For immediate release
Date: Thursday, April 3
Dual Role for Population Health Service Manager
Waikato District Health Board's Population Health Service group manager Barbara Garbutt will manage the Older Persons
and Rehabilitation Service in an acting capacity from Monday.
She takes over from Jeff Bennett, who becomes group manager: Mental Health and Addictions Service.
Mrs Garbutt, who immigrated to New Zealand from England in 1990, will continue at Population Health Service.
Her background is in nursing and management.
She took up a position with Waikato DHB as a quality advisor and has remained with the organisation since, apart from a
15-month stint in 2000 as general manager of a Waikato medical and aged care hospital.
In the past 18 years, her Waikato DHB roles have included women's health manager and screening services manager. She
became Population Health Service group manager in 2005.
"I believe there are many synergies between the work of Population Health and the Older Persons and Rehabilitation
Service," said Mrs Garbutt.
"Population Health has a strong focus on the health and wellbeing of our communities - for all ages.
"We need to continue to develop services which support our older community members to remain at home, with the correct
support systems and resources in place to enable this.
"I'm looking forward to the challenges this presents."
ENDS