Mereula and Janine

Mereula is a registered nurse, passionate about improving services and health outcomes for patients, healthcare professionals, and the wider community. Mereula practised at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Lautoka Hospital, where she was appointed Shift Team Leader, Facilitator for the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, and Committee Member for the Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Upon completion of her studies, Mereula hopes to collaborate with nursing research and quality improvement teams to prioritise evidence-based health practices. She believes this is one way to bridge the gap between evidence and practice, for the benefit of all patients.

Janine is the Chief Executive Officer of community health organisation Benalla Health and has over 40 years’ experience as a health clinician and administrator. She has spent most of her career in rural health, working across acute, sub-acute, community, and aged care programs, and has held progressively senior roles with the then Department of Human Services (DHS) and Community and Aged Care Services.

In 1999, Janine became the first midwife to receive the prestigious Churchill Fellowship, through which she undertook an exploratory study of midwifery services in New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. She is interested in sustainable, innovative systems that support the safe delivery of person-centered clinical services, particularly in maternity care, and the complexities of effective health administration.