A highly experienced clinician, Cherie Myburgh has joined the TCHHS team as Cooktown’s new midwifery boss. Photo: Supplied.
Cooktown is now one step closer to local birthing after the appointment of the community’s new midwifery unit manager.
Cherie Myburgh brings almost two decades of clinical experience in both rural settings and larger hospitals in Australia and her home country of New Zealand.
“I have always been very passionate about rural and remote birthing, having come from a semi-rural area in New Zealand,” Ms Myburgh said.
The new midwifery unit manager was most recently a principal project officer with Queensland Health’s clinical priority oversight team, and has also worked on the Growing Deadly Families Strategies in the Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.
“I have a wide range of experience, including my own practice in a semi-rural region of New Zealand, where I facilitated women-centred care through midwifery continuity, supporting birthing in the home, at birthing units and tertiary level hospitals,” she said.
“I am looking forward to leveraging my experiences to support birthing on Country in Cooktown.
“Having previous experience in working with First Nations women and Elders, I remain committed to nurturing and building on the foundations already experienced.”
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service chief executive Rex O’Rourke said the organisation remained committed to resuming birthing services at Cooktown as soon as appropriately qualified staff were in place and it was safe to do so.
“With $200 million funding now committed to redevelop Cooktown Hospital, we believe this will assist us to attract the key staff we need to bring birthing back to this area,” he said.
“We were so delighted to reopen the Weipa birthing service last month and understand how important this service is to local women and their families.”
