Meet the transformational leader in health who gets things done

Christine Stephens, who has been appointed executive director of nursing and midwifery at Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD), is no stranger to challenges in difficult times.

Christine has over 25 years under her belt in the state’s public health sector as a highly-skilled nurse, mental health nurse and midwife nurse.

Her impressive resume as a leader includes being the former director of the COVID-19 vaccination program in the state health emergency operations centre for NSW Health, the director of nursing and midwifery with Liverpool Hospital as well as director of nursing services with South Western Sydney Local Health District mental health services.

The director of nursing and midwifery’s previous role within NSW Health involved her assisting the MLHD throughout the bushfire seasons and the pandemic.

“I admired MLHD’s commitment and can-do attitude in continuing to deliver services to people living in remote and regional areas,” Christine said.

“Jill [Ludford] is an exemplary leader and I wanted to contribute my knowledge and skills to MLHD, whilst also having a chance to work with one of the best chief executives in NSW Health.”

Christine’s passion for the education of nurses played an instrumental role in facilitating the extra intake of graduate nurses throughout various facilities across the district.

Christine believes in supporting and developing nurses to rise to the challenge of delivering exceptional care.

She wants to ensure that nurses are able to meet the challenges of healthcare delivery in the future.

“In 2022 MLHD have welcomed 140 graduates which is the largest number of graduate nurses employed to date,” she said.

“We are proud to be attracting so many people to our towns across the region.

“We receive so much great feedback from graduates about how welcome they feel, how supported they are and with many also bringing their families, it is a wonderful outcome for regional and remote towns.”

Christine was excited to have one of her graduate nurses at Corowa become a finalist in the Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards, while another community nurse was also nominated for the awards.

“It just goes to show the high calibre of our graduates and nurses that are working in our towns,” Christine said.

“I feel privileged to be a part of that.”

Earlier this year, Christine made the tree change from Sydney to Wagga with her family to start a new phase in her career.

“My tree change has literally been a breath of fresh air, and I am looking forward to further supporting and educating our wonderful nursing and midwifery staff over the upcoming months,” she said.

“I was lucky to find something suitable for my family, but we got a little surprise we were not bargaining on.

“The previous owners were not able to relocate their built-in aquarium, so we found ourselves doing a bit of a crash course in tropical aquarium maintenance and am happy to report that no fish fatalities have occurred on my watch!”

Christine has welcomed her new life in Wagga which does not include peak hour gridlocks and paid parking, unlike her time in Sydney.

“It is so much easier to be out and about in Wagga and visiting other towns and facilities,” she said.