Four dedicated teams in Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) have been awarded more than $73,000, at PITCHit 2023, to drive positive changes across the District in service, patient care and community support.
WNSWLHD Director of Research, Dr Alice Munro, says PITCHit allows staff to foster a culture of innovation by thinking outside of the box to develop new ideas in research and development.
“It was fantastic to see so many submissions this year, with 30 submissions as part of the ‘Shark Tank’ style event,” Dr Munro said.
“After an internal round of judging, six teams were selected to pitch their ideas to compete for funding. Each team provided a three-minute video pitch and participated in an in-person Q&A session with the judging panel.”
WNSWLHD Manager Aboriginal Workforce Capability, Development and Culture, Lesa Towers, was one of the 2023 PITCHit judges and said the panel was thrilled with the breadth of ideas.
“It was so exciting to hear each of the pitches, but when it came time to pick the winners, we had to think with both our hearts and our heads about how these ideas will really help our people living in this region,” Ms Towers said.
‘It Ain't EV Going Green’ by WNSWLHD Acting District Manager Fleet Services, Daniel Robinson won the highest score and was awarded $14,850 in funding.
In partnership with University of Sydney, the project aims to explore the psychosocial factors relating to the uptake of Electric Vehicles for the District’s fleet of cars. EV take-up is a key objective of the WNSWLHD’s new Sustainability Strategy to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
“I was really blown away by this opportunity. It’s going to make a big difference to our work and the goals of the LHD to reduce our carbon footprint,” Mr Robinson said.
Another pitch, which won the hearts of the judges and competitors alike, was WNSWLHD WNSWLHD Perioperative CNC, Teresa Luczak’s team, with their project The Neurodiverse Perioperative Pathway.
The project aims to ensure people with intellectual disabilities and neurodiverse conditions, their families and carers have timely access to the services they need, while also ensuring our Health Service knows how to communicate effectively and can adapt their ways of working to respond to their need.
The two other winners and their awarded funding were:
- ECHObox: Sustainable Reuse of Medical-Grade Cardboard Boxes for a Greener Healthcare Future; Dr Neil Hall and team - $18,000
- "Eye"dentifying and treating vision impairment in patients following stroke using virtual reality to enhance rehabilitation care and outcomes; Dr Shane Cameron - $20,000