Julie McCormack Board Chair |
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GOVERNANCE |
OUR PEOPLE |
CHALLENGES |
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We would like to acknowledge the contributions of our outgoing Board Members who have completed their terms this year after nine years of service .
We thank Carlo Carli , the outgoing Board Chair and Darryl Annett , who held the role of Specialist Director Legal , for their very active service and their tremendous contributions to the organisation . We were pleased to welcome Anne Jungwirth and Michael de Bruyn to the Board .
Sadly , in January , former Director and Patron of the organisation Michael Beahan passed away after a short illness . Michael , a former Commonwealth Senator , served on our Board of Directors for six years and was a strong advocate for vulnerable and marginalised communities .
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Despite changes at the Governance level , the stewardship of the organisation has remained solid and is deeply committed to providing exceptional and quality service offerings and ensuring the sustainability of the organisation into the future .
Strategic oversight and risk mitigation has been a key focus of the Board and has been enhanced by community representation with Information Management expertise on our Finance and Risk Management Board sub-committee .
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Our sincerest appreciation goes to our people . Our people are our most important asset and the means by which we provide support to our diverse communities .
A key measure of success during these challenging times has been our ability to increase employee engagement by 10 % to 70 %, with 83 % of our employees reporting that Merri is a ‘ truly great place to work ’.
Keeping our organisation safe and facilitating our teams to successfully work both onsite and remotely during this time has been instrumental in our ongoing success . We actively invested in staff wellbeing and introduced a new Employee Assistance Program with increased benefits . Our employees ’ agility and the shift to telehealth and hybrid working models has enhanced client reach and health outcomes .
We are most proud of how our people have remained focused and adapted to the changing needs of our clients , often when faced with their own personal challenges , and working under pandemic restrictions . Our team has been amazing !
It would be remiss to not thank our fantastic community representatives and volunteers , who are integral to Merri Health ’ s success and give their time in a wide range of roles . In particular we would like to acknowledge our Board of Directors for their ongoing support and efforts .
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Staff shortages across the sector increased , compounded by the pandemic . Staffing all available roles remains a significant challenge we are addressing through innovative recruitment strategies and service delivery planning .
The financial sustainability of NDIS programs also continues to be a challenge and we ceased our NDIS Support Coordinator service this year following an external review .
LOOKING FORWARD
As we look to the future , Merri Health anticipates increased client complexity that will require more innovative , personcentric responses to service delivery .
We are pleased to report we have an agile , resilient and well-resourced organisation poised to tackle the challenges and grasp the opportunities of an ever-evolving future .
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TASSIA MICHALEAS Chief Executive Officer
JULIE MCCORMACK Chair
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MERRI HEALTH / ANNUAL REPORT 2022 |
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