General News
24 July, 2024
New board welcomes old faces
Rural Northwest Health (RNH) has announced the appointment of two new members on the Board of Directors, both familiar faces in the local district.
Jan Fisher trained as a registered nurse at St John of God, Ballarat, and spent many years as a nurse before taking up the Director of Nursing position at Rainbow Bush Nursing Hospital.
From there, Mrs Fisher went on to accept a role as Executive Director of Aged Care at West Wimmera Health Service (WWHS), and then Executive Director of Clinical Services at Nhill campus - a role which saw her travelling back and forth along the highway for over 20 years.
Mrs Fisher has a passion for aged care, and believes good care is something small communities should be able to rely on.
Having strong connections to the Rainbow and Yaapeet districts to this day, Mrs Fisher is excited to be part of the RNH board.
Her appointment comes at a time of transition for the board.
Former chair Genevieve O’Sullivan retired from the board in June following the end of her two year term, after serving a total of six years on the board.
“Being on the Rural Northwest Health board has been an absolute honour,” Ms O'Sullivan said.
“I am very grateful to the team and my board colleagues.
"While it has been challenging at times, I’m very proud of the quality of the services provided at Rural Northwest Health, and the teams’ unwavering commitment to delivering the best care possible to residents, patients, their friends and family, and the community."
After three years, Katharine Terkuile also retired from the board in June, stepping down due to additional work commitments.
RNH Board of Directors has welcomed back Dr John Aitken for a third term, appointed him interim chair.
Dr Aitken has lived in Warracknabeal since 1987.
As the former owner of local community pharmacies, Dr Aitken has a deep understanding of the challenges rural people face in managing their health care.
He also understands the important role the local health services play in maintaining community sustainability, health and wellbeing.
Dr Aitken graduated with a PhD from La Trobe Rural Health School in 2018 for his research project on community engagement strategies, and is proud to be part of the board
as a member, the governance committee chair and, now, interim chair.