Change is on the horizon at Echuca Regional Health as Stacy Williams celebrates her first month as the board’s new chairperson.
Ms Williams, who has been on the board itself since 2021, says she looks forward to shepherding the board through the next few years.
“We are developing a new Clinical Services Plan and a new Strategic Plan over the next six months. These are opportunities to hear from our community about where they see the health service headed in the future,” she said.
“It’s an opportunity to advance the exceptional work of (ERH) and be part of delivering growth in the quality services we provide to the community. I think we’re in an exciting time.”
After two decades of living in the community, Ms Williams said the new role would be a rewarding one.
“It’s an opportunity to connect where I live and give back to the community through this role,” she said.
Ms Williams said her time on the board with Larna Tarrant as chairperson really showed her the outcome of having effective leadership.
“We can see that play out in the services that get delivered by the exceptional ERH team, under chief executive officer Robyn Lindsay’s leadership and the staff,” she said.
Ms Williams said Ms Tarrant had done an “exceptional job” and that it was “great to have the opportunity to work under her.”
This exaltation is a shared sentiment with Ms Tarrant very pleased to be handing over the mantle to Ms Williams.
“The board and the health service with the leadership that exists now, with Stacy, is in great hands for the future,” Ms Tarrant said.
“Stacy is just a really measured, intelligent, capable person. I think she’s going to have the respect and support of the board for the duration of her tenure.”
Over her nine years on the board, Ms Tarrant said there was much in the job to enjoy.
“Leading the organisation through a period of growth and change has been a really challenging and rewarding space to sit,” she said.
“I remember a meeting when I first started in 2014 was when the idea of the Cancer and Wellness Centre was approved by the board. We’ve had it officially opened a couple of months ago so I feel like I’ve been on the board for that entire journey.”
Ms Tarrant said that she was chairperson during a very difficult period in the community.
“We’ve got a really busy team at the best of times, and then adding a pandemic and a flood on top of that was particularly difficult,” she said.
“For a while we didn’t know from one day to the next whether we were going to have enough staff, whether we were going to have power, gas, water, you know, all of those sorts of challenging things.”
Despite this, Ms Tarrant said there would be parts of being on the board that she would miss.
“If I look back to where we started when I was on the board nine years ago to now, we are developing at such a rapid rate that not being there to see that happen first-hand is something that I think I’ll miss,” she said.