23 Aug Have you thought about joining the TDHS board?

Local voices, skills and passion are the future of Timboon and District Healthcare Service and chair Maryanne Puli Vogels is keen to identify such people for future board positions.

Ms Puli Vogels said TDHS would be looking for board nominations towards the end of this year and urged anyone with relevant skills or keen to build their CV to think about it.

“It’s a wonderful way for anyone to build on their governance, strategy and leadership skills while contributing to their community at the same time,” she said.

“We’re a multipurpose service that provides so many different and varied services and it’s really important that we continue to have local voices.

“The organisation will be looking for people out there in the business world with skill sets that can contribute at our board table, but also young people who can build on their skills and gain experience useful to their career paths.”

John Renyard, who completed his maximum nine-year stint on the board recently, said there was no requirement to have a hospital or health sector background.

“I joined the board because I was approached for my corporate governance experience – I had no idea about clinical governance at the start,” he said.

“As a farmer, I understood quite a lot about disease and prevention in terms of animal health. I had a lot to learn around the social determinants of human health.

“The skills you pick up along the way are wonderful and will help enormously with other board and management positions during your career.”

Mr Renyard said anyone with a sense of volunteerism who could offer a valuable perspective and gain some knowledge and experience along the way should start thinking about nominating for the board when expressions of interest were offered late this year.

“When we look into the community, there are so many people with so many different skills that they can offer,” he said.

“I think it’s great that Timboon and District Healthcare Service can help build skills and mentor community members along the way.

“We have people on the board with a very high level of skills and we’ve had people in the past who have transitioned from the board to management roles.”

Ms Puli Vogels thanks Mr Renyard for serving the longest term possible on the board and also Jason Chuck who recently left the board at the conclusion of his second term.

“I’d also like to publicly welcome Toinette Hutchins from Warrnambool as a new addition to the board,” she said.

“Toinette has extensive experience and knowledge within the clinical and educational roles within medical, nursing and paramedics fields and also works as an Advanced Life Support Paramedic for Ambulance Victoria.

“I’m really pleased with the balance we have and we’re always looking to get more people in the community involved.

“It’s a dynamic board, we’re forward thinking and we have so much opportunity to get stronger and continue to deliver more and more wonderful health and wellbeing outcomes for the community.”

If you are interested in this sort of position please visit www.getonboard.vic.gov.au to learn more about the roles and duties of a Board member and find out what skills and experience you require.

For more about the TDHS Board applications, please contact Sabine McKenzie on 5558 6000.