imPossible: The Alfred Foundation Newsletter Autumn 2021

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1983: Alfred medical team establishes mobile field hospital for Ash Wednesday victims.

150 Years

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Victorians A hospital for all Victorians

Emerging biobank research

COVID vaccination rolls out

Celebrating 150 years at The Alfred

Three cancer projects underway

Staff roll up their sleeves

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Director’s Report As 2021 forges ahead, I continue to be in awe of the generosity and thoughtfulness demonstrated by you – our supporters. It has been an incredibly busy start to the year with our staff continuing to meet day-to-day demands while playing a vital role in Victoria’s quarantine accommodation program and the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine.

At the time of writing, Alfred Health staff have administered 16,000 vaccinations across our sites, including the hotel quarantine program, for groups 1a and 1b.

As the first vaccination against a coronavirus, this has been a huge scientific effort demonstrating a truly global achievement of helping to make the impossible possible.

This year, our 150th, we look back at some of the incredible moments over those 150 years, the pioneering achievements and significant historical moments that have helped shape The Alfred into the leading healthcare provider it is today.

Warmest Regards, Patrick Baker

Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to hearing from you throughout our 150th year.

New blood disorder consumer program launches Thanks to support from the Bell Charitable Fund, The Alfred Foundation will help fund a 12-month pilot study of a Consumer Engagement Program run by Monash University’s Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD), located within The Alfred clinical precinct.

The program aims to connect dedicated researchers at the ACBD with members of the community who have experienced a blood disorder or cancer, either as a patient or carer.

Consumers will be partnered with researchers or a research group, bringing their valuable lived experiences to the team and contributing to a shared goal of turning new discoveries into better patient outcomes.

Consumer participant Ken Young said partnering with a research laboratory at the ACBD had allowed him to provide a unique and valued perspective on the research being performed. “As part of this team, I am contributing to improving outcomes for blood diseases like my own.”

For more information or to submit an expression of interest, please visit: monash.edu/medicine/ccs/ blood-disease/communityengagement/

Photo: Consumer participant Ken, chats with PhD student Charlene Lam.

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150 Years

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Victorians This year marks 150 years since The Alfred started caring for the people of Victoria.

From the beginning The Alfred has had to forge a path through tremendous challenges, always fighting with sheer grit and determination to achieve the best outcomes for patients. It is an attitude which has seen it become a pioneering hospital and a global leader in many fields. Most importantly it is an attitude which often sees patients surviving against seemingly insurmountable odds.

The Alfred is where the sickest of the sick come, the most complex cases that others can’t solve. It’s where the rubber truly hits the road of medical ingenuity.

The Alfred is not just a Victorian hospital, it is the hospital for all Victorians. We have stood shoulderto-shoulder with Victorians when facing the biggest challenges in our collective history. From the beginning The Alfred was front and centre during crises; from as early as 1888 when the typhoid epidemic hit Melbourne and The Alfred created typhoid camps which remained until 1892. In 1918 the Spanish influenza struck and again The Alfred built pavilions to treat the vast numbers of the sick.

In more recent history The Alfred’s internationally renowned expertise in trauma, burns and intensive

care has been front and centre in history defining moments, treating some of the most critical patients in events such as the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983, Longford gas explosion in 1998, Bali bombings in 2002, Monash University shootings in 2002, Arthur’s Seat chairlift collapse in 2003, Kerang train disaster in 2007, Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, Thunderstorm Asthma in 2016, Bourke Street Mall attack in 2017, White Island Volcano eruption in 2019 and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

These are moments in history that for many Victorians and indeed Australians are indelibly imprinted in our memories. As a community, we were personally impacted or knew people who were. We remember where we were when we heard the news and the days that followed waiting, holding our breath, for more news about those who perished and those miracles of survival.

The Alfred is where the sickest of the sick come, the most complex cases that others can’t solve. It’s where the rubber truly hits the road of medical ingenuity.

staff. For 150 years we have been here, boldly pushing boundaries and passionately caring for the community, treating the sickest of the sick, pioneering research and treatments, always fighting and always holding on to hope.

If you would like to share your Alfred story, email us at stories@alfred.org.au

We remember the news readers chronicling the events and telling us there was hope, that the most critically ill had been ‘airlifted to The Alfred’.

These are the heroic moments the community recall of The Alfred, and they are indeed moments where we are incredibly proud to have been able to serve the Victorian community.

These moments however are simply a reflection of the everyday for our

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Photos: (Top) The Alfred opens in 1871.

(Bottom) A 2002 Bali bombing survivor receives treatment at The Alfred's ICU.

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Six projects underway at The Alfred Cancer Biobank Through a substantial commitment from The James Foster Foundation in 2019, The Alfred’s Oncology Department has established The Alfred Cancer Biobank (ACB) with the first collection taking place in February 2020 and six major projects currently underway.

The ACB’s vision is to link patient care with cancer research. When cancer patients are recruited and their samples donated, the Biobank stores, processes and distributes the samples to researchers and clinicians to support their projects and address important questions in cancer research.

The first exciting project the ACB is supporting is the lung cancer liquid biopsy project, led by one of our most experienced Oncologists at The Alfred, Dr Maggie Moore.

Partnering with a biotech company, the team is investigating the replacement of tissue biopsies in lung cancer patients with a less dangerous and invasive procedure – a liquid biopsy, also known as the common blood test.

A second project led by Director of Oncology at The Alfred, Professor Mark Shackleton, focuses on the deadliest type of breast cancer to test if new technologies developed over recent years can benefit the care of these patients.

These technologies include the development of organoids, or mini tumours, in a dish, and the analysis of many different molecules produced by the patient tumour.

Another project led by another talented Oncologist at The Alfred, Dr Miles Andrews, is the Immunotherapy ‘TRIP’ Project.

Immunotherapy essentially uses the patient’s immune system to attack and destroy the cancer.

Although a promising approach, it unfortunately causes such severe side effects in some patients they have to cease treatment. This is a very challenging problem, and one that Dr Andrews is hoping to discover why it happens, and ways to overcome it.

Looking ahead, the ACB is hoping to expand its capacity to support larger scale projects, such as cancer registries and clinical trials, while potentially establishing educational programs targeting patients and the public.

The ACB is also planning to offer internship opportunities for junior scientists to be trained in the science of biobanking and will leverage partnerships with other institutions to exchange sophisticated clinical data, ultimately improving research outcomes.

Many effective drug therapies for different cancers are only in use today because specific genetic abnormalities were initially discovered from tissue samples obtained from patients and stored in Biobanks, sometimes more than 20 years ago.

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We are incredibly grateful to the late Iris Foster who established the James Foster Foundation in honour of her husband, James Foster. James was a passionate ophthalmologist and researcher at The Alfred for around 20 years, running the ophthalmology outpatient clinic and becoming the first president of the Royal College of Ophthalmology in Australia, founded in 1969. Unfortunately, James passed away from bowel cancer related complications, however his legacy will continue through the powerful impact the Alfred Cancer Biobank will have on cancer research for decades to come.

Photos: (Top) James during his time as Honorary Ophthalmic Surgeon during the 1950s. (Right) Iris and James Foster.

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Suzy’s lifetime of appreciation

We are continually in awe of the generosity and kindness demonstrated by people who choose to support The Alfred by leaving a gift in their Will. Suzy made this very generous decision following the care and compassion she witnessed when both of her parents, and one of her children, were cared for by The Alfred at various stages.

“I felt inspired by the wonderful, amazing and brilliant work that the hospital provided – not only to my family, but to everyone who attended the hospital.

The Alfred saved my father’s life in the 1980’s when he had open heart surgery and it allowed him to live for another 20+ years until he passed away in 2000.”

Despite needing iron and blood transfusions, and a series of tests, Marcelle was able to attend the wedding if she promised to be back at the hospital by 9pm.

Suzy’s mother Marcelle, suffered heart complications and had a long association with The Alfred, first attending in her 60s and passing away at 97. Suzy recalls how much her mother appreciated the dignity and respect all of her doctors and nurses treated her with, even compromising in allowing her to attend her granddaughter’s wedding while in the care of The Alfred.

“Well, not my mother,” says Suzy.

“She stayed until the bride and groom left! The nurses greeted her with open arms and mum said ‘Look, I’ve brought you cake and chocolates and lollies’ then she was just so happy to sit and talk to the staff about the wedding for hours.”

“Whenever my mother was sick and had to go to hospital, she always managed to do it late on a Thursday night. On this occasion, the first thing she told the doctor was “I have to be discharged tomorrow, because my granddaughter is getting married.”

It is evident Suzy comes from a long line of caring people who she says instilled in her the importance of giving back. She volunteers 20 hours a week delivering kosher meals on wheels, occasionally taking her grandchildren with her to deliver meals.

“It’s really important for them to understand the meaning of giving to charity.”

I felt inspired by the wonderful, amazing and brilliant work that the hospital provided – not only to my family, but to everyone who attended the hospital.

Suzy herself has been a patient at The Alfred over the last three years, after she suffered a fall and broke her arm in several places. She has surgery scheduled for later this year following ongoing pain, “they never gave up on me,” Suzy says gratefully.

For more information about including a gift to The Alfred in your Will, please get in touch with Sue on 03 9076 3222, email foundation@ alfred.org.au or visit our website.­

Photo: Suzy with her mother and father, Marcelle and Ivan.

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Cutting edge analyser to help understand disease and chronic conditions Through the generosity of the Joe White Bequest, Ian Potter Foundation, The Collier Charitable Fund, The Alfred Research Alliance, The Australian Communities Foundation Hardman Family Fund, The NRC Fund at Australian Philanthropic Services Foundation as well as our dedicated community of supporters, The Alfred was able to recently purchase an Aurora Spectral Analyzer.

The Aurora is an innovative piece of equipment that uses spectral analysis to understand cell populations and sub-populations in blood. Spectral analysis is a transformational approach of collecting and analysing high quality cell data from the more common process known as flow cytometry. The Aurora allows a much larger number of parameters to be collected off a single blood sample than ever before, a process that is virtually impossible on conventional machines.

The Aurora will be used to support studies at The Alfred into how the immune system is regulated; including what triggers and brakes may affect it. This information will help us to understand diseases, intervene in their development and to develop immune-based therapies that stop or reverse otherwise chronic clinical conditions.

The Aurora will first be used at The Alfred to develop predictors and inhibitors of adverse immune

responses that can occur in asthma and allergy, which can be lethal in severe forms. It will also be used to characterise the changes in white blood cell populations linked to lung transplant graft rejection, and identify patient groups who will benefit from existing, specific immune-based therapies.

These projects will span across departments at The Alfred including immunology, pathology, and paediatric lung transplantation.

Given the dynamic nature of data from the Aurora, there will be many other uses, ranging from analysis of Multiple Myeloma patients after rounds of conventional and experimental therapies, patients receiving immunotherapy, and functions throughout parasitology, cardiology, gastroenterology and the microbiome.

The Aurora will provide critical insights that will benefit the patients we care for in almost all clinical disciplines.

Director of Research at The Alfred, Professor Stephen Jane said this would keep our clinicians and researchers at the cutting edge of cellular biology.

As Director of Research at The Alfred, Professor Stephen Jane is responsible for the strategic direction and governance of research at Alfred Health.

As an experienced haematologist, Stephen has a strong interest in translational research and, through his role, was a key player in Alfred Health's efforts in establishing an Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC).

The goal of the AHSC is to help foster the links that bring the basic and translational science of Monash into the clinical research sphere of The Alfred, in order to benefit patients as quickly as possible.

“The Aurora will provide critical insights that will benefit the patients we care for in almost all clinical disciplines,” Prof Jane said.

Photo: Director of Research, Professor Stephen Jane.

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COVID-19 vaccine program begins

Alfred Health staff eagerly rolled up their sleeves in February as the health service commenced vaccinating staff against COVID-19.

Key workers from Alfred Health’s pharmacy and nursing teams were among the first in the state to be vaccinated. These specially trained teams also vaccinated staff working within hotels, commencing with the health hotel, followed by the complex care hotel, then the quarantine hotels.

The highly complex roll out has been designed to ensure staff who have the highest risk of contracting COVID-19 are vaccinated first.

Alfred Health Chief Executive, Professor Andrew Way, said the vaccine was highly anticipated among staff and would offer them an unprecedented level of protection against COVID-19.

“The vaccine is an incredible scientific achievement, and one that is sure to give healthcare workers greater confidence as they go about their work in the days and months ahead,” Professor Way said.

“Throughout the pandemic, our staff have continued to support our community – in our hospitals, our clinics, and our screening centres. They’ve also supported aged care and continue to play a vital role in Victoria’s quarantine accommodation program.”

The Alfred pharmacy team received the first shipment of the Pfizer/ BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to their ultra-cold freezer on Sunday, February 21. By Monday, the team began working on preparing the syringes for nurses to administer – a role the specialised teams will perform on site in the quarantine hotels.

The Alfred is incredibly proud of the effort across our operations, nursing, pharmacy, medical and IDD teams which has been enormous on top of already very busy workloads.

We’re really happy to be involved with the vaccine program, and to assist in protecting our key frontline workers with the best defence we have against COVID-19.

“We’re really happy to be involved with the vaccine program, and to assist in protecting our workers with the best defence we have against COVID-19,” Professor Dooley said.

Director of Pharmacy, Professor Michael Dooley, said his team worked around the clock to prepare for the arrival of the precious vaccine.

Photo: Quarantine hotel worker Divine receives her COVID Vaccination.

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Our community making the impossible possible...

Fundraisers support myeloma research In 2019, Sam’s sister-in-law Kiri was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer. After some time in the ICU, Kiri continued to receive treatment at The Alfred and we are pleased to share she is now doing well.

We are so very grateful to Sam who took it on herself to start a fundraiser, shaving her head to support Myeloma Research at The Alfred and raising more than $2,000 in the process. We are forever inspired by our big-hearted community fundraisers who step up in times of challenge and adversity to choose empowerment and give back.

A huge thanks to Sam and Kiri.

Bill Tingate Foundation

In-loving-memory

On 12 December 2020, the Bill Tingate Brain Cancer Foundation held its first BBQ for Brain Cancer fundraiser at the Queen Victoria Market (QVM) in Melbourne. The Foundation was very pleased to raise over $1,000 and would like to thank the many supporters of the event including QVM and its visitors, the market meat producer who provided the sausages and Bakers Delight for donating the bread. The funds raised at the BBQ are helping the Bill Tingate Foundation reach their current $25,000 fundraising target. Once reached, funds will be donated to The Alfred Foundation to support the Neurosurgery Department at the hospital. Visit the website to find out more: billtingatecharity.org.au

The Alfred is blessed each year to have many families choose to have donations directed to various departments within the hospital, in-lieu of receiving flowers when a loved one has passed on. We are forever grateful for the consideration of giving back during such difficult times of illness, loss and grief.

Just one beautiful in-memory campaign we saw last year was for Walter Perumal, a highly respected and well-loved member of the community.

Thanks to the generosity of Walter and his friends and family, more than $5,000 was raised to support the work of cancer services at The Alfred.

Are you interested in creating your own fundraiser?

The Alfred Foundation PO Box 2021, Prahran VIC 3181 T: 1800 888 878 alwaysalfred.org.au

Organising your own fundraiser is a great way to take action and support The Alfred. You could take on your own unique physical challenge or ask your friends and family to give to The Alfred in lieu of gifts. You could also create a tribute page to celebrate the life of a loved one.

Head to fundraising.alfredfoundation.org.au and create your own page today.