State Medical Director - Associate Professor Jonathan Gillis
Jonathan Gillis is full of enthusiasm for work and life. He has long experience in Intensive Care, Palliative Care and Medical Administration. He also has a deeply felt commitment to responding sensitively and constructively to the suffering of patients and their families.
“I think that everyone in the Organ Donation and Tissue Service should appreciate the importance of their work and be appreciated for the good they do for families and the community.” said Jonathan Gillis.
Trained in paediatrics and paediatric intensive care in Sydney and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in Canada, Dr Gillis has had a long career in Paediatric Intensive Care and for more than 12 years held the position of Director of Paediatric ICU at the Children’s Hospital Camperdown and then at Westmead.
He is also qualified as a palliative care physician and worked with the palliative care team at the Children’s Hospital and at Bear Cottage.
He is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney and has a PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science from UNSW.
Widely published, Jonathan has been an invited speaker at international conferences on intensive care issues, end of life care and ethics. He is also a member of the Board of the World Federation of Paediatric Intensive and Critical Care societies.
Dr Gillis is a visiting Scholar at the Plunket centre of Ethics at St Vincent’s Hospital
where his current projects include everyday ethical issues within the Intensive Care Unit and the words and ideas employed in end of life discussions.
Jonathan brings to the NSW OTDS experience, enthusiasm and a commitment to caring for patients and their families.
Nurse Manager NSW - Ms Ellie McCann
Ms Ellie McCann is the Nurse Manager for NSW and she is responsible for the DonateLife Network operation of nursing specialists at the forefront of donor identification and family support.
Ellie comes to organ donation with an impressive background in nursing management.
Most recently she worked on the development of the Endoscopy Service at Westmead Hospital, which is now the largest Endoscopy service in Australia and is recognised internationally. This included organizational improvement, medical and nursing staff education as well as patient care and patient outcomes.
Ellie held the position of Co-Chair in GMCT – Gastroenterology. She has extensive experience in both Public and Private sectors including managing a private employment agency. She also has experience in nursing specialties including Nursing Education, Operating Suite, Palliative Care, Medical, Surgical and High Dependence wards.
DonateLife in NSW staff
The team in NSW comprises 5 State Donor Nurse Consultants, 19 Hospital based Organ and Tissue Donation Coordinators, 11 Hospital based Medical Director positions, a Communications Manager, a Business Manager, a State Coordinator of Bereavement Services, a Data and Quality Officer and two Administrative Assistants.
