State Medical Director - A/Prof Imogen Mitchell
ACT State Medical Director, Dr Imogen Mitchell A/Prof Imogen Mitchell is the ACT State Medical Director with the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority. Dr Mitchell will form part of a specialist team working closely with local hospitals and clinicians in their home state to improve access to life-giving donations and transplants for seriously unwell Australians.
Dr Mitchell is Director of Intensive Care at the Canberra Hospital and Associate Dean (Admissions) for the ANU Medical School. She is a Senior Lecturer at the ANU Medical School and has been instrumental in the development of a new curriculum particularly with relationship to a program "COMPASS" which facilitates the recognition of the deteriorating patient.
Dr Mitchell has also been interested in clinical research for over 16 years including the use of severity illness scoring systems in patients with acute liver disease at the UK Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) and Professor Roger Williams at the Institute of Liver Disease, King's College Hospital.
Whilst working at the Institute of Liver Disease, she recognised the impact that transplantation could have in patients with end stage chronic liver disease. Upon moving to Australia to complete her specialist training in intensive care, Dr Mitchell continued her interest in clinical research and organ donation. She became involved in the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Clinical Trials Group (CTG) and has now been an investigator for a number of CTG projects. Since becoming Director of Intensive Care at the Canberra Hospital in 1999, Dr Mitchell has built the unit to be fully accredited for intensive care training and established an organ donation service.
Dr Mitchell commenced her undergraduate academic career in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Charing Cross & Westminster Medical School, London. In 1989, she completed an MBBS (Distinction in Surgery) also at the Charing Cross & Westminster Medical School, London. In 2002, Dr Mitchell completed a Graduate Certificate of Educational Studies (Higher Education) from the University of Sydney.
Dr Mitchell's academic awards include the Excellence in Clinical Training award (Junior Medical Officers) in 2003 and The Canberra Hospital 2008 Excellence in Teaching award from The ANU Medical School.
Dr Greg Hollis (Deputy State Medical Director) is also a Senior Specialist in the Canberra Hospital Emergency Department. Two senior staff specialists at Canberra Hospital – Dr Sam Scanlan (Emergency) and Dr Mark Oliver (Intensive Care) – complement the DonateLife ACT medical team.
State Agency Manager - Maria Hartley
ACT Agency Manager, Maria Hartley
Maria has been involved with organ and tissue donation since the late 1980s, originally as a member of surgical teams during organ donation and transplantation, and most recently as the Donor Coordinator/Production Manager at the ACT Bone Bank.
Maria is a registered nurse, with a background in peri-operative nursing, operating theatre management, and clinical trials management. Maria brings to the position substantial project management, leadership and team building skills, gained from more than 25 years in the healthcare sector in NSW and the ACT.
Maria holds a Certificate in Operating Theatre Nursing, a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Trials Management from the University of Canberra and a Diploma in International Tissue Banking from the University of Barcelona.
DonateLife staff
DonateLife ACT has three Organ and Tissue Donor Coordinators and an Organ and Tissue Donor Nurse Educator who work with a range of specially trained nurses that bring a range of skills including critical care, paediatrics, renal, management and education. The other staff are communications,Donor Family Support and administrative officers.
