By JONATHON HOWARD
FORMER Director of Nursing at Warwick Hospital, Megan O’Shannessy, has been appointed to the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service Board.
The DDHHA Board now has two representatives from Warwick including Ms O’Shannessy and Dr Ross Hetherington a medical practitioner and a Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME).
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg announced the appointment and reappointment of all eight board directors to the DDHHS Board.
Board Chair Mike Horan said he was pleased to welcome Ms O’Shannessy to the board.
“Megan is a registered nurse and midwife and many people would know her from her years as Director of Nursing at Warwick Hospital,” Dr Horan said.
“After 30 years with Queensland Health, Megan took up the position of Director of Pre-vocational General Practice Program at Queensland Rural Medical Education earlier this year.
“We look forward to working with Megan and will greatly value her input into board
deliberations.”
Ms O’Shannessy said she was excited to begin work with the DDHHS Board and having worked with several board members over many years felt she could “hit the ground running”.
“I am passionate about rural health care and I’m keen to work with the board on innovative solutions to recruitment and retention issues as well as infrastructure,” she said.
Ms O’Shannessy commenced her nursing career in 1982 as a student nurse at the Royal Brisbane Hospital.
Her post graduation years were spent in paediatric intensive care at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Following her midwifery year at Kirwan Hospital in Townsville she took up the relieving role of Director of Nursing at Blackall Tambo and Isisford for 18 months.
Over a 25-year rural nursing career Ms O’Shannessy has been the Director of Nursing at Thargomindah, Cunnamulla, Dirranbandi, St George and Warwick Hospitals.
She was a member of the Queensland Nursing Council from 1998 to 2000.
She completed a Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Southern Queensland in 1996 and is at present completing her Masters in Public Health at the James Cook University.
The DDHHS boundaries take in one major regional hospital (Toowoomba Hospital), 19 rural hospital facilities, three outpatients clinics, seven aged care facilities plus a range of mental health, community and oral health services.
There are almost 4,000 staff and our annual budget is over $500 million. The DDHHS services a population of approximately 280,000 people and that population is expected to grow to over 360,000 in the next 20 years.
The DDHHS Board meets every month and every second meeting is held in one of the rural centres within the DDHHS area. Board directors also sit on a finance and audit committee and a quality and safety committee.
