council she learned about listening to differing and sometimes conflicting views, negotiating outcomes, and the art of compromise. “I learned that acting in a respectful way around a board table or a council table is hugely beneficial, and you take that into all other aspects of your life. Respectful relationships sometimes get overlooked but are really critical to successful organisations,” she says.

Trimmer also came to understand the political process, the effectiveness of well-directed advocacy, and the need to work with all parties in parliament, as well as with the bureaucracy.

Before she joined the AMA, Trimmer had her first taste of an executive role as CEO of the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA). She learned more about recruiting the right people, managing them, and letting them grow in their roles. She also gained insight into how to report to a board and importantly how to provide information and guidance from the executive to the board because as an executive she was much closer to the business and where it was heading.

When she was headhunted to join the AMA in 2013, Trimmer saw an opportunity to employ her developing advocacy skills. “I was attracted by the AMA’s advocacy influence and by the complexity of the policy issues it addresses. Health policy is probably the most challenging area of public policy because of the interweaving of so many players – public and private, federal and state, funders, providers, consumers, and of course the healthcare professionals,” she says.

Effective advocacy starts with understanding the structure of the parliamentary process and the political decision-making process. “It’s a completely different set of dynamics, engaging at the political level. Often, people approach political influencing or political advocacy assuming that it’s the minister who is the one that is going to make the decision but, in fact, it’s so multifaceted,” Trimmer says. “Yes, you need to work with the policy minister, but you also need to work with their staff. You need to work with their department. You need to work with committees. You really need to spread your web very wide.”

It is also important to work with both sides of parliament and increasingly with crossbench MPs and senators. “There is now a multitude of small parties that sit in the Senate. Their members all sit on Senate committees, which can be quite influential in particular areas of policy, and obviously they can be a blocker to government legislation that’s coming from the [Lower] House,” Trimmer says.

Ms Trimmer was joined on the honours list by RACS and AOA’s past president Mr John Batten for his significant service to orthopaedic medicines and to professional bodies.

Biography information for this article was sourced from the Australian Institute of Company Directors .[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The medium-term health effects of the recent bushfires will be studied under two major research streams commissioned by the Government.

The Government will provide $5 million in total from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) under an open and competitive grant round.

• $3 million for research into the physiological impacts of prolonged bushfire smoke exposure.
• $2 million for research into the mental health impacts of bushfires on affected communities.

This research will collect information on the biological, psychological and behavioural impacts of prolonged exposure to bushfire smoke.

The data and evidence gathered will help to understand the lived experiences and coping strategies of people and communities heavily affected by bushfires.

Measures undertaken to reduce exposure to smoke and the effectiveness of the exposure reduction methods will also be studied.

Outcomes of this research will support the development of individual and community resilience strategies into bush fire preparedness planning.

It will also inform policies for preparing and responding to future bushfire events.

The mental health research funding will support long term tracking of individuals, communities, and in particular emergency service personal who have been in the fire effected areas.

This announcement follows the Government’s comprehensive $76 million mental health support package for those impacted by the current bushfire disaster.

The grant round will open Friday, 17 January 2020 and closes Friday, 31 January 2020.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]At Edwards Lifesciences, we believe that through our actions we will become trusted partners with customers, colleagues, and patients – creating a community unified in its mission to improve the quality of life around the world.

To help facilitate the event we were pleased to welcome both our Federal Member of Parliament, John Alexander OAM, MP and NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Health, the Hon Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLC.

Since its inception, the Foundation has gifted more than $87 million to non-profit organizations across the globe. The focus is on supporting underserved heart valve and critically ill patients, as well as strengthening the communities in which Edwards employees live and work.

This year the Foundation awarded over $14 million to charities in over 40 countries. Originally estimated to reach 1 million underserved people by 2020, the Every Heartbeat Matters community exceeded the goal early, and, in September 2018, raised it to 1.5 million people.

First time recipient of funding from the Foundation, Red Dust, an Indigenous organization that believes good health is the key to a bright future and that health outcomes can only be made possible through a two-way exchange with communities.

CEO of Red Dust, Scott Stirling said:

“We thank and welcome the Edwards Foundation for our work to enrich lives, improve health and strengthen the future of Indigenous youth and families. The funding will allow us to work in partnership with Edwards and with remote communities to improve health knowledges through our Healthy Living Program, especially around rheumatic heart disease.”

HeartKids, the only charity funding vital research and providing family support to the eight babies born every day with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) was the recipient of almost $11,000 from the Every Heartbeat Matter grant. Currently, over half of all beds in paediatric intensive care are filled with these babies and CHD is the biggest killer of babies in Australia, sadly four lives are lost every week.

Director of HeartKids, Jayne Blake said:

“The Edwards Lifesciences Foundation have been enormously generous supporters of HeartKids for many years, in the form of donations, grants and support of HeartKids campaigns and events.

“This grant will be used towards the national CHD Registry that is being developed, to generate the knowledge needed to better understand the true burden of the disease.”

Member for Bennelong, John Alexander OAM, MP said:

“We’re very lucky in Bennelong to have companies like Edwards Lifesciences who are so keen to make generous contributions to the community. The organisations we saw last week represent some of the best causes in Australia, and it is wonderful to see them supported in this way.”

Managing Director of Edwards Lifesciences ANZ, Pat Williams said:

“Our commitment to charitable giving and participation in philanthropic causes is one of the defining elements of our culture. We feel fortunate to be able to support many health- and community-focused programs through grants to non-profit organizations from the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation. Locally we’re proud that 97% of our employees undertook volunteering activities in our communities this year with an aspiration of 100% participation each year.”

Highlights from the charities include:

• National Heart Foundation of Australia – the funds will go toward rolling out its new online screening capacity to help improve patient pathways to treatment.
• Pancare Foundation – expand its Patient Support Days to patients and their carers who are newly diagnosed, going through treatment or just post treatment so they are receiving the very best care and information at the early stage of their diagnosis.
• Ronald McDonald House, Western Sydney – open 365 days of the year it allows families to remain connected, and parents/carers can better communicate with their child’s medical specialists. Families form relationships with other parents going through similar experiences with staff and volunteers providing invaluable personal support throughout their stay.
• The Exodus Foundation – the funds will help towards preparing up to 800 healthy and nutritious meals for Sydney’s homeless and marginalised every day of the year and this will increase to 2000 on Christmas Day.
• Wairoa School – to replace the current person hoist in the school’s hydrotherapy pool area to enable students and community members who have physical disabilities to enter the pool in a safe and dignified manner.
• Youth Off The Streets – the funds will go towards the National Scholarship Program to provide financial and practical support to one of 22 disadvantaged students lacking support networks and resources to fulfill their potential.
• Auckland City Mission – the funds will go towards the Calder Health Centre to bring health care services to some of the most marginalised Aucklanders, many of whom have extremely high and complex health needs.
• Friends of Fiji Heart Foundation – carries out its annual mission with a team of approximately 70 to 90 medical professional who volunteers their time from New Zealand and abroad to provide free open-heart surgery to poor and needy individuals of Fiji.
• Open Heart International – As a result of a 25-year investment, there are now PNG surgeons and anaesthetists who are able to provide some independent cardiac surgery. The funds will go towards helping with a new 5-year phase to expand the scope of capacity to include congenital, coronary grafting, and valve replacement surgery, as well as interventional cardiology.
• Red Dust – the funds will go towards promoting rheumatic heart disease awareness and screening in 5 remote communities over 1 year. The community-as-family model of programming engages Aboriginal youth and families and is developed and delivered in partnership with local elders and community organisations, ensuring cultural authenticity, complementarity with existing services and opportunities for local training and employment.

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