AHOC works as a multidisciplinary team and the staff has qualifications and expertise across sixteen disciplines. About half of the team has previous experience working in policy, management and clinical positions in the health system.
There is a commitment to blending quantitative and qualitative approaches and to producing outputs that are easily understood, and that can be of practical use.
David joined the team in May 2022, after an extensive career in both the public and private sector, most recently as Director of Quality and Safety for a national community nursing and aged care organisation. He has held a varied range of operational management and clinical governance roles covering both face-to-face and telehealth delivery models
Ross joined the team in June 2021 from the Faculty of Science Medicine and Health (SMAH) where he held the positions of Academic Program Director for the Master of Medical and Health Leadership program as well as the Head of Students in the School of Nursing. He has a diverse mix of clinical, academic and management experience that he brings to the AROC Director’s role. Ross has a clinical background in mental health and has spent most of his career working in education, aged care and disability services as well as in organisational development and management positions.
David joined the team in May 2022, after an extensive career in both the public and private sector, most recently as Director of Quality and Safety for a national community nursing and aged care organisation. He has held a varied range of operational management and clinical governance roles covering both face-to-face and telehealth delivery models
Dr Barbara Daveson commenced her role as PCOC Director in 2019. Barb came to us from Cancer Australia where she has been managing their national lung cancer program as well as initiatives to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Prior to that, Barb worked at the Cicely Saunders Institute in London as a lecturer in health services research in palliative care.
Professor Claire Johnson (RN, PhD) is the Director of PACOP at AHOC. Claire led the national implementation of the PCOC/Wicking model for Residential Aged Care. As the recent Vivian Bullwinkel Chair of Palliative Care Nursing (Monash University - Nursing and Midwifery) and Clinical Lead for End of Life Care (Eastern Health, Melbourne, Australia) Claire directed an extensive portfolio of clinical, behavioural and translational research to improve the quality and safety of care, and outcomes for people diagnosed with a life-limiting illnesses and of their families and carers, irrespective of the setting of care. Claire’s experience in clinical settings, research and leading change has equipped her to promote excellence in the care of people dying in residential aged care.
Dr Luise Lago is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Service Development. She is currently leading research studies using linked data to improve the health and wellbeing of residents of the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Region in collaboration with academics from University of Wollongong and University of Sydney, and clinicians from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District. Current projects include modelling the impact of non-admitted patient care on hospitalisation for people living with dementia, evaluating an aftercare program for suicide prevention, and a cross-sectoral data linkage study on improving education outcomes and wellbeing for students requiring multi agency support for mental health and wellbeing. Luise is also working with researchers and stakeholders on state and national programs relating to family and carers mental health and residential aged care accommodation.
Luise has more than 20 years of research experience in government and academia, focusing on the use of statistical methods for linked and longitudinal administrative data and complex survey data. Applications are in the areas of health services, survey methods, classifications development, evaluation, and patient outcomes. She received a PhD in 2015 on the use of mixed models for imputation of missing data in household surveys, and is currently a co-supervisor for 3 HDR students . Luise co-chairs the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Epidemiology and Biostatistics Network.
Thuyen joined AHOC as an analyst programmer in November 2020. He holds a Bachelor of Science in IT degree from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Master in IT Management from the University of Sydney. Thuyen has extensive experience in working with clinical research, having worked for more than 10 years at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre.
Conrad Kobel primarily contributes to the ongoing research and development of casemix systems in Australia, feeding into the national activity based funding program. Furthermore, he has provided statistical, technical and health economic expertise in a number of projects investigating and improving costing methodologies, funding model design and strategic management of health services and more recently in the residential aged care sector.
Before joining the team in 2013 he worked as a research fellow at Innsbruck Medical University in Innsbruck, Austria for almost five years. There, he was a key researcher in the EuroDRG project, which compared multiple aspects of several European Diagnosis-Related Group systems. Within the project, Conrad primarily contributed to the methodological framework of the empirical analyses. In addition, he supported clinical research with statistical analyses and taught applied statistics to medical students.
With his international background, he strengthens and broadens the capacity of the quantitative analysis team at AHSRI. Conrad has international collaborations with Canada and Europe and is a faculty member of an annual short course that provides comprehensive skills on the design, implementation and evaluation of casemix-based funding models run by the Patient Casemix Systems International (PCSI).
Conrad has studied mathematics and financial mathematics in Germany and Sweden and has completed the Doctoral Program in Social and Economic Sciences (main focus on health economics) at Innsbruck University in Austria.
Paula joined the team in 2019 and is the Office Manager for AHOC. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Management and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.
Ashlea joined the team in 2022 and is the receptionist for AHOC. Ashlea holds a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) from the University of Wollongong.
Thuyen joined AHOC as an analyst programmer in November 2020. He holds a Bachelor of Science in IT degree from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Master in IT Management from the University of Sydney. Thuyen has extensive experience in working with clinical research, having worked for more than 10 years at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre.
Edgar joined AHOC as an Analyst Programmer in September 2021. He holds a Diploma of Software Development from Canberra Institute of Technology, a Bachelor of Computer Science from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a Master of Business Administration from the School of Banking and Business, and a Master of Information Sciences from the University of Canberra. Edgar has extensive experience working in diverse roles in IT departments from distinct types of organisations from private and public sectors.
Jyotsna joined AHOC as an Analyst Programmer in September 2021. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Computing from the University of Wollongong and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. She has experience as a Business Analyst and Software Programmer at Tata Consultancy Services.
Bora Noyan joined AHOC as an Application Support Analyst in October 2022. He holds an associate degree in computer programming and an advanced diploma in network security. He began his career in 2009 as a Network Operations Center (NOC) Technician and has since worked in various roles including System Administrator, Programmer, and Website Developer.