Rallying The Common Good for Caboolture Hospital

Published 7:57am 21 June 2022

Rallying The Common Good for Caboolture Hospital
Words by Kylie Knight

The Common Good has officially launched its partnership with Caboolture Hospital, an appeal to raise $100,000 and announced funding for seven research projects at the hospital.

The organisation has been working with Caboolture and Kilcoy Hospitals and the Woodford Corrections health service for the past three years but wanted to get some runs on the board and traverse the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic before launching its first appeal.

The appeal aims to raise $100,000 for an incubator bed for critically ill new-born babies and to refurbish the children’s play area.

The Common Good, which has worked with The Prince Charles Hospital for about 30 years, is seeking support from local businesses and community leaders across the region with every dollar going to the appeal.

During the launch on Friday, The Common Good CEO Michael Hornby said it was not an entity or organisation, it was a purpose.

Mr Hornby said The Common Good was not about institutions and buildings, but about people and working with community to solve problems.

“We want people to live better for longer. That’s the broad ambition,” he said.

Mr Hornby said The Common Good could have impact through research and innovation – providing a small research grant and taking it through to conclusion, so there were tangible results.

It has funded $300,000 in research support at Caboolture Hospital during the past two years, announcing a further $100,000 for seven projects on Friday.

To the researchers, Mr Hornby said it was a milestone moment and they could proudly say they were the first.

Rallying The Common Good for Caboolture Hospital

About the research projects

The seven projects to receive grants covered everything from antenatal care for young and vulnerable mothers to rapid access to care for type 1 diabetes patients.

1. Annabelle Marozza: The study will assess how information from the SHORT Sensory Profile2 can be used to streamline the diagnoses of chronic, non-complex conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

2. Dr Shahida Rehman: The study aims, by auditing MNHHS records over the past decade to determine if the type of planned birth mode and clinician training in vaginal breech births predicts maternal, neonatal and hospital-related outcomes in women with breech presentation at term

3. Deborah Sutherland: Evaluating an innovative model of antenatal care for young and vulnerable mothers

4. Aletta Cowen: The study will assess if emergency department nurse practitioners ordering CT scans will result in equivalent or improved patient and health service outcomes

5. Dr Mahesh Ramanan: The study will perform a small, randomised control trial to assess the feasibility and requirements to plan and perform a large multicentre study into the safe delivery of vasopressors via peripheral intravenous catheters and avoidance of central venous catheters.

6. Dr Sean Clark: Improving rapid access to care for patients with type 1 diabetes - a needs analysis

7. Dr Thuy Frakking: The study aims to develop an algorithm using machine learning techniques to automatically detect swallowing sounds and to categorise impaired versus non-impaired swallows in premature babies.

Rallying The Common Good for Caboolture Hospital

Local research makes a difference

Grant recipient and Caboolture Hospital researcher Dr Thuy Frakking spoke passionately about her role in the upcoming research project and another she has been working on at the hospital.

“Being a researcher at Caboolture Hospital means that I have the honour of helping nurses and midwives make a difference in improving care for our most vulnerable patients – whether that be improving how we support labouring mums, connecting our clinicians with our university partners or simply trialling innovative devices which help reduce medication errors,” she explained.

She said she was also working with doctors to improve the care of their own staff, premature babies, children with complex needs and connecting with the community to streamline healthcare to socially disadvantaged children and families.

Dr Frakking has been based at Caboolture since 2014.

She recounted work she’s done with a young girl and her mother – the girl has ADHD and was struggling to concentrate in class. Her grades were well below average and her mother was a single parent who worked in aged care and attended Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings each week.

“We led a three-year, multisite, randomised control trial giving children like (the girl) access to an allied health liaison officer to more effectively connect and use resources across primary care education and community sectors,” she explained.

The result was seamless integrated care across the community.

|“I’m really proud to share with you today that this locally-led trial, has been published in the highest ranked paediatric journal and the highest ranked applied health economics journal in the world,” Dr Frakking told the audience.|

The trial demonstrated significant improvements in child and family outcomes for children who received this integrated care co-ordination and significantly reduced costs across Medicare, Education Queensland and Hospital systems.

The girl received an academic excellence award, is earning Bs on her report card and has been able to access speech pathology services within the education sector and psychology services in the community. Her mother continues AA meetings each week.

So, in Dr Frakking’s view, what does future hold at Caboolture Hospital?

“To me, the future is bright with potential. The trial I’ve shared with you today is an example of what can happen when community partners come together, when there is funding in research to support projects and researchers like myself,” she said.

To find out more about The Common Good Caboolture Hospital appeal, visit the website

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