Nurse Unit Managers
Joanne Stewart and Kirsty Sullivan are the Nurse Unit Managers (NUMs) of Frankston Hospital Intensive Care Unit.
Joanne commenced at Peninsula Health in 2011 as ICU Clinical Support and Development Nurse, offering training and support to the nurses of Frankston ICU. She is passionate about education and brings experience from a variety of specialty nursing areas such as Cardiothoracics, Neurosurgery, and Critical Care Liaison. Jo will expand upon this role as Clinical NUM of Frankston ICU.
Kirsty completed her Graduate Nurse and Critical Care training at Peninsula Health. Since then she has worked in the private sector in various senior roles including educator, Associate Nurse Manager, and hospital supervisor. Kirsty now returns to Peninsula Health, bringing this valuable management experience to her role as Operational NUM of the ICU. Kirsty combines her passion for health care and fitness by leading medical expeditions to Papua New Guinea along the Kokoda track.
Associate Nurse Unit Managers
The Nurse Unit Managers of ICU is assisted in the day to day management of the ICU by an experienced team of Associate Nurse Managers (ANUMs) who are responsible for providing leadership and clinical management of the Intensive Care. They work closely with the Nurse Unit Manager to ensure the delivery of safe, evidence based, person- and family-centred care to achieve optimal health outcomes for our clients. They work strongly to develop clinical practitioners within ICU and promote a culture and an environment that supports professionalism and development. The current group of ANUMs have a combined total of well over 50 years of experience within Intensive Care Units and Intensive Care Nursing.
Critical Care Liaison Service
The Critical Care Liaison Nurse Service was introduced in 2009 at Peninsula Health to provide support to patients, families, and clinicians on the wards that are caring for a patient who have recently been discharged from the ICU. The CCLN Service is also involved in the care of patients with complex health problems, both acute and chronic, that are at a high risk for deterioration during their hospital admission. The CCLN service provides support primarily at the Frankston Hospital campus but can attend to specialist patient groups at other sites when requested for non-time critical needs.
We believe in seamless transition of patients through the Intensive care unit to the wards. To achieve this, we maintain clear and consistent communication between multidisciplinary teams and the nursing staff from the wards and ICU. With our “ICU without walls” approach, we ensure that sick patients in the wards get the care they need while they await a bed in ICU, and that the patients progress smoothly from ICU based care to ward-based care.
The first few days following a patient’s discharge from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) can be stressful for the patient, their families and the nursing staff caring for them. The CCLN can offer vital support and information for family, friends, and significant others about the condition and plan of care for the discharged patient. The CCLN are a vital link for the patient and family between the general wards and the Intensive Care Unit, and often play a lead role at family meetings.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) has identified that patients whose condition is deteriorating require care that is appropriate and timely (ACSQHC, 2010). The CCLN is able to provide this group of patients with rapid assessment and a dynamic response to minimise further deterioration. They are able to implement interventions to achieve physiological stability or manage patients during transfer to high acuity areas including ICU. The CCLN also provide advice and support about the care of complex patients and take a lead role in Rapid Response Calls.
The CCLN provide education with regard to the benefits and utilisation of the Rapid Response System to nursing and medical staff; including the provision of education to Graduate nurse, new medical interns and ICU registrars. They are clinical leaders in the Peninsula Health Safety and Quality program directed at Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration for hospital patients.
The CCLN service is led by Mrs. Joanne Molloy and Ms. Naomi Pratt, whom have completed post graduate study including qualifications in Intensive Care Nursing and Masters in Nursing (Nurse Practitioner). They are assisted by a dedicated team of experienced ICU nurses.
Clinical Nurse Educators
Reuben Weare
Reuben joined Peninsula Health in 2016 and became the Nurse Educator for the Intensive Care Unit in 2018. He has almost 20 years experience nursing in Intensive Care, and has experience in cardiothoracic, trauma, ECMO, and hyperbaric nursing. He has also worked in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, education, and as a critical care liaison nurse.
Reuben has a particular interest in the management of mental illness among patients admitted to intensive care units, and has published research on this topic.
In addition to his work in the ICU, Reuben also contributes to the BASIC for nurses course, and provides Advanced Life Support training for the hospital.
Joanne Stewart
Joanne commenced at Frankston Hospital as the Clinical Support and Development Nurse in 2011. She provides after-hours and weekend support to all nursing staff in the ICU as well as running the structured General Registered Nurse (GRN) and Graduate Nurse Orientation program. Joanne has extensive Intensive Care Nursing experience in a major metropolitan hospital in Melbourne and overseas. She brings skills from a variety of specialty nursing areas such as Cardiothoracics and Neurosurgery and has Critical Care Liaison Nurse experience. She completed a Masters of Nursing (Intensive Care) and lectures at an undergraduate and postgraduate level on a casual basis. Jo is now the Clinical Nurse Unit Manager of Frankston ICU.
Teaching Interests:
- Acute Care
- Critical Care/ Intensive Care Nursing
- Patient Assessment
- Advanced ventilation
- Simulation
- Nursing Leadership and Management
Professional Affiliations:
- Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN)
- Australian Nurses Federation (ANF)
- Australian Nurse Teachers’ Society
Organ Donation Nurse Specialists
Frankston Hospital supports patients who wish to become an organ or tissue donor through their program for organ and tissue donation.
Jodi Vuat is the Nurse Donation Specialist for Frankston Hospital, and works closely with the ICU team to help support families, patients and staff during the organ donation process. The Nurse Donation Specialists also help to raise awareness by providing education for all medical, nursing and allied health staff at Peninsula Health, as well as the local community.
