At ACN, we value the insights and experiences of our Affiliate Members. Being an ACN Affiliate Member is more than just a relationship; it is about forming connections, supporting each other, and advancing the industry for our nurses, students, and healthcare professionals.
We want to hear directly from our affiliates about why they enjoy being part of our affiliate community. Join us as we delve into their stories and discover what makes affiliate membership with ACN so rewarding.
This month, we are excited to hear from one of our Platinum Affiliates, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services (CHHHS ).
CHHHS is a new Platinum Affiliate member of ACN and is proud to be a part of ACN ‘s mission- “Shaping Health, Advancing Nursing”.
We provide public hospital and health services to a population of 250,000 people. Our services cover an area of 142,900 square kilometres. Cairns Hospital is the major referral hospital in Far North Queensland and pays a pivotal role in providing care to people in Cape York and the Torres Strait. Our hospital and community services offer a wide range of care and support to cairns and hinterland area.
We are an emerging education and research health service and have a strong focus in education, innovation, and research. “We are committed to improving the health and well-being of People in Far North Queensland by providing high quality acute health care services”.
We are also an active partner in research and clinical trials and are currently partnered with the Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC). TAACH is accredited with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
We employ up to 4800 nurses within our services and as the services continue to grow, we are looking into new and innovative strategies to meet our workforce demands. We currently employ up to 200 graduates within our services.
Our nursing staff continue to showcase their innovative projects at the National Nursing Forum every year. This year we have the National Nursing Forum being held at Cairns. We are looking forward to meeting with the ACN team as well as connecting with like-minded nurses from other countries and from various states and Territories of Australia
Since becoming a platinum member of ACN, our nurses are well informed of the various media releases, continuing professional development opportunities, leadership development workshops, scholarship opportunities and ACN’s participation in major national workforce reform initiatives. There has been great interest from our nurses regarding development opportunities through ACN.
This year our CHHHS Nursing & Midwifery excellence award nominees will have an opportunity to attend the National Nursing Forum. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to network with like-minded nurses.
This membership has also provided our nurses with an opportunity to look at advancing clinical expertise in some of the key speciality areas through the graduate certificate courses offered through ACN. We will also be actively looking at the Emerging Nurse Leadership opportunities for our graduates and nurses.
We continue to invest in our nurse leaders by empowering them to meet our current and future health service demands. As part of the platinum affiliate membership, our health service is hosting a Nursing Leadership Development Day for our nursing leaders from across CHHHS on 12th and 13th of August 2024. Participants include Nurse Educators, Nurse Unit Managers, Nursing Directors, and Directors of nursing/Facility Managers.
Through the 12-month membership, we aim to work closely with ACN to build our workforce capability and bring high-quality outcomes for our patients and communities in the Far North Queensland.
Written by Cameron Duffy
Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services
