"I wanted to work within my community and make a difference where I live. I understand the challenges regional hospitals face and want to be able to help where I can to ease the disparities for patients and the community. 

"I like the community and working alongside clinicians, as I have previously come from academia it is nice to be able to work 'on the ground' and make changes happen much quicker than my previous roles," Ms Russell said. 

Ms Russell completed her PhD in mental health and understanding treatment outcomes for people with co-occurring bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder last year. She is looking forward to taking her knowledge into the field in her new role. 

This role will give the mental health clinical team a valuable resource to work in the research space while continuing to provide clinical care to patients. 

"We know it’s important for a health service to build research capacity across different areas and is a strong way to gain better outcomes for patients. We're lucky to have Ms Russell joining the mental health team this year. It means this team gets to delve deeper into the research space while continuing with their clinical work," said Grampians Health's Chief Medical Officer Professor Matthew Hadfield. 

While Ms Russell will be working to help other clinicians with their research, she will also focus on her own research studies. 

"I have a few research projects with clinicians, but my primary research project is ConnectED, to help design a role for lived and living experience workers to help those seeking mental health supports in Grampians Health emergency departments," Ms Russell said. 

This research will help design a program with patients for patients to provide better support for those who are seeking mental health support from emergency departments across the Grampians Health service. 

"It's important that both the health services and the patients are offered and equipped with the same opportunities that are offered in larger cities. Mental health research has been neglected in the past particularly when it comes to the emergency department in rural and regional towns," Ms Russell said. 

She hopes this research will give patients a voice in an important area of the health service, with the team looking to build a role for a person with lived experience to help patients seeking support in the emergency department.