Second 3DHB executive appointment announced
The Chief Executives of the lower North Island DHBs today announced the appointment of Carolyn Cooper as the Executive
Director of People and Culture for the their three DHBs. The new role will have responsibility for Human Resource
functions, including Organisational Development across the 3 DHBs.
This is the second executive appointment supporting the ‘3DHB Programme’ partnership arrangement announced by the DHB
Chairs in October. It follows the appointment of Dr Ashley Bloomfield who heads the Service Integration and Development
Unit, bringing together the three former Planning and Funding units of the DHBs.
Ms Cooper is currently a General Manager at Canterbury DHB. She is no stranger to the region, having started her career
in health as a registered nurse in the Wairarapa. Over the course of her career, she has been Acute Services manager at
Wairarapa Hospital, a Clinical Nurse Manager at Hutt Hospital ED, General Manager of Compassion Hospital in Wellington,
a regional Manager for ACC, Womens and Childrens Health Service Manager for Lakes DHB, and Operations Manager of Burwood
Hospital.
“The 3DHB Programme highlighted the need for consistent practices, approaches and best use of resources,” says Hutt
Valley DHB CE Graham Dyer. “Having Carolyn in this position will enable us to work together in a much more coordinated
way. Carolyn will bring a wealth of experience to this new role and has a track record of working with groups and
individuals to bring about transformational change. While we have some excellent people working in this field across the
three DHBs, the task of bringing together our policies, procedures and practices should not be underestimated. It’s not
just about pieces of paper; it’s about people learning new ways of working together. You can’t do that without a
strategic overview and excellent guidance. ”
Capital and Coast CE Mary Bonner says “Carolyn’s areas of responsibility are essential enablers for our clinical teams
to bring about their vision of seamless services for patients in the region. As with any period of change, it is very
important that our processes value our people. We look forward to the assistance of Carolyn and her team in making sure
we get this right.”
Ms Cooper will take up the new appointment on 4 March 2013.
ENDS