March 2022 The QAAMS Quarterly

The

MARCH 2022

QAAMS QUARTERLY The latest news from the QAAMS Management Team

WHAT THIS ISSUE CONTAINS: 2022 QAAMS Workshop Update - 1 2021 Certificates of Excellence - 2 Introducing New QAAMS Staff- 3 Farewell Narelle and Evelyn - 4 Quality Testing Reminder - 4 World Kidney Day - 5

National Close the Gap Day - 5 Word Search Time -6

QAAMS WORKSHOP UPDATE Registration for the 2022 QAAMS Training workshop is now open!

The workshop will be held on Tuesday the 21st and Wednesday the 22nd of June at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

The workshop program will include full training for people undertaking competency certification. In addition there will be opportunities for education about diabetes care and interactive group sessions. A dinner will be held at Adelaide Pavilion on Tuesday the 21st of June for all workshop participants.

For any queries, please contact the QAAMS team at QAAMS@flinders.edu.au or call 08 8201 7555.

To register, visit QAAMS.org.au Due to COVID-19, QAAMS Workshop attendees travelling to SA will be required to follow the current SA border restrictions as per the SA Health website (https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au).

In addition, the Adelaide Convention Centre is a fully vaccinated venue. From 23rd November 2021, all persons aged 16+ entering the venue will need to show their COVID-19 Digital Certificate on their smart device OR provide personal photo identification and printed immunisation certificate. Any person with an official medical exemption will need to provide proof of a negative COVID test result for the 72 hour period prior to seeking entry, and full exemption details.

CERTIFICATES OF EXCELLENCE 2021 The Certificates of Excellence for 2021 were circulated in February 2022, to all the services listed below, in recognition of sustained high standard of performance in quality testing in the QAAMS Program for that year. This is on par with the number of awards given in 2020, showcasing a fantastic effort by all during a challenging year. We thank you all for your continued support and excellence in the quality testing you conduct.

NSW

Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service 4219 Awabakal Raymond Terrace 11647 Bulgarr Ngaru South Grafton 4172 Durri Aboriginal Medical Services 4078 Greater Western Aboriginal Health 11552 Illawarra Aboriginal Medical Service 4156 Katungul Batemans Bay 11424 Katungul Narooma 4084 Orange Aboriginal Medical Service 10384 South Coast Womens Health and Welfare Aboriginal Corporation 11130

WA

Great Southern Aboriginal Health Service Albany 4025 Moorditj Koort Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre 10241 PAMS Jigalong 4047 South West Aboriginal Medical Service 4164 & 10841 Wheatbelt Aboriginal Health Service Northam 4061

SA

Port Lincoln Aboriginal Health Service 4017, 4072 and 4117 Southern Adelaide Local Health Network Aboriginal Family Clinic Noarlunga 11767

QLD

Apunipima Kowanyama 4207 ATSICHS Brisbane Logan 4223 Charkil-Om Primary Health Centre 4177 CWAATSICH Charleville 4159 and 10375 CWAATSICH Roma 4158 Galangoor Duwalami Primary Health Care Service 10383 Mamu Health Service Ravenshoe 4104 Mamu Health Service Babinda 4211 Mamu Health Service Innisfail 4011 Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre 4071 Wuchopperen Medical Service Donga 4010 Wuchopperen Medical Service Reef 10845

NT

Ali Curung Health Centre 4120 CAAC Larapinta 10937 Danila Dilba Mens Clinic 4111 Jabiru Health Centre 4146 Pine Creek Primary Health Care Centre 11203

VIC

Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Cooperative 4089 Mildura Aboriginal Health Service 4028 Ramahyuck Family Clinic 4059

TAS

Hobart Aboriginal Health Service 4026

INTRODUCING NEW MEMBERS OF THE QAAMS MANAGMENT TEAM Grant White Program Manager I'm excited to be on board as the QAAMS Program Assistant Manager, having commenced early February 2022.

My background in Laboratory Pathology as a Medical Scientist includes Point-ofCare operations & working in automated chemical pathology laboratories in 3 of Adelaide’s major hospitals.

I look forward to meeting many of you whom subscribe to the QAAMS Program and I hope that 2022 is a successful year for you all.

You can contact Grant at Grant.White@flinders.edu.au

Ellen Kambanaros SA / NT liaison Ellen joined the Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing as a Research Assistant in December 2021. She comes to the role with a Bachelor of Medical Science (Hons) from Flinders University and experience working in laboratory pathology.

Ellen looks forward to assisting with the provision of POCT services, which aligns with her interest in contributing to improved equity of healthcare access in rural and remote areas. She will be working on the QAAMS program as the NT/SA liaison as well as on the NT POCT i-STAT program.

You can contact Ellen at Ellen.Kambanaros@flinders.edu.au

Polina Mazonka QAAMS QLD / VIC / TAS liaison (mon-Tue) Polina joined the International Centre for Point-of-Care testing in February 2022 after the completion of a Bachelor of Medical Science at Flinders University. She has had previous experience with pathology testing research during her placement, and is passionate about the improvement of health care accessibility and patient outcomes through POCT services.

Polina is eager to be joining the Centre and will be working as a research assistant on the QAAMS and COVID-19 programs.

You can contact Polina at Polina.Mazonka@flinders.edu.au

Andrea Francis Administrative Assistant Andrea joined the International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing in February 2022 as an Administration Assistant and provides support to the QAAMS program.

She comes to the role with many years of experience in the higher education sector, most recently providing support for the Adelaide Rural Clinical School.

She holds a Bachelor of Science and Graduate Diploma qualifications. Andrea looks forward to working with everyone in the program and learning more about rural and remote health.

You can contact Andrea at Andrea.Francis@flinders.edu.au

FAREWELL NARELLE AND EVELYN The QAAMS Management Team would like to farewell administrative assistants, Narelle Brown and Evelyn Bennett from the QAAMS Program and International Centre for Pointof-Care Testing.

Narelle was a driven and passionate member of the team who worked on the program for seven years. Over her time, she was able to establish rapport with the participants and drive many positive changes within the program.

Evelyn was an enthusiastic member of the team who was always happy to lend a helping hand. Despite only being with the program for a short time, she was able to make a profound impact.

We would like to thank both Narelle and Evelyn for their dedication to the program over the years, and wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.

QUALITY TESTING REMINDER

We need to run monthly Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) testing on our device to ensure that it is functioning as it should be, and our results are appropriate for patient care. Monthly quality testing is also an essential part of being able to claim the Medicare rebates exclusive to QAAMS. QC is important because it is our immediate internal assessment of how well our device is functioning.

QA is equally important, as it not only allows us to assess how well our device is functioning, but monitor its performance over time.

If our QC and QA results fall into the set target ranges each month, our device is meeting quality expectations and we can continue to test our clients with confidence. We perform regular quality testing so we can ensure that our clients and their communities are receiving the best care possible.

For more information on quality management, or to enter your quality management results online, visit https://www.qaams.org.au Alternatively, call the QAAMS hotline on 08 8201 755.

022 2 AY D EY 0 N ID CH 1 K LD MAR R WO Thursday March 10th is World Kidney Day. This years theme is Kidney health for all! To improve access to kidney care and better kidney health, World Kidney Day invites the professional kidney community to make information about kidney disease and its risks more easily accessible and available to the public.

To learn more about World Kidney Day you can visit https://www.worldkidneyday.org/ For more information on Australian kidney health you can visit Kidney Health Australia at https://kidney.org.au/

NATIONAL CLOSE THE GAP DAY MARCH 17 2022 Thursday March 17th is National Close the Gap Day! This is a day where we pledge our support for improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Peoples.

Occurring on the third Thursday of March each year, National Close the Gap day seeks to raise awareness for The Close the Gap Campaign, an esteemed initiative targeted towards achieving Indigenous Health Equality by 2030.

For over a decade now, National Close the Gap Day events have brought people together in their schools, workplaces, and community groups, to share information and bring attention to the recommendations set out in the annual Close the Gap Campaign Report.

For more information on how you can get involved visit: https://antar.org.au/close-gap

We want to hear from you!

Is there something you have always wanted to see in the QAAMS newsletter? Do you have a good news story to share? Or would you love to share how QAAMS is being used in your service to help your community?

If yes, we would love to hear from you. Please send anything you would like to share to the QAAMS Management Team at QAAMS@flinders.edu.au for consideration in the next newsletter.

WORD SEARCH TIME

08 8201 7555

@QAAMSprogram

www.qaams.org.au

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