Our Vision
Contribute to an effective and sustainable rural and remote health system
Executive
Committee Membership
Executive Committee Membership
The Minister for Health appointed an Executive Committee to oversee the operations of the Institute, bringing together a range of clinicians including medical practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals, academics and community members. The current Executive Committee is:
Ms Ros Bauer is the Director of Allied Health for Greater Southern Area Health Service. Ros trained as a physiotherapist in Queensland and over the course of her professional career has worked in a variety of professional and geographic settings in both private and public health as well as in tertiary rehabilitation/occupational rehabilitation services. Ros was raised in rural Queensland and her passion is to develop inter-disciplinary models of care which are sustainable and which will bridge the gap in health inequities in our rural and remote settings.
Mr Chris Crawford is the Chief Executive of the North Coast Area Health Service which covers an area from Tweed Heads in the north of the state to Port Macquarie in the south. Mr Crawford has worked in the health system for twenty years and has extensive experience in hospital administration and operational strategy. He has had involvement in rural health policy development and issues management.
Dr Austin Curtin, Chair of the Executive Committee, has been a rural general surgeon for 20 years with a passion for rural health and education. Dr Curtin is also Sub Dean of the North Clinical School (Lismore) and member of the NSW Rural Health Priority Taskforce. He has many interests and is also a member and rural voice on the Institute of Medical Education and Training and is a co-chair of the Clinical Excellence Clinical Council.
Ms Linda Cutler is currently the Executive Director of the Institute. Previously Linda held a range of senior management roles in rural and remote NSW, including Director of Clinical Operations for Greater Western Area Health Service, Chief Executive Officer of Far West, General Manager and Senior Nurse Manager positions in Hunter Area Health Service and Orana and Far West Region, which has assisted in forming partnerships and gaining support for IRCST initiatives. She has first hand knowledge and experience of the particular challenges of working in health services across rural and remote NSW, and is known as a rural advocate having spent her entire life in a rural or remote environment.
Dr Peter Davis is a General Practitioner in Queanbeyan. He has previously been a board member of the South East NSW Division of General Practice and Alliance of NSW Divisions (now GP NSW) and retains a close working relationship with both; he is Chair of the Southern Area Medical Staff Council and co-chair of the Rural and Remote Health Priority Taskforce. Peter is a VMO GP-Obstetrician at the Queanbeyan District Hospital.
Ms Patricia Doolan PSM is a community representative with extensive experience working with community groups for improved social outcomes for aboriginal people in the Bourke and Dubbo communities. Mrs Doolan is a member of the Greater Western Area Health Advisory Council and a long serving member of the Greater Western AHS Human Research Ethics Committee. Mrs Doolan is also the Chairperson of the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group in Dubbo.
Ms Marianne Gaul is a Clinical Nurse Consultant, Rural Critical Care, in Hunter New England Health (Northern Sector), with 34 years continuous service in HNEH. Mrs Gaul is a member of the NSW Health Rural Critical Care Taskforce, Fellow of the College of Nursing and member of the College of Emergency Nurses Australasia and Association of Clinical Nurse Consultants (NSW Branch).
Professor Brian Kelly is Director of the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health in Orange and Professor, Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medical Practice and Population Health at University of Newcastle.
Professor David Lyle is a medical practitioner with specialist qualifications in Public Health (FAFPHM). As the Head of Department at the Broken Hill University Department of Rural Health, and a Professor of Rural Health at the University of Sydney, David is involved in medical and health education for students who complete all or part of their training in Broken Hill. David has a history of working collaboratively with the state and local area health service organisations with an aim of contributing to the delivery of rural and remote health services.
Associate Professor Jeanne Madison, Head of School, School of Health, University of New England is also a member of the Australian College of Health Service Executives, the National Tertiary Education Union and International Honour Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau.
Ms Sue McAlpin, Associate Head of School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, Immediate past Chair of the National Rural Health Alliance, a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Executives and the Riverina Division of General Practice and Primary Health.
Ms Kathy Meleady, Director, Statewide Services Development Branch (SSDB), NSW Health Department worked with the NSW Rural Health Implementation Coordination Group to develop The NSW Rural Health Report and the NSW Rural Health Plan. Kathy has responsibility for a range of statewide issues which interface with the rural Area Health Services. SSDB is also the Secretariat to the NSW Rural Health Priority Taskforce.
Dr Frank Moloney is a specialist anaesthetist in Orange and member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthesia (former NSW Chair 2000-2003); an ANZCA Councillor since June 2005 representing NSW and member of the Australian Society of Anaesthesia and Orange City Council's Health Liaison Committee. Founding Executive member of the Joint Consulting Committee Anaesthesia (JCCA) 1993 Examiner for JCCA.
Dr Yogendra Narayan (FRACMA) is an International Medical Graduate with a special interest in health services management. He has held various senior health service management positions in Fiji prior to joining the former Greater Murray Area Health Service in 2003 where he has worked as both a facility and cluster general manager prior to his current appointment as Director Medical Services of the Western Sector in the Greater Southern Area Health Service. He has a special interest in medical recruitment and training and has experience in working with external organisations in gaining accreditation for medical training posts in and GP procedural training.
Ms Lee Simpson is currently the Program Developer/Coordinator, Aboriginal Health for the Greater Southern Area Health Service and is currently working on her PhD. Lee has experience in Juvenile Justice and teaching as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Charles Sturt University etc. She has experience in development and delivery of Indigenous cultural awareness programs to both government and non government agencies in NSW and Victoria as well as having several publications, book chapters and conference papers to her credit.
Ms Helen Snodgrass is the Leukaemia Foundation's Support Services Coordinator in the Central West of NSW. She is based in Orange and is part of a team that provides personalised care and support to patients, families and their carers. Helen has a strong background in cancer nursing, having worked in the area of oncology nursing for more than 17 years, both in a clinical and consultancy role.
Executive Committee Meetings are held quarterly.
2009 Dates
2010 Dates
Last Updated: 06 November 2009