Tracey O’Brien: I was blown away by the cross-district collaboration at the South Western Sydney Local Health District

Tracey O’Brien, recently posted on LinkedIn:

“I was blown away by the cross-district collaboration, laser-sharp focus on patient-centred care, impactful research and the dedication of the multi-disciplinary cancer clinical and support staff at the South Western Sydney Local Health District. Hundreds of staff gathered on Friday at Warwick Farm for the Cancer Services Annual General Meeting – celebrating the health district’s innumerable achievements over the past 12 months and recognising staff that give their all every day to serve their diverse community.

A shout out to the brilliant leadership of  Stephen Della-Fiorentina OAM, SWSLHD Cancer Director. In the past 12 months, the team has delivered 62,619 outpatient consultations, 91 223 cancer treatments, 68,078 treatment centre nursing procedures, 1,863 wellness activities, and 5443 MDT meetings, published 154 research papers and attracted $23.26M in research grants. Just phenomenal!! CEO Sonia Marshall delivered a proud and heartfelt thank you to all the staff across the district. There was also a lesson in Baduanjing, a traditional ancient Chinese mind-body practice, which the LHD is investigating in an innovative clinical trial to assess the benefit in cancer-related fatigue as well as providing drop-in sessions for staff wellness. It was such a privilege to attend this event.”

Source: Tracey O’Brien/LinkedIn.

Dr. Tracey O’Brien is the NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, Australia. Before her current role, Tracey was the Director of the Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, and Director of the Transplant & Cellular Therapy Program. Tracey has held numerous high-profile national and international leadership positions, including Advisory Chair, Cancer Australia; V/Chair (Africa, Asia and Australasia) International Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant Research and V/President of the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Oncology Group. In recognition of her exceptional contributions, Tracey was profiled in 2023 as one of the world’s foremost women in paediatric cancer by the International Society of Paediatric Oncology. In 2019 Tracey was named in the Australian Financial Review’s prestigious Top 10 Women of Influence, winning the Innovation category. In addition to her medical expertise, Tracey has a Master of Law (Health) and executive MBA and serves as a conjoint Professor in Clinical Medicine (UNSW) and Honorary Professor in Science and Engineering (Macquarie University). Dr. O’Brien remains committed to mentoring the next generation of clinician leaders and maintains an active clinical practice in cancer survivorship at Sydney Children’s Hospital.