Chris O’Brien Lifehouse: Creating a Shift in Healthcare Culture

[hr]It was in the late 1990s when medical professionals and the board of the Royal Prince Alfred’s Sydney Cancer Centre were inspired to establish a comprehensive
cancer facility. But, when project leader and leading cancer specialist Chris O’Brien was himself diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 2006, the task took on
new impetus. Australian Hospital and Healthcare Bulletin spoke with the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse CEO Tim Dugan about the project, and how the vision for a patient-centred, world-class comprehensive cancer centre in Sydney became a reality. [hr]
The Lifehouse project is named after Chris O’Brien, who inspired people through his work and his own battle with cancer. His vision was to build a facility that integrated clinical care, research, education and integrative therapies. How has the hospital’s design incorporated this vision?
The vision of Chris O’Brien, and his clinical colleagues, was to build a truly comprehensive cancer centre, based on the model that has been a success overseas in terms of improving quality of care and outcomes for patients.
But Chris also wanted to create a new culture and model of cancer care. Through his own personal experience as a doctor turned patient, Chris saw the cancer journey from a new perspective. The reality for many cancer patients is that a diagnosis is followed by feelings of confusion and lack of control as they, and their loved ones, try to navigate their way through a complex series of appointments and treatments.
Our mission is to improve the lives of people affected by cancer and a key part of the delivery on that ambitious aim is to put the patient at the centre of everything we do.
So, enabling multidisciplinary care by bringing all the people involved in cancer care under one roof and thinking about the patient journey has influenced the design of every aspect of our facility and our services.
We have thought constantly about making the cancer journey as easy as it can be for our patients - from enabling medical, research and support staff to work together and collaborate, including specialists who will offer complementary therapies, to design features of our building.
We have created a space where staff can work in a state-of-art facility and where patients will feel safe and comfortable and able to easily navigate around different areas of the facility. In fact, from the light-filled atrium, you can actually look up and see the nine storeys which incorporate our research and clinical areas.
Who have been the key personnel managing the Lifehouse from an idea, to a project, and finally a world-class facility?
We began a decade ago with a dream of building a comprehensive cancer centre. From a team that was initially just a handful of people, the dream has been brought to life by an incredible collective of thousands of individuals, in particular the Board and staff of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, who have kept going, even when the going was tough, and never lost sight of the goal. The passion and commitment to making Lifehouse the very best it can be for our patients is something that has been shared by all involved.
We have been fortunate to have worked with some incredible partners on this project, including architects Rice Daubney, builders Brookfield Multiplex and project managers Capital Insight.
It has been said this facility will transform cancer treatment for Australians. How will this facility stand out from others?
Lifehouse will be an Australian centre of excellence and a key component in a national strategy to deal with the burden of cancer. Integrated cancer centres are recognised around the world as the model that provides the best possible outcomes for people living with cancer, as well as the most meaningful advances in research and education.
We will incorporate all aspects of cancer care, including diagnosis, treatment, emotional support research and education - under one roof.
Our mission is to improve cancer treatment in an environment that fosters innovation, discovery and increased participation in clinical trials. We are located alongside Royal Prince Alfred (RPA), a large teaching hospital and Sydney University and will also collaborate with other research groups and partners to establish a national resource for research, treatment and wellness.
I am sure the work we carry out at Lifehouse will contribute to improvements in cancer care that can be applied nationally.
Stage One of the project opened in November. How was the transition of services managed?
With the opening of Stage 1 of Lifehouse in November, certain services – including out-patient clinics for chemotherapy, radiation oncology, medical imaging, pathology, pharmacy and allied health – transitioned from RPA’s Sydney Cancer Centre to Lifehouse.
[pullQuote]“As a registered charity, Lifehouse relies on fundraising to achieve the vision of world-class care in a state-of-the-art facility, providing equipment and services over and above those covered by operational budgets.” [/pullQuote]
We collaborated closely to ensure a smooth move for staff and patients and to ensure the continuity of care for our patients. This included planning for the move over a number of years and detailed, specific change communications with particular groups, such as staff and patients moving from Sydney Cancer Centre to Lifehouse.
How will the new facility work with the RPA’s existing capabilities?
We have worked closely with RPA throughout the planning and development of the Lifehouse project.
We have agreed protocols for issues, such as transfer of patients, which are included in the Service Delivery Agreement, the legal document that sets out how Lifehouse will deliver care, which was signed by Lifehouse, Sydney Local Health District and the NSW Government in October.
Stage 2 of Lifehouse will see the opening of theatres, in-patient beds and intensive care and high dependency beds in 2014/15. Until then, some cancer patients will continue to receive treatment at RPA and some will have a combination of care from RPA and Lifehouse.
Can you tell us about the research facilities that will be incorporated?
Medical research has always been at the heart of the Lifehouse vision as an integrated cancer centre. Quite simply, research is the key to improving care and outcomes for patients.
Prior to opening, we already had a long tradition of supporting cancer research through partnering with institutes and funding specific projects.
But now Lifehouse has opened, we have entered a new and exciting chapter where we will be able to conduct research ourselves, in our own facility and in partnership with others.
As well as the research centre on Level 6 at Lifehouse, trials will also be conducted at the Centenary Institute – Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Cancer Research Centre. This will be housed in the newly-built Charles Perkins Centre, adjacent to our Lifehouse.
The cost of this project has been mentioned as $260 million, with government funding $180 million. How were the remaining funds raised?
The build and fit-out of the facility has been made possible by a combination of Government funding, donations and return on investments.
We received $180 million in Federal Government funding, Sydney University contributed $10 million and the NSW government has provided long term leases at nil cost of land and buildings to Lifehouse. The final $70 million came from Lifehouse via our fundraising efforts, including major donations, a Charitable Bond Investment scheme, and investments.
Lifehouse has a unique funding model. We are a not-for-profit benevolent institution and will treat public and private patients. We have no shareholders and income will be reinvested for the benefit of our patients.
[pullQuote]"Lifehouse will be an Australian centre of excellence and a key component in a national strategy to deal with the burden of cancer. Integrated cancer centres are recognised around the world as the model that provides the best possible outcomes for people living with cancer, as well as the most meaningful advances in research and education." [/pullQuote]
As a registered charity, Lifehouse relies on fundraising to achieve the vision of world-class care in a state-of-the-art facility, providing equipment and services over and above those covered by operational budgets.
 
What is the next stage of the Lifehouse Project?
The work on the completion of Stage 2 of Lifehouse was already underway before we saw our first patients. We are excited about expanding our services to include in-patient facilities for public and private patients. Again, there has been great attention to detail and a focus on the patient experience in the design planning of these services.
We are also looking forward to expanding our complementary therapy offering, through the Lifehouse LivingRoom. The aim of the LivingRoom is to provide patients and carers the best possible support by offering integrative medicine as part of the overall package of cancer care and by guiding patients towards treatments with evidence-based benefits. We hope to also be able to contribute to the evidence base of using therapies, such as acupuncture, massage and exercise physiology, in combination with orthodox cancer treatment.
[pullQuote]“Lifehouse will be an Australian centre of excellence and a key component in a national strategy to deal with the burden of cancer. Integrated cancer centres are recognised around the world as the model that provides the best possible outcomes for people living with cancer, as well as the most meaningful advances in research and education.” [/pullQuote]
 

Timothy Dugan

Tim Dugan has more than 20 years’ experience in health and research management in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.
He was appointed to the role of CEO of Lifehouse in 2008.
Prior to joining Lifehouse, Tim was Chief Operating Officer and Company Secretary of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, a member of the Stakeholder Board of the Australian Stem Cell Centre of Excellence and Commercial Manager of Mayne Nickless Radiology, NSW and Queensland.
Tim is also a Director of two private companies and was appointed to the Board of Lifehouse in April 2009.
Tim has an MBA from the Melbourne Business School (Melbourne University), a Bachelor of Applied Science from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance.
He has overseen the development of the Lifehouse facility through a dynamic period of transition, from the construction phase to opening, and remains passionate about what lies ahead for the organisation.