Denise is a highly experienced executive with a long career in nursing and midwifery, health system reform and hospital operations. With a background in the Australian healthcare sector, Denise is known for her inspiring leadership and commitment to patient care and experience. Denise Patterson was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Royal Children`s Hospital (RCH) in May 2022. In this role, Denise has overall responsibility for the hospital`s clinical operations and works closely with the management team. RCH is the largest specialist paediatric hospital in Victoria, providing excellent care to children and their families in Victoria and beyond. The RCH treats more than 34,000 inpatients and has nearly 250,000 outpatient appointments per year. The RCH website is an important part of the hospital`s services. It includes information about the hospital, information about children`s health, and guidelines for health professionals. More than 7,500 pages serve more than 17,500 visitors per day by viewing more than 55,000 pages.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Medical Officer, Tom was Director of General Practice at RCH, where he managed over 120 employees and received quality improvement awards in general and specialty practice clinics. In 2016, Tom received the RCH President`s Medal, which recognizes his contribution to improving patient flow, complex patient care, medical education, clinical research, and workplace culture in his department. Tom has published over 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has supervised and taught many trainees who now have successful careers at RCH and other major national and international hospitals. Stuart graduated in medicine from the University of Tasmania and worked for several years in a number of clinical disciplines in hospital and general practice before undertaking a paediatric residency in Western Australia in 1997. He moved to Melbourne in 2002, where he worked in emergency medicine and completed postgraduate training in paediatric emergency medicine (FRACP) the same year. He joined our Emergency Department at the Royal Children`s Hospital as a Fellow in 2003 and was appointed Chief Medical Officer in 2004. He continues to work full-time as an emergency physician at RCH and was appointed Director of Emergency Medicine in 2016. The RCH website also does important work: it helps visitors. Whether parents of sick children, patients themselves or healthcare professionals looking for information, visitors can quickly and easily find what they are looking for without having to call the hospital. With a background in news journalism, Alison has had a long career in media and issues management in the New South Wales public sector in policing, education and health, leading the communications strategy for the integration of multi-million dollar IT platforms in the financial services sector. Alison, who has won industry awards for journalism and employee engagement, has completed her career with a number of board appointments in the areas of child welfare and sports administration. In addition to his clinical role with a particular interest in genital anomalies and functional bladder problems, Mike has been a member of the Hospital Research Ethics Board for over 10 years.
He is also an active educator and medical ambassador for clown doctors. “Website content is provided by a team of over 400 hospital staff in 160 departments with technical support from our web team. A cloud-based help desk has dramatically changed the way we communicate with this expanded team of content experts, allowing us to handle queries more securely and efficiently,” said Adam Leadoux, the hospital`s webmaster. Rowena currently advises higher education institutions on governance, legal advice, audit and policy, and is a partner in the family`s primary production company. She is the past Chair and Director of Ballarat Health Services and past Chair of the Grampians Regional Board Network. As former Principal Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ballarat/University of the Federation of Australia, she was responsible for corporate services, including finance, legal services, governance, human resources, technology park, trade, international education and public relations. She has also served as President and Board Member of Ballarat Clarendon College. Rowena began her career as a lawyer and holds an LLB and BJuris from Monash University and a FedUni (Hon) Doctor. Director of the RCH Foundation since 2022.
Alison Errey was appointed Executive Director of Communications at the Royal Children`s Hospital in April 2017 and is responsible for strategy and planning, corporate communications, RCH`s National Children`s Health Survey, family and volunteer services, and history and archives. In this role, Alison oversees all facets of corporate strategy, brand and reputation management, media relations, digital strategy, and government and partner relations. Sandy Bell was appointed Chief Strategy, Planning and Performance Officer in February 2022. Professor James Angus AO is Honorary Professor and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS), University of Melbourne. In July 2013, he completed a 10-year term as Dean of MDHS Faculty at the University of Melbourne. Prior to becoming Dean, he was Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of MDHS. At the University of Melbourne, James served as Chair of the Academic Council (2000-2001), Vice-Chancellor (1999-2001) and Member of the University Council (1999-2001). James is a recipient of the Australian Academy of Science Gottschalk Medal (1984), is a member of the Academy (FAA) and a member of its Council.
He is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. In 2003, he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for his contribution to pharmacology and the community. James has served as First Vice-President of the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) and President of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists. From 2009 to 2011, he was Chairman of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand. His current roles include: Lieutenant Governor of Victoria from November 2021, Director of the National Stem Cell Australia Foundation; Director, Jack Brockhoff Foundation, Director, RCH Foundation; Chair of the RCH Campus Board; Chair of the Australian Advisory Council on the Medical Use of Cannabis; Director, Science Australia Gender Equity Ltd; and member of the Melbourne University Publishing Advisory Board. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010 for outstanding service to biomedical research, particularly in the fields of pharmacology and cardiovascular disease, as a leading academic and medical educator and as a contributor to a number of advisory boards and professional organisations at national and international level. Director of the RCH Foundation since 2020. Kath holds a Master of Science in Nursing (Research), a Graduate Diploma in Health Management, a Bachelor of Education and a Graduate Diploma in Critical Nursing Care. Interim Professor Tom Connell was appointed Chief Medical Officer of the Royal Children`s Hospital (RCH) in October 2018.
In this role, Tom is responsible for the medical management of department heads and their staff in 20 departments in the Department of Medicine and five inpatient medical services. Peter Yates AM is Chairman of AIA Australia Limited, a director of Linfox Australia Pty Ltd and Mutual Trust Pty Ltd. He is Chair of the Royal Institution of Australia, the Australian Science Media Centre, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Melbourne, the RCH Foundation, the Shared Value Project and the NHMRC Centre for Personalized Immunology at ANU, and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computing and Communication Technologies at UNSW. Bernadette McDonald was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Children`s Hospital (RCH) in September 2021. Bernadette was previously CEO of Canberra Health Services at a time of great change in the ACT`s health system. Prior to this appointment, she was Deputy Chief Executive Officer and then Interim CEO of Austin Health, after serving as CEO of Orbost Regional Health Department. Bernadette is a highly experienced executive with a proven track record in the Australian healthcare sector. Known for her strategic vision, strong relationships, inspiring leadership and commitment to exceptional patient care, she demonstrates authentic leadership and positions organizations for success by strategically assessing the environment and providing foresight to maximize impact and reputation. Bernadette holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Health Administration, Graduate Degrees in Health Services and Health Systems Management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. For over 25 years, Alison has led communications, business and business transformation programs for some of the largest and most complex organizations in the country. She led the creation of a $20 million community foundation and negotiated a national partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission to advocate for workforce reform for mature Australians. For a list of RCH Foundation committees, please click here.
Kath is compassionate and inspired to make a difference in providing quality care and looks forward to driving generational change.