St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne celebrates 2024 Excellence and Service Awards
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne’s (SVHM) annual Excellence and Service Awards recognise the expertise, care and effort of the people who help make St Vincent’s what it is.
This year, excellence awards across six categories showed how staff excelled in their care for patients, colleagues and the community.
Our service awards recognised long-serving staff - employees who have spent 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years at our health service.
Congratulations to everyone who received an award and all our finalists!
Clinical Excellence – Geriatrician in the Emergency Department (ED) Program
The Geriatrician in the ED Program (GED) was created to address the fact that frail older patients with multiple medical illnesses constitute a large proportion of patients attending EDs and inpatient hospital admissions.
The risks associated with hospital admissions, including hospital acquired complications and longer length of stay, are also greatest in this population.
The GED program deploys a geriatrician to our ED to provide early assessment and improved care for these older patients.
The geriatrician’s involvement at the beginning of their hospital journey has been effective in reducing admissions, increasing hospital capacity, increasing subacute care and promoting healthy independence in the community.
Excellence in Environmental Sustainability – Associate Professor Michael Hii
Associate Professor Michael Hii is SVHM’s Deputy Director of Upper GI and Hepatobiliary Surgery.
He encourages people to think beyond business as usual and take steps to reduce our environmental impact.
Associate Professor Hii played a key role in establishing the sustainability grand rounds to engage, support and motivate staff to improve sustainability, consequently driving change at SVHM.
Excellence in Improvement and Innovation – Neurosurgery Emergency Multidisciplinary Team (NEMT)
The NEMT is a collaboration providing urgent, coordinated assessment and management to patients across Victoria and the Pacific Islands who experience a neurosurgical emergency.
It was also adapted to provide non-emergency care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
By virtually bringing senior clinicians to patients, it allows patients to be accurately and immediately diagnosed, appropriate treatment initiated, and transfers coordinated rapidly.
Leadership Excellence
Bede McKenna
Bede McKenna, the Decision Support Unit Manager, is committed to fairness and provides ample opportunities for team members to grow professionally.
His authentic leadership style has helped create a supportive and inclusive work environment where every team member feels valued and empowered.
Lily Mercer
Lily Mercer is a First Nations Identified Mental Health Nurse who demonstrates compassion, integrity and excellence through leadership.
She advocated for an identified position within the mental health space after recognising a gap in culturally safe care for First Nations people and has played an integral part in ensuring there are culturally safe procedures in place and continuity of care for First Nations people.
Research Excellence – Professor Peter Hudson and Professor Jennifer Philip
Professor Peter Hudson and Professor Jennifer Philip’s research focuses on improving the quality of life of people living with serious illness, as well as their families.
It has helped influence policy and is empowering family carers to support people at the end of their lives.
It includes co-coordinating a European Union funded clinical trial involving six countries, while the pair have also conducted other research into palliative care for people in prison and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
St Vincent’s Values
Gizelle Pirro
Gizelle Pirro is a Patient Services Clerk who aims for excellence in all she does. She is kind, compassionate, always brings a smile to her colleagues’ faces and makes people laugh, even during the toughest shifts.
Her positive manner puts patients at ease, especially in times when they are feeling anxious and scared. Gizelle’s actions demonstrate that she is always thinking of others less fortunate, including donating clothes to the hospital for the homeless.
Dr Conor Larney
Dr Conor Larney is a Hospital Medical Officer who displays genuine respect, compassion and empathy to all patients, especially those most vulnerable.
He has a strong sense of justice and advocates for patients when they can’t. Conor has a genuine ability to find a personal connection with his patients and deliver high quality care. He demonstrates a strong commitment to ensuring patients and their families’ needs come first and that the best medical treatment and services are always provided.