Gratitude: thanks for the help Austin Hospital

blog 2019
Written By Andrew Ford

Last month I was on a plane flight from Melbourne to Sydney and the passenger next to me was complaining about Melbourne's health system. She was upset that she couldn't get elective surgery when she wanted it and had to go private. High expectations indeed!

I didn't debate the topic with her at the time because it was a sensitive topic for me. What she didn't know was the day before I was in the hospital all day with my mum who passed away after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease. As you can imagine it was a challenging time for me and my family and the staff at the Austin Hospital were simply amazing. I had nothing but gratitude for the kindness and respect they showed to me and my family. 

How often do we stop and say thank you?

The day was a blur. After the Ambulance arrived at Emergency and we were rushed right into the ward. Dr Kim was efficient and effective, giving us full confidence in her capability. Once they stabilized her, we were given a room and several nurses to check on her regularly. We were never rushed. They then moved her to a private room in a ward to make us more comfortable and gave us a private outbreak room to use also. The move required several other specialist Doctors and Physiotherapists who were all extremely capable and compassionate. They checked on us regularly and gave us privacy and support. We had a dozen people help us all day and it didn't cost us anything. I was amazed.

A lot of people complain about paying taxes or hospital waiting times, but when you really need these services because you are genuinely sick, they are amazing. 

The reason I write this blog is I didn't get a chance to thank the staff. I didn't even get their names. So to all the staff that helped my family at The Austin Hospital last month - thank you. It was another day at work for you, but your kindness was something I will appreciate ongoing.

Having this experience made me appreciate all of the services we take for granted each day in this country. Police who come when you have a security issue; Armed services who protect us from afar; Fire services who risk their lives putting out fires when we evacuate to a safe distance; Doctors, Nurses, and allied health providers who treat us for free when we are ill or injured and Social Workers who support us when we are most vulnerable. All of which I have been involved in recently. 

It is easy to bitch and moan about waiting in emergency for a few hours, not getting your knee operation when you want it and the complexity of the system. But if you have ever traveled outside Australia you will realise we are so lucky, so be grateful for the health services we have.

Let's be more grateful for what we have.

Andrew Ford
Marketing expert Andrew Ford, the founder of Social Star, has discovered the secret of ‘Powerful Branding’. With a fire for unleashing people’s inner brand and developing business models to generate profit from an individual’s passions, Andrew leverages ground-breaking digital and social media marketing techniques to create digital strategies for clients to attract maximum opportunities. Having established a strong name for himself in the field, Andrew blends traditional business techniques with now-necessary tools for entrepreneurs to achieve scale, quality, and influence in their niche. Andrew’s comprehensive business background and qualifications consist of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) (RMIT 2003), a Graduate Certificate in Management (MBA Executive Program, University of Sydney 2005), and a Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Swinburne University 2011). Continually on the cutting edge of his own education, Andrew has tested his marketing theories in forums such as the BCG Business Strategy Competition, which he won in 2005 against all Victorian MBA schools, and the Venture Cup Business Plan Competition (Swinburne University 2003), which he won in the Masters category. With experience working at Hewlett-Packard, Sensis (Telstra) and IBM, Andrew also has mentored dozens of junior staffs to help them achieve their professional goals. Meeting and influencing high-profile public figures helped Andrew to realise just how many professionals require more understanding and control of their public brands or appearance, and need help with the skills to use the many amazing free tools at their disposal to generate success. At Social Star, Andrew consults with clients to uncover their personal brand – both where it is today and where it can be tomorrow – and refine and define how that should be displayed in social media in order to attract their perfect target audience. Andrew mentors his clients to rapidly grow their business’ audiences, resulting in larger potential client bases and higher revenue. Applying formulas that integrate over twenty years of Andrew’s business experience and fifteen years of formal business education, Social Star specialises in building clarity and velocity for clients’ brands using the ‘Understand, Build and Leverage’ methodology. ‘Having a Personal Business enables people to have an authentic, congruent connection with their valued clients and partners, using their brand as the bridge,’ says Andrew. ‘I’m highly driven to work with the new breed of entrepreneurs and small business owners – people who have a passion for making the world a better place. Traditional business models are stepping aside as people follow their innermost dreams and my role is to see them operate within their values while creating wealth. Some people think you have to sacrifice what you love to be successful in your business, yet it is actually the opposite. Follow your passion and success will come.’ Lecturing at Swinburne University from 2009 to 2011 on brand dynamics and digital marketing, presenting at numerous conferences, and consulting to hundreds of clients, Andrew has seen his philosophy work that if you follow your unique path, based on your skills, experience, values and goals, you will automatically attract the opportunities you desire and achieve the success you deserve. Living his mantra, Andrew has created a successful business and attracts high-profile clients including musicians, athletes, authors, models, entrepreneurs, professionals and small business owners, helping them find their ‘why’ in their business and fulfilment in their lives. Business for Andrew is more than work, it’s personal. Running a personal business means that he is able to fulfil all of his values rather than separating his life from work. It supports his two boys while providing social opportunities, educational development, fitness opportunities, spiritual fulfilment and many valuable friendships. Social Star has now become the vehicle for Andrew to crystallise his mission in the world, to help people love what they do, supporting his ‘why’, that if more people loved what they did, the world would be a better place.
http://www.andrewford.com.au/
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