Executive Managers

An experienced CEO and Senior Executive, Lois has successfully led both public and private-sector organisations.

Having worked across the health, education, family services, and aged and disability fields, Lois is no stranger to leading teams, or to engaging communities and stakeholders.

Consistently striving for excellence, Lois is influential in aligning an organisation’s operations with its vision and values, whilst actively promoting team harmony.

Understanding the varying needs of consumers, Lois is passionate about the Wimmera Mallee region having hailed from Ouyen where she is also a partner in a broadacre farming enterprise.

Ready to embrace any challenges this new role may bring, Lois looks forward to engaging with the wider community to help RNH continue providing accessible, efficient, and affordable care.

Glenn first arrived in the Wimmera from Ballarat in 1999 and quickly established a career in the manufactory industry for over 12 years. In this time span of more than 12 years, Glenn studied physical metallurgy, Quality & Human Resources management while leading various teams within the Horsham based company. From there Glenn went on to manage Human Resources, Quality, Accreditation and Safety in senior leadership roles within the community services sector for approximately 8 years. This led him to join the Wimmera Health Care Group (Grampians Health) as the Human Resources Manager in mid-2019 before joining Rural Northwest Health. Glenn is passionate about contemporary leadership and strategic workforce planning, continual quality improvement, team wellbeing and positive organisational change.

Joseph comes to RNH from Grampians Health Edenhope as the previous Director of Nursing. With a strong background in clinical leadership, Joseph is highly experienced having had oversight of all clinical care within his previous roles, as well as being part of the Executive Management team contributing to leadership, strategic and operational planning.

Joseph understands the value of small rural communities and will be a huge asset to RNH and to our region.

Paula is a Registered Nurse of 25 years and started her career in Community Mental Health and in Alcohol and Other Drugs Treatment Services. She moved into Primary Care and Community Health 12 years ago where she has worked as a Community Health Nurse, Manager and Executive Manager for Rural and Regional Health Services. Paula demonstrates strong leadership skills and encourages a supportive, fun and innovative workplace for all her staff.

Living and being a small business owner in a small regional town, Paula has personal experience with the challenges of living rurally and this drives her passion for advocacy for equitable and accessible health services for all. Paula values the consumer experience feedback and uses this information and partnership with key community members to shape the health service into the future.

Rafiq has been the Director of Medical Services at Rural Northwest Health since February 2025.

Recently finishing his tenure with Goulburn Valley Health, Shepparton as the Director of Research, a position he had held since 2015, Rafiq previously served as a Board Member of Shepparton Villages and currently holds an Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor position with the Rural Health School, La Trobe University.

Very passionate about improving the quality and safety of healthcare delivery for everyone including the rural, regional, ATSI, CALD, LGBTIQ and less privileged population, Rafiq is committed to advancing his clinical, clinical and public health research, and medical management skills in completing a Fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA).

As a Registered Nurse and Clinical Leader with over 20 years of experience, Abraham Mahachi is dedicated to quality and safety in healthcare.

His extensive background includes clinical risk and incident management, clinical audit, and quality improvement and consumer feedback.

Having held key leadership roles at Epworth Healthcare, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and the Clinical Excellence Commission in NSW, Abraham has frontline nursing experience in emergency, aged care, and anaesthetic settings.

Achieving a Master of Health Leadership and Management, he is committed to embedding a quality improvement approach to patient care.

Abraham joins Rural Northwest Health after serving as Clinical Incident Manager for Healthcare Australia’s Primary Health Division, where he oversaw incident reporting, investigation, and resolution across immigration detention health facilities nationwide.

An accomplished healthcare finance professional with over 20 years of experience across New Zealand and Australia, Vijen has worked within regional, rural, and tertiary hospital environments and brings his extensive expertise in financial management, business operations, and corporate services, along with his strengths in aged care and rural health service delivery, to Rural Northwest Health.

Holding leadership roles within Victorian health services, where he was responsible for strategic financial planning, operational oversight, and ensuring financial sustainability, these experiences provided Vijen with a strong understanding of activity-based funding models and the complexities of delivering high-quality healthcare services within financially constrained environments.

Vijen’s Doctorate in Business Administration, which has enhanced his strategic thinking, analytical capability, and leadership effectiveness, strengthened his ability to navigate the evolving challenges of modern healthcare finance and contribute to long-term organisational sustainability.

Deeply committed to advancing healthcare excellence and supporting community well-being, Vijen is passionate about driving positive organisational outcomes through strategic leadership, strong governance, financial stewardship, and innovation.