West Moreton Health is celebrating the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife on the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.

Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery Karyn Ehren said nurses and midwives make up around 60 per cent of the clinical workforce.

“This year’s events are an important tribute to the men and women for the contributions they make to caring for people every day,” Ms Ehren said.

Year of the Nurse and Midwife events began at Ipswich Hospital on 31 January, as the first of many events to be held throughout 2020.

In January, West Moreton Health in particular highlighted the valuable contributions made by community health nurses. Other services will celebrate their nursing workforces throughout the year.

“Our events this year will be a fitting tribute to Florence Nightingale, a woman who was not only a remarkable social reformer, but also a pioneering statistician who realised the power of data and science to help alleviate suffering,” she said.

“As a fully digital hospital, our nurses and midwives use technology every day that would have seemed magical to Florence Nightingale.”

In November 2018, Ipswich Hospital established their integrated medical records system (ieMR), making it a digital hospital.

“Digital technology will continue to evolve and has a big impact on staff and consumers. Virtual care is likely to become a reality for the next generation of nurses and midwives. Technology is helping to make healthcare safer, more efficient and improve both the care provided and the patient’s experience of that care.”

“West Moreton Health is a leader in telehealth and MeCare (Mobile Enabled Care), that integrates community and hospital-based chronic disease management for complex, chronically ill patients via in-home technology and support.”

The MeCare clinical team talks with patients via daily video conference to track their health status and to quickly respond to any changes without the need for a trip to hospital.

West Moreton Health Chief Executive Dr Kerrie Freeman said Ms Ehren recently joined the executive team as interim Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery, covering for Dr Robyn Henderson who is seconded to the Department of Health.

“Ms Ehren has held several leadership positions including most recently as the Director of Nursing Workforce Sustainability in the office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and prior to that as the Nursing Director of Surgical and Perioperative Services at Childrens Health Queensland,” she said.