The Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network Governing Board

The Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network (BHFLHN) Governing Board is responsible and accountable to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing for local decision makingThe board’s role includes setting strategies and priorities for the health services within BHFLHN, as well as ensuring achievement of the performance indicators in its Service Agreement.

BHFLHN covers the Adelaide Hills, Barossa, Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island regions, with health services in towns including Mount Barker, Mount Pleasant, Gumeracha, Strathalbyn, Gawler, Angaston, Eudunda, Kapunda, Victor Harbor and Kingscote.

Chair - Jim Hazel

Jim is an experienced company director, sitting on the boards of listed, unlisted, government and not-for-profit companies and organisations where he is regularly appointed board chair and chair of major subcommittees. He has deep experience in risk and financial management.

Current roles include ASX listed companies Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited and Ingenia Communities Group (Chair). He is also a Council Member and ProChancellor of the University of South Australia.

Previous board roles include Adelaide Festival Centre Trust (Chair), Motor Accident Commission and the South Australian Government Financing Authority.

Jim’s executive career included time as Managing Director in an ASX listed environment (retirement living and aged care), and extensive senior executive roles in banking and finance.

Jim, who holds a degree in Economics from Adelaide University, is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Board members

Pru Blackwell

Pru has long standing leadership experience in working with communities, not-for-profit groups, peak associations and local government. She has run her own consulting business in strategic planning, operational management reviews, training and mentoring.

She is currently involved in leading community action for the elimination of violence against women.

Pru was the Presiding Member of the Gawler Health Advisory Council and an inaugural member of Country Health SA Presiding Member’s Panel.

Professor Jeff Fuller

Jeff is an Emeritus Professor of Nursing with Flinders University. His 40-year career in primary health care has focused on rural health, Indigenous health, integrated care and chronic disease management. He held senior leadership positions in two University Departments of Rural Health in northern South Australian and NSW.

Since retirement as Associate Dean Research in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Flinders University, his ongoing professional involvement has included the National Nursing in Primary Care Expert Committee, Deputy Editor of the Australian Journal of Rural Health, the Adelaide Hills Health Advisory Council, and Presiding Member of the Country Health Gift Fund Health Advisory Council. He has a degree in Nursing and PhD from Flinders University and post graduate qualifications in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Newcastle. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Carol Gaston AM

An experienced board member, Carol started her professional life as a nurse and has worked in the Victorian, Western Australian and South Australian health systems, in a remote Aboriginal community and as a volunteer in Nigeria, Bangladesh and Sabah.

She has also acted as an advisor to public, private and not-for-profit human services industries in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Carol has also worked for the World Health Organisation in the Asian, Pacific and African regions establishing health workforce plans for countries such as Vanuatu, the Philippines, Laos and Zambia.

Carol was the chief nurse in the South Australian health system and led the drive to transfer hospital training to the higher education sector. She was also the first female and nurse to chair the Board of the Royal District Nursing Service. In 2008, Carol was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services in health and nursing and for humanitarian work in Australia and overseas.

Tirritpa Ritchie

Information coming soon.

Greg Russell

Greg has held senior roles in major Australian public companies involved in mining, energy and food production and, for the last 20 years of his career, in the aviation industry.

His roles in aviation included Managing Director of Australia’s air traffic provider, Airservices Australia, Director of Aviation at Sydney Airport Corporation, Chief Operating Officer at Athens International Airport, and General Manager of the regional carrier Hazelton Airlines.

He is a past deputy chair of the international air traffic organisation and chair of its Asia Pacific CEO Committee. He has held honorary roles as Chair of The Australian Aviation Associations’ Forum and as a member of The Aviation Safety Advisory Panel of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Dr Helena Williams

Dr Helena Williams is a general practitioner (GP) and has had a rich and varied career as a GP, most recently providing a visiting GP service to the SA Refugee Health Service.

Helena is currently a Member of the Clinical Advisory Council of the SA Commission on Excellence and Innovation in Health, and is the Executive Medical Director, SA/East Coast, with the Silver Chain Group.

She brings extensive governance experience on a range of medical, health service, local health network and nursing boards, and is currently a Board Director on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, for which she also chairs the national Primary Care Committee.

Alexander Zimmermann

Alex brings extensive corporate governance experience to BHFLHN having been involved in Boards for nearly 30 years.

He has been Chair of the Boards for two major South Australian organisations – Workskil Australia and the Police Credit Union SA/NT, and he is currently Deputy Chair of Lutheran Care. Alex has previously served as Deputy Chair of Regional Development Australia (Barossa) and whilst a member of these organisations has chaired or been a member of sub-committees such as Audit, Risk and Governance and Remuneration. Alex’s working career included 45 years at SAPOL, 27 years of which as a senior manager, during which time he served in many diverse positions including Internal Investigation and Anti-Corruption.

Alex is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Governance Institute of Australia and the Governor’s Leadership Foundation.

Monthly Board Meetings

2022-2023 Barossa Hills Fleurieu LHN Agendas

2022-2023 Barossa Hills Fleurieu LHN Minutes

BHFLHN archived meeting papers 

Travel and entertainment expenses

Contact

For further information or any questions concerning the Governing Board, please contact Health.BHFLHNCEOCorrespondence@sa.gov.au