AN exciting era of helping grow Far North health services awaits the next Chief Executive Officer of the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation. A national search will commence this weekend following the announcement that CEO Tony Williamson is ready to hand over the baton to his permanent replacement.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have Tony Williamson step into the role which was only meant to be interim, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and he stuck with us through some challenging times and for that we will be forever grateful,” Board Chairman, Dr Ken Chapman said.
“The Foundation has actually done incredibly well during this time when many charities have suffered. We contributed millions of dollars worth of medical equipment during our COVID-19 campaign, the QSuper Cardiac Challenge has raised a record sum of money, and we’re soaring. Tony is leaving us in a very solid position and the operations team and our army of volunteers have really risen to the recent challenges faced. They have all done an incredible job.”
Mr Williamson said following the sale of his real estate business he enjoyed throwing his energy behind the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation and enjoyed working with the Foundation immensely.
“I took on the role for what I thought would be three months and it turned into two years. COVID certainly took us all by surprise and posed many challenges, and I just didn’t have it in me to leave such a dedicated team in a time of crisis. I wanted to see it through and support them through it. Whoever takes on the role to replace me will be leading a very worthy cause for our local community. One thing about the Far North Hospital Foundation is that every cent raised goes directly to servicing the needs of our hospital. There are not too many charities that can hand on heart say that and I am convinced that is why people are so supportive of it.”
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with the Board and the extraordinary team of volunteers and operations staff. I will continue to be their biggest raving fan,” Mr Williamson said.
Dr Chapman said the next phase of growth for the organisation would be important for the new CEO to lead.
“As we support the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service in reaching university status, the role of the Foundation will be critical in advocating, liaising and fundraising to provide what we can to support these goals. The new CEO will play a vital role as we move into this phase of expansion,” he said.
