Connect March 2022
A message from Michelle McKay This is our first edition of Connect for 2022, so I should say Happy New Year and I hope that you all enjoyed the Christmas break and school holidays. Given the Omicron wave at the start of the year, Christmas seems a long time ago! March is always an exciting time of year in Adelaide, but this year we are particularly thankful to welcome the return of filled stadiums at major sporting events, live music at WOMADelaide, and the arrival of world-class shows to the Adelaide Fringe. Just like our beautiful city, Adelaide PHN has kicked off the year with a flurry of activity. We’ve commissioned new services, designed a new brochure highlighting our excellent alcohol and other drugs treatment services (coming soon), created new COVID-19 health pathways to guide clinicians, and distributed over 17,500 masks to support the personal protective equipment needs of general practice and pharmacy. As an organisation, we’ve continued to adapt to the evolving COVID landscape. Our staff have been flexible to adopt a blended model of working from home and office, depending on individual needs,
isolation directions and business requirements. Our flexibility has shown our organisation’s resilience. In this special March edition of Connect, we provide a commissioning update, talk to our Connect survey results, introduce our resilient COVID-19 Response Team, cover the upcoming 2022 influenza season and our continued role in the South Australian response to COVID-19. We’re excited to soon release our “Report Cards” – our way of sharing with you the impact our work (and that of our commissioned service providers) is having on our communities, how we are achieving against the National Performance and Quality Framework and the outcomes of our activities. In 2022, I look forward to continue working with our wonderful staff, Board, advisory groups, and the primary care community to pursue our united focus of moving towards a healthier Adelaide. Enjoy the last of the long evenings, stay safe and keep healthy! Michelle McKay | CEO
3
