New medical leader brings rural-regional health focus to mildura base
Mildura Base Public Hospital’s new Chief Medical Officer, Dr Louise Litten, will make the move south in September from her current role at Katherine in the Northern Territory.
Mildura Base Public Hospital interim chair Bob Cameron said Dr Litten had the energy, the clinical and community experience, specialised knowledge and a patient-centred mindset that would make a real difference at the hospital.
“Louise has dedicated her medical career to rural and regional healthcare and so we’re very fortunate to have her coming onboard,” Mr Cameron said.
Dr Litten has been Director of Medical Services at Katherine Hospital since 2014 where she gained practical experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Dr Litten says she has been fortunate to have her medical administration career develop through the Aboriginal community controlled sector.
“It gave me an important perspective on health service delivery that I was able to carry through when I moved back into the hospital environment”.
“I learnt the importance of teamwork, especially with a diverse team where people bring very different things to the table. I also learnt of the sustained effort needed to achieve significant change in a health service environment,” Dr Litten said.
Dr Litten has a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Otago and a Masters in Public Health from Flinders University, where she was also a senior lecturer.
“I’m thrilled to be making the move to Mildura,” she said.
“I’m perhaps one of the few people who can say I’m looking forward to Mildura’s milder climate!”