Flinders alum Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris adds more accomplishments to his list of specialties, while other successes include recent research published on COVID-19 effects, a podcast has a Flinders social policy expert chatting with a new SA Minister, and a Flinders’ playwright wins a prestigious award.
Flinders alum a quadruple threat
Flinders graduate and 2019 Australian of the Year, Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris, made headlines around the world when he and his good mate and fellow cave diver Craig Challen used their diving expertise to help rescue 13 people from a Thai cave in 2018. Dr Harris can now add two more accomplishments to his long list of specialties – stunt actor and author.
Almost four years since he performed the life-saving rescue in Thailand, the Adelaide anaesthetist is appearing in a new six-part series coming to Netflix during 2022. The series, titled Tham Luang, was filmed in 2021, and Dr Harris appears doing his own stunts in the diving scenes captured on film.
Dr Harris has also penned a children’s book Alfie the Brave, about his stumpy and adorable Staffordshire terrier Alfie, who suffers from a severe lack of courage. He says the tale is almost entirely true, even the part about being scared of not just cats but mice.
New research published on COVID-19 effects
Associate Professor Shailesh Bihari from the College of Medicine and Public Health recently enjoyed international publication in leading journal JAMA, through being part of a larger REMAP CAP study – an original investigation of caring for the critically ill patient, of which Flinders Medical Centre has been a participant.
The paper – “Effect of Antiplatelet Therapy on Survival and Organ Support–Free Days in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial” – has been published by the JAMA Network. (doi:10.1001/jama.2022.2910).
It represents one of several significant papers recently published by Associate Professor Bihari along with his fellow REMAP-CAP Investigators on “Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19,” in the The New England Journal of Medicine vol. 385,9 (2021): 777-789. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2103417; and with ATTACC Investigators, ACTIV-4a Investigators and REMAP-CAP Investigators on “Therapeutic Anticoagulation with Heparin in Non-critically Ill Patients with COVID-19 (N Engl J Med. 2021;385(9):790-802).
Speaking frankly about housing and homelessness
Dr Ben Lohmeyer from the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work has this week chatted with Flinders alum, and new SA Minister for Human Services, Hon Nat Cook MP (BNg(PostReg) ’96, GradCertHlth ’04) on his podcast Making and Breaking Social Policy.
The episode discusses what is and will be done about the skyrocketing housing market that is locking young people out of home ownership, plus the backlog of social housing needs and policy choices that produce homelessness.
Dr Lohmeyer’s podcast features a range of guests who are involved in the making and breaking of social policy, and discusses how we live together and how best to make it work.
Flinders playwright wins big
Associate Lecturer Dr Peter Beaglehole had his unpublished manuscript recognised in the 2022 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, one of Australia’s richest and most prestigious literary awards. Dr Beaglehole won the 2022 Jill Blewett Playwright’s Award for his un-produced play, Calendar Days.
Calendar Days is a performance text about the gig economy and precarious work. It includes tales from baggage handlers, doctors, retail and hospitality workers of all ages sharing their secrets and fears. They also crack jokes and rage at their bosses, talk about their cats, fall in and out of love, and share an unexpected birthday cake. The play asks how insecure work shapes our relationships with each other and what solidarity might look like in a fragmented workforce.
You can listen to Dr Beaglehole’s speech here, where he discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on gig-workers and the need to address job security to realise real cultural change.