Daman Kaur is working as Nurse Practitioner in rural and remote regions of New Zealand and has passion for access and equity of care for all cardiac patients. Daman has specific interest in Heart failure and has been working to improve care provision and models of care in HF provision of care in her region and has set up remote HF clinics and received inaugural clinical innovation award for same and is current co-chair of Heart Failure Working Group. Telehealth has lots of untapped benefits and needs more exploring and that's her topic of presentation today.

Andrew Maiorana is a Professor of Clinical Exercise Physiology at the School of Allied Health at Curtin University and Head of Department, Exercise Physiology, at Fiona Stanley Hospital, in Perth, Western Australia. He was instrumental in establishing the first comprehensive clinical exercise physiology program in an advanced heart failure and cardiac transplant service in Australia, at Royal Perth Hospital in 1996. The program (now at Fiona Stanley Hospital) continues to provide quaternary heart failure care, including prognostic cardiopulmonary exercise testing and exercise prescription for patients with advanced heart failure, pre and post cardiac transplantation and undergoing mechanical circulatory support. Andrew has wide ranging research interests, from optimising exercise testing and training for patients with cardiovascular disease, to developing innovative approaches to clinical service delivery through remote monitoring and AI. He has a long-standing commitment to working with Aboriginal communities to improve the provision of culturally appropriate health services. Click here for a copy of this presentation

In 2024 Melinda was awarded the CSANZ Nurse Investigator Award and the CSANZ Australian Nurse Innovator Award for her work on a successful research-based quality improvement strategy called the 'Accelerated Treatment Pathway' at Te Toka Tumai, Auckland Hospital. This focused on rapid implementation and titration of guideline directed medical therapy, specifically ARNI, BB, MRA & SGLT2i, for patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF). Recently she was awarded a two-year HRC Fellowship with the aim of supporting centres around New Zealand to navigate the complexities of implementing this style of pathway. This is in conjunction with continuing to work as a Nurse Specialist in Heart Failure.

Jade Cruz is a Nurse Practitioner at Te Whatu Ora – Counties Manukau, working at the forefront of community-based heart failure management in South Auckland, New Zealand. He has a strong clinical background in managing complex, multimorbid patients. In addition to his role in Cardiology, Jade provides advanced care through the Hospital in the Home (HitH) and Complex Case services, supporting individuals to recover and stabilise safely outside the traditional hospital setting. His work focuses on optimising guideline-directed medical therapy in the community, preventing clinical inertia, and ensuring timely follow-up and medication titration. Jade works closely with multidisciplinary teams to bridge gaps between hospital, primary care, and virtual services, with a strong emphasis on improving patient outcomes and reducing avoidable admissions. He is known for his practical, systems-based approach to heart failure care, combining clinical precision with patient-centred thinking. Jade is also actively involved in service development, health equity initiatives, and mentoring clinicians in heart failure management and virtual care delivery.

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