Aged and community care provider, Masonic Homes, has announced the appointment of its new deputy chief executive officer (CEO), Geoff Tattersall, as part of a comprehensive restructure of its senior management team.
Mr Tattersall will be responsible for the group’s operations covering retirement living, residential and community care in both South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The move is expected to cap off the group’s reorganisation that has so far included the appointment of five senior managers – chief of sales and marketing; chief development officer; chief information officer; chief financial officer and chief organisational development officer.
“All the building blocks are now in place,” Mr Tattersall said. “Now we have to build on those building blocks.”
Prior to working at Masonic Homes, Mr Tattersall was the CEO of Adelaide’s 300-bed Repatriation General Hospital.
With a career in public health spanning more than 35 years, Mr Tattersall has also occupied several senior administrative and financial positions, including assistant CEO at the Adelaide-based Women’s and Children’s Hospital, CEO of Noarlunga Health Services and finance director at the South Australian (SA) Department of Human Services.
“I’ve had 37 years in the public health sector in SA…While there are areas of overlap [with aged care] there are areas of fundamental difference. Retirement living is completely different to where I’ve been in the acute care sector.
Mr Tattersall hopes to use his public health experience to improve the quality of life of Masonic residents and community care recipients.
“I’m looking forward to it personally because there are aspects of [this job] that are new to me, like retirement living.
“An ageing population brings with it demands on a whole number of fronts. So, it’s the place to be as a manager. And I’ve always been interested in the social determinants of health. How well we do with health and housing can make a huge impact on a person’s quality of life and on the health and welfare sector.”
Mr Tattersall is currently a fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Executives, at which he sits on the SA Branch Council and the National Fellowship Committee. He is also a board member of the Women’s & Children’s Health Research Institute, Adelaide.
Masonic Homes CEO, Doug Strain, regarded the appointment of such a high calibre professional as a significant coup for the group.
“We are delighted to have secured the services of Mr Tattersall, who is one of the most respected health managers in South Australia,” said Mr Strain.
“He has a record of professional health management that is second to none in this industry.”
