Mentorship, clinical excellence, wellbeing, and support for education were some of the key attributes of four Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals (BMDH) 2020 Doctors of the Year, among them Greek Australian Mathew Economides.
More than 200 votes were received in the categories of intern, resident, registrar and consultant of the year.
BMDH acting general manager Bobbi Henao Urrego congratulated all staff for their tireless efforts in what was a challenging year.
“We have so many talented, driven and passionate medical staff and I commend all our staff who go above and beyond each and every day,” Bobbi said.
Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals 2020 Doctors of the Year (left to right) Dr Vedant Dave, Dr Danette Wright, Dr Mathew Economides and Dr Arun Ahulwalia, Source: The Pulse
The BMDH Doctors of the Year 2020 winners are:
Intern of the Year 2020 – Dr Vedant Dave
Resident of the Year 2020 – Dr Arun Ahulwalia
Registrar of the Year 2020 – Dr Mathew Economides
Consultant of the Year 2020 – Dr Danette Wright
Mathew Economides: ‘Very unexpected and humbling to be nominated’
A dual anaesthetic and intensive care trainee, Dr Economides is -according to his colleagues- a welcome sight at any clinical emergency and has shown strong leadership and outstanding clinical performance.
“It was very unexpected and humbling to be nominated, let alone win,” Dr Economides said told The Pulse.
“I’ve always been very self-conscious about whether I’ve been doing a good job, so to learn that I hold the esteem of so many of my colleagues is a real honour.
“The credit from my clinical skill to my professional standards are things I inherited from innumerable supervisors and mentors, who were kind enough to teach and lead by example. I really hope I can pay that forward to the same degree,” he concluded.
With a welcome dinner, held last night in Canberra, the Australian capital’s Cypriot Community officially welcomed Father Prochoros Anastasiadis, who was recently appointed the new Archiepiscopal Vicar of the Archdiocesan District of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Present at the dinner were Rev Fathers Petros Kipouros and Iakovos Siriotis, His Excellency Ambassador of Greece Mr Papakostas , High Commissioner of Cyprus Mrs Mavrommati, Representatives of the Hellenic Club, the President of the Parish Community of St Nicholas, the Vice President of Parish of St Demetrios and the Executive Committee of the Cypriot Community.
Photo Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia – Archdiocesan District of Canberra
President of the Cypriot Community of Canberra, Mrs Alexandrou, welcomed Father Prochoros to Canberra and talked about the importance of fighting for Cypriot justice. Mrs Alexandrοu also presented Father Prochoros with two books on the Religious Monuments in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus.
Father Prochoros thanked everyone for their hospitality and conveyed the Blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios.
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia-Archdiocesan District of Canberra
A former travel agent who operated a Ponzi scheme which defrauded the owners, clients and a former Hells Angel bikie boss has had his bail revoked ahead of sentencing, according to The Advertiser.
Arthur Zacharias appeared in Adelaide’s District Court on Thursday where victims delivered impact statements describing his deceit as cruel and morally reprehensible.
The 49-year-old of Parkside previously pleaded guilty to multiple dishonesty and deception offences including 19 counts of dishonestly dealing with property without consent between December 2014 and May 2016 at Fullarton.
He committed the offences while contracted to Axis Travel Centre, which he later sought to part purchase from owner Max Najar – using a silent partner – for $385,000.
Max Najar, owner of Axis Travel, said Zacharias used the company’s name to defraud clients, Photo: Travel Weekly
The silent partner, former interstate Hells Angels member Peter Sidirourgos, had paid the money to Zacharias in instalments, but the court heard Zacharias spent “nearly all” of that money and only about $100,000 was passed on to Mr Najar.
Mr Najar, the main victim of the offences, told the court how Zacharias’ “orchestrated and cruel” deceit had stolen almost five years of his life and ruined his proud company.
He said Zacharias had repeatedly begged to be employed and he gave him a second chance, employing him as a contractor.
Mr Najar told the court he felt humiliated and embarrassed by Zacharias’ crimes which resulted in significant financial trauma amounting to more than $596,894 as well as lost time and health issues.
Judge Simon Stretton will sentence Zacharias next month.
The Board of Football Victoria (FV) announced the appointment of Kimon Taliadoros as the organisation’s CEO, effective 22 February 2021.
Mr Taliadoros has served as interim CEO over the past six months in an honorary capacity. Prior to that, he was President for six years where he led the revitalisation of the state’s governing body and oversaw the implementation of FootbALLways – Football Victoria’s ambitious growth strategy to inspire and enable all Victorians to live and love football for life.
“Over the past six years, it has been my privilege to serve the 365 Victorian Clubs and their communities as FV President. I am proud to have led an empowered Board in pursuit of brave reforms for Australian football governance, championing women’s football with the Home of the Matildas in Melbourne, and putting Clubs first in our thinking and actions.” said Mr Taliadoros.
“While football is the leading global sport, Victoria boasts the world’s most competitive sports market, with four out of five of Australia’s leading codes headquartered in Melbourne. Despite FV being on track for record growth across key revenue, participation and strategic KPIs at the start of 2020, COVID-19 has devastated the entire Victorian football economy. Together with our Clubs, our task now is to stabilise the industry and lay plans to resume our growth platform.”
Mr Taliadoros brings extensive experience as a strategic and commercial leader across sports, media, finance and SME markets, together with his well-documented history in the game as an NSL player over some 15 years, Socceroo, PFA co-founder, media analyst, coach and referee.
Acting FV President, Antonella Care, said that Mr Taliadoros’ extensive industry knowledge and commercial acumen would be invaluable in guiding Victorian football at this time.
“Kimon’s appointment has been made with our Clubs and participants top of mind”, Ms Care said. “His resilience and unwavering sense of duty, together with his strong leadership qualities and deep knowledge of football at all levels, gives us confidence that through FV we can put Victorian football back on the path to prosperity”, she said.
Football Australia CEO, James Johnson, said the appointment would bring a sense of renewed confidence and continuity to the game in Victoria as it looks to rebound post-COVID.
“We welcome Kimon’s appointment. Victoria has been on an exciting growth trajectory under its FootbALLways strategic agenda and has led the way on many initiatives over the past few years, particularly with its success in unlocking crucial funds from governments at all levels to provide football’s ever-increasing participation base with much needed facilities and infrastructure”, he said.
“The past year was particularly challenging for Victoria as the hardest hit state on the back of COVID-19, and we look forward to the reinvigoration of its growth plans under Kimon’s stewardship. A key part of this will be Victoria’s contribution towards Football Australia’s XI Principles, designed to shape the game’s future over the next 15 years”, Mr Johnson said.
Ms Care said FV was focused on working with its member Clubs and stakeholders to navigate the legacy and impacts of the pandemic, with a view to restoring the game’s growth ambitions.
“As an organisation, we’re focused on continuing to grow participation numbers at all levels and formats of the game, across all ages, cultures and abilities, and among girls and women where interest has never been stronger. Importantly, this also means providing the facilities so people across Victoria can enjoy the game they love”, she said.
“Football Clubs – big and small – are an integral part of our social fabric. They bring people together, they shape local communities, and they play a critical role in promoting a healthy, cohesive society”, Ms Care said.
In accepting the role of CEO, Mr Taliadoros will formally resign from his position as President. Ms Care will continue in her capacity as Acting President pending the outcome of elections to be held at Football Victoria’s AGM in May 2021.
Naomi Osaka was left wondering whether a decision to eat Greek food foretold her win over Serena Williams after she reached the Australian Open final on Thursday.
Osaka, who has previously revealed a mystical side, said she switched from Japanese to Greek food on Wednesday — before Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas stunned 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.
“It’s super-weird. For the past three weeks I’ve been eating Japanese food on the day before my match,” she said, after her 6-3, 6-4 semi-final win.
“And yesterday, I decided to eat Greek food. So I went to sleep, and I wake up, and Tsitsi had beaten Nadal.
Japan’s Osaka, 23, said earlier in the tournament that her dreams are “very telling of the future” after she woke up fearful of defeat to Caroline Garcia.
However, the dream turned out to be inaccurate as she swept past the Frenchwoman 6-2, 6-3 victory in just 61 minutes in the second round.
Osaka continues to cut an unusual figure in the tennis world, and gave American great Williams a quick bow of respect at the net after their match.
She then wrote “Mari, stop sending weird messages in the groupchat!” on a courtside camera, a barb directed at her elder sister.
*Stefanos Tsitsipas is versing Daniil Medveded tonight at 7:30 pm
Former Labor MP and convicted sex offender Milton Orkopoulos will remain behind bars after the State Parole Authority (SPA) refused to back down over the decision to revoke his parole, 9News report.
The decision follows a review hearing on Thursday, during which the SPA heard Orkopoulos was convicted and sentenced last December for failing to comply with reporting conditions of the Child Protection Register.
Orkopoulos had his parole revoked in February 2020 and he has remained in custody since that time.
While in custody, he was charged by NSW Police with child sex and drug supply offences, allegedly committed between 1994 – 2001. The authority meet again on April 16 to review the matter.
In December 2020, an additional six new charges were laid against the 63-year-old relating to two alleged victims in the late 1990s, in Swansea and Belmont.
Documents revealed Orkopoulos was charged with trying to pervert the course of justice by getting an alleged victim to sign a statutory declaration retracting an allegation of sexual abuse.
Other charges included three counts of sexual intercourse with a person between 10 and 16 and two counts of supplying cannabis.
Greece said on Thursday it had protested to Turkey over its deployment of a research vessel in the Aegean Sea, in what it called an “unnecessary” move as the two NATO allies seek to resume talks over a long-standing maritime dispute.
An advisory issued by Turkey’s navy this week showed the research vessel Cesme would be conducting a hydrographic survey from Feb. 18 until March 2 in an area of international waters where both sides have potential interests.
“It’s an unnecessary move which does not help positive sentiment,” government spokesman Christos Tarantilis told reporters.
The foreign ministry has made a verbal complaint, government officials said, adding the so-called NAVTEX advisory was illegal as it was issued from a station with no such jurisdiction.
After a five-year pause and months of tension over overlapping claims for energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean last year, Greek and Turkish officials met in Ankara on Jan. 25 to discuss the delimitation of maritime zones.
The meeting in Istanbul ended after a few hours and the two countries, at odds over a number of decades-old issues including the extent of their continental shelves, have agreed to meet again in Athens.
Athens has sent an invitation to Ankara suggesting the talks resume in early March – ahead of a European leaders summit – and it is awaiting a response from Turkey, foreign ministry spokesman Alexandros Papaioannou told reporters.
Since 2002, the two countries have held dozens of rounds of talks to try to lay the groundwork for full negotiations over the issue. But obstacles remain, including what each side is willing to discuss.
Described by many as one of the most brilliant scientific minds of the 20th century, Georgios Papanikolaou is recognised for developing the life-saving cervical cancer test also known as Pap smear or Pap test.
But in his lifetime, the doctor was not always appreciated for his achievements. This is his story:
‘I’m no longer a dreamer’
Born on the Greek island of Euboea on May 13, 1883, Papanikolaou was one of four children.
He attended the University of Athens, majoring in music and the humanities.
According to the tradition of those times, the firstborn son had to follow his father’s steps, but as his brother chose law, Papanikolaou, who was already showing an inclination towards medicine, took up the responsibility instead.
In 1898, aged only 15, he managed to get into the School of Medicine of the National University of Athens and, after graduation, he worked in the military as an assistant surgeon for a short time. In 1904, he graduated with top honours.
He returned to Greece, and for the next two years, he cared for leprosy patients on the outskirts of his hometown.
The scientist also used this time to study philosophy and biology. But, he discovered scientific research fascinated him.
Aware of this, his father decided to send him to Germany for further studies and it was during this time that the scientist decided that research and biology would be the purpose of his life.
He received a PhD in zoology in 1910.
Life in the United States
In 1910, after his return to Greece, Papanikolaou married the educated and open-minded Andromache Mavroyeni (Mary). She was the descendant of the Mavrogenous family who made history fighting against the Ottomans in the Greek War of Independence.
In 1913, he and his wife disembarked in New York.
The couple initially struggled to make a living – Papanikolaou sold carpets and played the violin in restaurants as Mary sewed buttons for $5 a week, but he would overcome the difficulties quickly.
In October 1914, Papanikolaou was recruited as a researcher at Cornell University, where he would work for the next 47 years.
There, Papanikolaou worked alongside his wife who served as a technician and sometimes test subject.
While Papanikolaou’s research would eventually be on human physiology, he started his studies with guinea pigs.
He devoted his time researching early cancer diagnosis through recovery and identification of exfoliated cancer cells.
From 1920, Papanikolaou started to focus on the cytopathology, a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level, of the human reproductive system.
The first time Papanikolaou identified the cancerous cell in a sample from a woman with cervical cancer, he confessed it was one of the most important experiences of his career.
His first clinical trial proved the diagnostic value of cytological examination of smears. This work became the cornerstone of his method that would allow the timely diagnosis of cervical cancer.
His achievements were received with doubt by the US medical community. However, he was convinced and continued his research.
He demonstrated the normal and abnormal smears taken from the cervix could be viewed under the microscope and be correctly classified.
This procedure, now known as the Pap (Papanikolaou) smear or test, became the standard in screening for cervical cancer.
Sudden heart attack
The scientist worked relentlessly on his experiments for many years. He often put in a six-and-a-half week and a 14-hour day at Cornell and at his home in Douglaston Queens.
Physicians and other scientists from all parts of the world went to him at his Cornell laboratory to become proficient in his test technique.
In 1961, despite the fact that he was 78 years old, he decided to leave New York and settle in Miami. He planned to undertake the management of the Miami Cancer Institute.
However, he did not have the chance to inaugurate the institute himself. He died suddenly of a heart attack on February 19, 1962. The institute was renamed the Papanikolaou Cancer Research Institute in his honour.
Throughout his career, Papanikolaou kept bonds with Greece and maintained interest in the country’s politics.
Mary, his wife, continued his work in Miami until her death in 1982. “There was no other option for me but to follow him inside the lab, making his way of life mine,” she is quoted as saying.
Her devotion was such that, according to local publications, she decided not to have children in order to always be by him.
Recognition
In 1978, Papanikolaou’s work was honoured by the US Postal Service with a 13-cent stamp for early cancer detection.
Between 1995 and 2001, his portrait appeared on the Greek 10,000 drachma banknote, until its replacement by the euro.
He never received the Nobel Prize, but was nominated twice. He also received the Albert Lasker Award for clinical medical research in 1950.
The scientist’s bibliography consists of 158 articles and five scientific books.
One of the most important examples is the famous Atlas of Exfoliative Cytology. The book is considered by many a milestone in the science of cytology.
After The Greek Heraldbroke the news of the mix-up of two bodies by Greek-owned funeral parlour, Euro Funeral Services, one more mix-up has now come to the surface.
Speaking on 2GB radio this morning, a Greek Australian lady named Vicky came forward to reveal that a similar mistake had happened at a viewing of her grandmother in 2008 at St Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Gladesville.
“Once the service was over, we were invited up to the casket to say our final goodbyes. My 80-year-old grandfather went up… he stood over his wife, he was crying and shaking, he said his goodbye and he kissed this lady’s forehead,” Vicky told radio presenter, Ben Fordham.
“And then my mum came up and to this day I can still hear the shrill of my mum’s voice screaming ‘that’s not my mother’.”
Vicky says her grandmother’s body was on its way to another person’s viewing in Parramatta at the time the mistake was discovered.
She adds that her family is still very traumatised with what happened and says she’s kept the event quiet up until now because her grandfather was “ashamed that he was in such a distressed state, he himself didn’t even realise.”
“When I heard Spiro from Euro Funerals on your program yesterday telling your audiences this was a first, processes would have to be refined… well we can’t understand why this wouldn’t have been done after my grandmother’s mishap,” Vicky says.
Euro Funeral Services Director and O Kosmos Publisher, Mr Spiro Haralambous.
Vicky goes on to say that she did receive an apology from Euro Funeral Services at the time of the mix-up, but it’s “a pretty big mistake.”
On Tuesday night, Euro Funeral Services Funeral Director, Spiro Haralambous, also issued an apology to the Nicolopoulos family, after the body of their family member was mixed up with the body of another man on Friday last week.
“The procedure is normally that one should check the ID on the body before they actually put the coffin lid with the name plate on the coffin. This is where that procedure was not followed through,” Mr Haralambous said.
Greek Australian, Yiana Pandelis, has never let being profoundly deaf get in the way of her acting dream. Ever since she was a young girl, she knew she wanted to be an actress and was even nervous to tell her dad at first.
“I remember telling my dad for the first time and I was so nervous because it’s kind of an unexpected thing for a deaf person to suggest,” Yiana tells The Greek Herald.
“I was quite young and I asked dad for acting classes and… he knew somebody, obviously being a Greek, and I did classes. My neighbour became my agent.”
Greek Australian, Yiana Pandelis, has never let being profoundly deaf get in the way of her acting dream. Photo supplied.
Yiana has never looked back. Since then she’s been making waves in the film industry, despite the challenges she faces every day due to her deafness.
“I feel like I had to work twice as hard just because people are naturally able to speak and express themselves but being hearing impaired, I don’t grasp everything straight away,” Yiana explains.
“But the perks of it is definitely that because I am a minority, when there is a role for me, there’s not as many people going for it.”
Yiana is currently playing a passionate emerging young trans-man and proud Auslan-only speaker called Finn in the romantic drama, Unsound. She says she was excited when she found out she’d won the role because there were a lot of requirements for it.
“It was crazy because so many things were required for the role: someone who had to learn Auslan or knew it, someone who had to cut their hair, someone who was in the LGBTQI community, someone who was hearing impaired or deaf,” Yianna, who also identifies as gay, says.
“So I felt amazing when I won the role because I know how hard it is. It’s really hard to get a role in Australia, especially a leading role in an Australian feature film. It’s like winning the lottery.”
And with Yiana having plans to hopefully move to Los Angeles one day, we’re sure that she’ll be winning even more exciting roles in the future. We wish her all the best!
