Every year St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne recognises the achievements and contributions of our allied health staff with the Allied Health Excellence Awards. The Department of Health recognises many health professions in this category including social workers, physiotherapists, pharmacists, music therapists, prosthetists and more.
Allied health professionals make up the majority of our staff and also include Radiographers, Nuclear Medicine Technologists and Sonographers. This year, our department was well represented in the finalists stage of the awards with three nominations, including both of our Chief Technicians, Mareeka Bruns and Victoria Crichton.
Excellence in Innovation and Improvement Award
Nominee: PET Team
The PET team lead by Alanah Incantalupo was shortlisted as a finalist in the Excellence in Innovation and Improvement category for 2024. The team’s Continuous Improvement Project looked at innovative ways to improve our triaging workflow and assess the way we prioritise requests for clinical urgency. We want to thank Alanah for her efforts in leading this project, as well as Lauren Thomas and the entire PET team for their support and engagement in implementing the new triaging system. This was a fantastic project, lead with department wide engagement which has benefited our staff, referrers and most importantly, our patients in need of urgent care.
Chief Allied Health Officer Leadership and Excellence Award
Nominee: Mareeka Bruns (Chief Nuclear Medicine Technician)
Nominee: Victoria Crichton (Chief Radiographer)
This is a significant achievement for Medical Imaging, with both Allied Health Chiefs being recognised alongside 5 finalists.
Mareeka is an excellent leader, clinician, administrator and advocate who puts her patients and staff first, always giving her all. Mareeka was nominated for her clinical leadership skills and excellence in the field of Nuclear Medicine. Mareeka has dedicated her working career, and a large portion of her free time to both the hospital and our department. Her input in all areas is fundamental to the running of our practice and Mareeka is extremely valued by all members of the team. Mareeka was also instrumental in the purchase of our PET scanner, and is leading the upgrades to our gamma cameras and digital PET machine. Mareeka has assisted in securing multiple grants for Medical Imaging, providing leadership as well as excellent teaching and education to our staff. Congratulations on your nomination and being a finalist in the Allied Health awards.
Victoria has had an outstanding year leading our radiography team across both public and private hospitals. Her hard work, dedication, and leadership has made a real difference to the department and the care we provide. Vic is to be commended for her leadership in the replacement and upgrading of many items of equipment across multiple modalities. Vic has facilitated advanced training opportunities for staff in the areas of Ultrasound, MRI, DSA and Mammography, all while being the project lead for the installation and implementation of the new fluoroscopy and DSA suites. Vic is always behind the scenes, making sure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Her efforts have created a positive and supportive environment that allows us to provide the best care possible to our patients. Vic, your leadership and dedication make you an invaluable part of the team. Congratulations on being a finalist in the Allied Health Awards.
