General News
18 December, 2023
'Hands on deck' help steer through year
Rural Northwest Health (RNH) held its annual meeting on Tuesday, reminiscing over the past year and announcing plans and directions for the next 12 months.
Uncle Ron Marks and his son Will performed a traditional Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country, before RNH Board chair Genevieve O’Sullivan welcomed the 50-strong crowd.
Ms O’Sullivan described the combination of Covid, service closure and staffing expenditure as having led to a “turbulent year”, and also paid tribute to the teams for their “all hands on deck” approach during the year.
She also made mention that RNH now had a fully-staffed executive team, before handing over to executive manager finance and administration Hendrik Barnard, who delivered the financial report.
Touching on an increase in agency staff expenditure, Mr Barnard was quick to assure all that the organisation remained in a sound financial position.
Marking almost 12 months at the helm, chief executive Jenni Masters delivered her report, thanking the community for the warm welcome she had received.
Ms Masters announced that although the coming year will “likely continue with significant financial challenges”, she was proud to announce that the past year had seen RNH working hard on building its capacity, and that it was now in a good position with 60 new employees.
“Health is about people,” Ms Masters said. “We have invested a huge amount of energy in recruiting and bringing a positive culture to the teams, and we have plans to continue collaborating with local organisations to find health solutions for our communities.
“There will also be an increased focus on improving the organisation’s finances over the next 12 months.
“I am honoured to be the CEO of such an amazing team.”
Ms Masters touched on some of RNH’s events of the past 12 months which celebrated diversity, including a multicultural cricket match and lunches, and announced that RNH would be attending the Midsumma Pride March for the first time in 2024.
Ms O’Sullivan welcomed the Board’s new executives Paula Noble and executive manager clinical services Joseph Bermudo to the team.
Mr Bermudo said he believed RNH was “well-placed” to recruit people, and that the organisation would continue to be the employer of choice for the region, reaching great heights.