Meet our Operations team

A Work Healthy Australia clinician arrives at your workplace, ready for the day ahead. They greet you and other site contacts and set up in the treatment room, ready for their first patient. The day is a busy combination of pre-employment screens, early intervention appointments, rehabilitation care plans, and other tailored injury prevention solutions for your workforce.

This scene goes on every day of the week, across Australia. But it doesn’t happen by accident. Behind it is our Operations Team, a group committed to your organisation, your workers, and ensuring everything runs smoothly. Meet the people who make this happen.

A cohesive distributed team

“We work as a distributed team across Australia,” says Darragh McGovern, Head of Operations. “We start the week by meeting online first thing on Monday mornings. We catch up and check in with each other, and then get on to the week’s work. We review our providers’ rosters and client requests and discuss how we can best support the organisations we work with,” says Darragh. 

Clinical expertise

Work Healthy Australia’s team of Operations Managers look after their designated geographical areas, overseeing a team of providers and client organisations. All Operations Managers have worked as onsite clinicians and have a deep understanding of the workplaces we support. 

Darren Hartney, Victorian Operations Manager, says that, as a clinician, he ensured patients had the tools for success in relation to their health outcomes and musculoskeletal injuries. “I try to implement this within operations also, ensuring the client or clinician has all the tools at their disposal to make an informed decision, which hopefully sets them up for success, whatever their goal or objective,” he says.

Karelien Vermaark, Queensland Operations Manager, explains that clinical experience helps the Operations team to understand the practical challenges our providers face and the clinical needs of our clients. “It allows us to translate operational decisions into meaningful support for both our teams and the businesses we work with,” she says.

Behind-the-scenes work

The Operations team turns over every stone to ensure client satisfaction, as well as keeping providers happy and engaged. “We understand that the comfort and satisfaction of our providers directly translates to the sites where they provide treatment,” says Kerri Williams, Logistics Coordinator. “Flights, hire cars, and accommodation are carefully planned and timed to ensure arrivals are smooth and that providers are in the best frame of mind when arriving on site,” she adds.

Onsite early intervention

Karelien says that Work Healthy Australia’s onsite model drives consistency, accessibility, and genuine relationships. “We deliver early intervention and tailored care that integrates seamlessly into our clients’ workplaces. Behind the scenes, Operations plays a key role in making this happen,” she says. “We work closely with our teams to place clinicians where their skills and experience best support each workplace.”

Each member of the Operations team has their own unique insights, experience and lens for decision-making. “This diversity of skills is a massive help when troubleshooting different solutions for our clients,” says Max Cohrssen, Victoria Operations Manager. “We can rely on each other to provide advice and guidance for different challenges,” Max adds. This spirit of collaboration ensures a unified approach that delivers tangible benefits to clients and their workforces.

Collaborating for employee health

Good client communication from an operations perspective means being proactive, responsive, and transparent. It’s about building trust by keeping clients informed, listening to their needs, and working collaboratively to solve problems before they escalate. “Strong communication helps ensure smooth service delivery and long-term partnerships,” says Karelien.

Darren Hartney says he would love to see more clients work with operations managers and providers to develop different strategies to guide their employees’ health choices and provide progressive information on how to achieve their health goals. “This indirectly would have a massive impact on lost time through sickness, shorter recovery time from injuries and lessen the burden of mental health issues in the site population,” he says.