Susi Tegen has worked and lived in rural, remote and regional Australia for more than 30 years. She has been the Chief Executive of medical and health entities which deliver care, develop policy, train the health sector, developing grass roots solutions with community industry, stakeholders to translate research to policy and funding and in particular to meet rural health needs. Susi Tegen’s roles have included Chief Executive of the National Rural Health Alliance (current), a Consultant to RFDS, ACCRM, Adelaide University Rural Clinical School, Australian Indigenous Doctors Australia, the Chief Executive of the Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, The Medical Technology Association of Australia, the Limestone Coast Division of General Practice and various primary industry and education entities.
As Chief Executive of the National Rural Health Alliance (the Alliance), Susi oversees the direction of this national peak organisation dedicated to improving the rural health landscape. The Alliance comprises 54 national organisations committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the over 7.3 million people in rural and remote Australia. Our diverse membership includes representation from health professional organisations, health and aged care service providers, health educators, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector and students. The Alliance provides a united voice for people and health professionals living and working in regional, rural and remote communities and advocates for sustainable and affordable health services. Our most important role, underpinned by our broad representative base, is listening to the people of rural Australia and taking their views to government.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Rural Australia is the economic powerhouse of our nation: how do we keep rural Australians including the rural health workforce healthy and thriving?
In her keynote address, Susi Tegen will be setting the scene about the health landscape in Australia, and specifically the state of rural health in Australia. Rural Australians make up close to 30 percent of the population. They do not receive an equitable share of the health spend, have barriers that those in cities do not face including; higher costs, less health workforce, the tyranny of distance and as a result suffer worse health outcomes. For many regions this results in a lower life expectancy of up to 13 years. This underspend is approximately $850 less health funding spent on a rural person each year than someone based in metropolitan Australia equating to an overall population rural health spending deficit of $6.55 billion annually and growing. While there are challenges to addressing some of these issues, there are also many examples of excellent grass roots practice and innovative solutions which need to be supported and amplified.
Susi Tegen will discuss the challenges, the solutions which are about different health funding models for rural and “growing our own” rural health workforce. She will also discuss how we can lead the way for excellent rural health solutions and support our multidisciplinary health workforce spread across the country.