New DHB chair a proud Taranaki girl
Cassandra Crowley has a wellorganised diary.
The new chair of Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB) is kept busy with a number of roles on different boards and commercial advisory work that require her to travel around the North Island. She also has a partner who lives in Wellington.
‘‘He’s on the list somewhere,’’ she laughs. ‘‘I’m not here all the time but I’m very passionate about Taranaki.’’
Crowley is a proud Taranaki girl who grew up in Kaponga, went to St Patrick’s School, and then Sacred Heart Girls’ College in New Plymouth.
The 40-year-old is a trained chartered accountant and barrister solicitor, which, she said, is common of those who sit on boards. Her governance work includes being on the boards for Wild for Taranaki Biodiversity Trust, Western Institute of Technology Taranaki, and New Zealand Transport Association.
‘‘And a whole lot of other boards that keep me busy.
‘‘I’ve been coming in and contributing to the educational and environmental outcomes and now I get the opportunity to do that in the health space too.’’
Crowley was appointed as the new TDHB chair by the Ministry of Health in December and took over from Pauline Lockett, who served two terms in the role.
While Rosemary Clements is TDHB’S top decision maker as chief executive, it is the board that gets to appoint the person into that role.
Crowley’s role is leading the elected board members who are responsible for governing the organisation, which means setting the direction for the DHB, monitoring its performance against its goals, and protecting its interests.
Crowley is entering the role off the back of a challenging 2019 which saw TDHB with a $23.37 million deficit, ongoing issues include recruitment, trying to secure an effective health care model for South Taranaki, pressure on the emergency department, the measles outbreak, and strike action.
Crowley said she was lucky to lead a board with such a range of skills. ‘‘We have an ex-mayor and MP, we have two Taranaki Regional councillors, we have someone who has worked in the Minister of Health’s office before, we have registered nurses, we have a health literacy advocate, we have an ex-principal.
‘‘When you look around the table, the skillset we have is phenomenal.’’
Looking to the year ahead Crowley said the role was about delivering healthcare priorities set out by the Government but also listening to the needs of the community.
‘‘One of the things we’ve been focusing on a little bit is making sure no matter where you live in Taranaki, no matter your background, you can have the same level of healthcare. That is something DHBs across the country are focusing on.’’