Northern Health

The partnership supports Northern Health’s vision for a healthier community, making a difference to every person, every day. It also embraces Northern Health’s values – Safe, Kind and Together, which describe not only how we do our work, but how we treat each other.

About Northern Health

Northern Health is the major provider of acute, sub-acute, maternity and specialist services in the rapidly expanding outer northern area of Melbourne. The catchment includes three of the state’s six growth areas and the population is predicted to increase by more than 58% by 2031.

Northern Health cares for a diverse community which is home to people born in more than 185 countries, who speak over 106 different languages and follow over 90 different religions or beliefs.

Northern Health cares for over 94,000 patients admitted to hospital, treats over 107,000 patients each year in its Emergency Department, and assists with the delivery of over 4,000 babies each year. Northern Health employs over 5,300 professional staff.

Research

The research partnership between Northern Health and La Trobe University seeks to produce translatable research outcomes that make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of the community.

Understanding social and cultural influences on health and healthcare underpins our research approach. The program encompasses maternal health, child- and family-centred care, end-of-life care, education of the health workforce, evidence-based practice and evaluation of alternative models of care.

Some of the Northern Health ARCH team's key projects include:

• Chronic disease and pregnancy in Victoria: time trends and pregnancy outcomes
• Research capacity of allied health clinicians
• Non-surgical management of musculoskeletal conditions
• Accessing, interpreting and applying health information during a pandemic
• The impact of COVID-19 on the rate of hospital acquired complications
• Nursing students and hands-on skills in the time of social distancing
• Early supported discharge model for patients with diabetes-related foot disease.

Education

The partnership between Northern Health and La Trobe University provides clinical education placements for undergraduate nursing and allied health students in acute, sub-acute, extended care and maternity services.

Up to 350 nursing and midwifery students and 50 allied health students are embedded in the Northern Clinical School, attending classes in the dedicated teaching facility and state-of-the-art Simulation Centre. In addition, Northern Health staff enrol in a range of postgraduate courses at La Trobe.