Donald McRae is the new Chief Operating Officer/Chief Nurse at Latrobe Regional Hospital

Donald McRae is the new Chief Operating Officer/Chief Nurse at Latrobe Regional Hospital. Don is a highly experienced health care executive, who is able to evidence 34 years of public health experience.  His career to date has enabled him to be aware of the challenges within the public health sector, while also looking toward applying new and innovative models of care.  For 12 years Don held the position of Director of Clinical Services with the Wimmera Health Care Group (WHCG).  In this role Don was responsible for managing a range of clinical services across multiple campuses, including acute, residential aged care, sub-acute and primary care.  Don standardised work practices for the clinical division along with developing strong partnerships with other health services providers in the Wimmera region.  Don had the opportunity to deputise for the CEO on a number of occasions, which  provided him with exposure to working with the Board of Management in addition to gaining a greater understanding of funding models within public health.

Before this Don was the Nurse Operations Manager at WHCG where he was responsible to the Director of Clinical Services for the operational management of acute care nursing services.  The scope of this management included operating suites, the critical care unit, accident and emergency department, medical and surgical wards, paediatric ward and midwifery department.  Key achievements in this position included developing a modified case load model of care for the midwifery service, in addition to creating systems and processes for the overseas recruitment of RNs via the 457 visa facility.   Prior to this, Don had held the position of Nurse Unit Manager across the Accident and Emergency Department with WHCG.  For eight years Don provided the leadership and direction for the nursing team delivering emergency care services.  Don was also responsible for the supervision of post graduate, graduate and undergraduate nursing students and junior medical officers. Don’s earlier career included nursing roles within critical care and midwifery.