Health veteran in BCH hot seat
BELLARINE Community Health has announced the new man to take on its top job following a three-month search to replace outgoing boss John Fendyk.
Shane Dawson, a former chief executive of Wide Bay Medicare Local in Queensland and more recently a consultant for several disability agencies in the NDIS rollout, is set to start as the under-fire organisation’s new chief executive at the end of July.
With the results of both a forensic audit and health needs analysis looming large, Mr Dawson said he was looking forward to joining the team and finding his feet.
“Working in community health and for a communitybased organisation is a passion of mine,” he said.
Mr Dawson holds a Masters in Business Management and is said to have an extensive understanding of health service integration and delivery, with the BCH board expressing its confidence that the incoming boss was “well positioned” to lead the provider into the future.
“Shane brings to Bellarine Community Health diverse skills, strong connections and experience as a strategic leader in the health sector,” BCH board chairwoman Hazel Ingram said.
“His career has been across a diverse range of health activities within the hospital, primary care, organisational redevelopment and disability sectors.”
Mr Fendyk announced in February he would not be extending his long-term stint with the organisation, following a scandal-riddled reign dating back to the controversial handling of the sale of Ann Nichol House and Coorabin aged care facilities in 2014 and 2013.
More recently, Mr Fendyk and the board had resisted calls to resign when the Geelong Advertiser revealed in November last year that BCH did not seek a police investigation into an alleged internal fraud.
Soon after, Bellarine MP Lisa Neville announced that a forensic audit would be undertaken on BCH and a planned health needs analysis put on hold.
That audit had been previously reported to have a March 2017 completion date, however it is understood to have been delayed with a release date still unknown.