Chief Executive Officer - Luke Guazzo Expand Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), Deakin University Bachelor of Commerce, James Cook University Luke Guazzo is a strategic leader with broad experience across multiple industries in the not-for-profit and commercial sectors, particularly in the financial, strategic and management spaces. His prior roles have all been in the capacities of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer with Lancini Property and Development, Cootharinga North Queensland and Otto’s Fresh Food Market. Luke is highly involved in the North Queensland community and places particular value on positive mutually-beneficial relationships.
Psychologist - Kassandra Kanagaratnam | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Kassandra is a clinical psychologist with experience supporting people with a range of concerns across childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Kassandra has a Masters of Psychology (Clinical), a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Health Science (Rehab. Counselling). She is passionate about assisting people to understand and put into context their early adverse childhood experiences; providing support and growth in parenting; processing grief, anxiety and depression; and improving interpersonal relationships in families and workplaces. She also has experience working with people and families within the rehabilitation and drug and alcohol fields. Kassandra says it is important to her that clients feel she has listened without judgement and demonstrated genuine interest in their story. She believes if I can hear a client’s story that they will be able to hear themselves. “When a client can hear themselves, they can understand self, find meaning and resolve their difficulties and concerns.” She is passionate about providing an opportunity for people to understand themselves and develop a deeper appreciation of who they are, where they come from and the relationships around them. She hopes people leave a session with her feeling an increased sense of self efficacy and value of self.
Speech Pathologist - Joshua Smith | Townsville Expand Joshua is a Speech Pathologist who is passionate about building trust with his clients and their families in order to support them to take charge of their goals and achieve positive outcomes. Joshua has a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from James Cook University. He has clinical experience across all domains of Speech Pathology and his special interests have involved mealtimes, swallowing and most recently multi-modal and complex communication needs. He has formal training in Mealtimes Therapy (SOS), Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display (PODD) and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) assessment and implementation. Joshua has a strong commitment to developing a relationship between himself, his client, their families and carers that is built on a foundation of trust and open communication. He believes that this strongly supports his clients to achieve goals and stay motivated and engaged. Joshua is passionate about helping clients and their families to learn about their needs, better understand the process that they have started and the journey that they are on together. He gets great career satisfaction from seeing clients and their families take charge of their goals and achieve their outcomes. He especially enjoys problem solving as part of a team, whether it’s a team of therapists or a family team, saying 'teamwork does make the dream work'. When working with clients, Joshua always hopes that he can provide reassurance and create positive change. He hopes that everyone who finishes a session with him walks away with more than they arrived with.
Head Office - Townsville Expand Phone 07 4421 7700 Fax 07 4421 7799 Address Level 4 Clinical Practice Building, 1 James Cook Drive, Douglas QLD 4814 Post PO Box 7780, Garbutt QLD 4814 Email [email protected]
Phone 07 4421 7700 Fax 07 4421 7799 Address Level 4 Clinical Practice Building, 1 James Cook Drive, Douglas QLD 4814 Post PO Box 7780, Garbutt QLD 4814 Email [email protected]
NAPHL Health Hub - Townsville Expand Phone 07 4722 8750 Fax 07 4421 7457 Address 51 Fulham Rd, Pimlico QLD 4812 Email [email protected]
Townsville Youth Hub + headspace Townsville Expand Phone 07 4799 1799 Fax 07 4799 1798 Address 2/14 Sporting Drv, Thuringowa Central QLD 4817 Email [email protected]
Phone 07 4799 1799 Fax 07 4799 1798 Address 2/14 Sporting Drv, Thuringowa Central QLD 4817 Email [email protected]
NAPHL Health Hub - Cairns Expand Phone 07 4252 6108 Fax 07 4421 7450 Address 19 Aplin St, Cairns QLD 4870 Email [email protected]
Mackay Youth Hub + headspace Mackay Expand Phone 07 4898 2700 Fax 07 4421 7799 Address Level 2, Suncorp Building, 123 Victoria Street, Mackay QLD 4740 Post PO Box 974, Mackay QLD 4740 Email [email protected]
Phone 07 4898 2700 Fax 07 4421 7799 Address Level 2, Suncorp Building, 123 Victoria Street, Mackay QLD 4740 Post PO Box 974, Mackay QLD 4740 Email [email protected]
Ingham Expand Phone 07 4421 7700 Address Hinchinbrook Community Support Centre,52 McIllwraith Street, Ingham QLD 4850 Email [email protected]
Phone 07 4421 7700 Address Hinchinbrook Community Support Centre,52 McIllwraith Street, Ingham QLD 4850 Email [email protected]
Occupational Therapist - Julie Bowthorpe | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Julie is an accredited Occupational Therapist with a passion for supporting people to improve their quality of life. Julie has a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from James Cook University. Her areas of special interest are in equipment prescription and home modifications. Julie gets the most job satisfaction from improving a person’s quality of life through modifying their environment, teaching them new skills or providing equipment that assists them to engage more successfully in the world around them. She has a strong commitment to developing a good rapport and working relationship with a client, their families and support coordinators. Listening to and respecting a client and their goals is at the core of her values, and her practice is centred around providing caring and compassionate service that meets her client’s goals and expectations. Julie says she is passionate about making sure clients feel like they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to decisions about their health, function and wellbeing. Wherever possible, she ensures clients are given choices and are well educated about the relevant pros and cons of her recommendations and how these relate to their current and future functional capacity.
Thursday Island Expand Phone 07 4421 7700 Address 80-82 Douglas Street, Thursday Island QLD 4875 Email [email protected]
Charters Towers Expand Phone 07 4421 7700 Addresses Prospect Community Services, 3 Powell Lane, Charters Towers QLD 4820 Email [email protected]
Phone 07 4421 7700 Addresses Prospect Community Services, 3 Powell Lane, Charters Towers QLD 4820 Email [email protected]
Dietitian - Alyce Rees | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Alyce is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who is passionate about working with clients to help them reach their goals while enjoying delicious food. She has an interest in Bariatric Surgery, Chronic Disease Management, Low Carbohydrate Diets and Food intolerances. She is a common-sense dietitian who translates science into practical strategies to support clients to reach their full potential. Alyce has a strong commitment to ensuring clients feel listened to. She also ensures they understand their condition or what is occurring in their body so they can be empowered to make changes without feeling overwhelmed. She provides her clients with education, tools and simple strategies to make lasting change. Request an appointment time with Alyce or ask a question Alyce holds a Bachelor of Health Science and Masters of Dietetics from Deakin University. She has also obtained a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education from Curtin University and Certificates III and IV in Fitness from the Australian Institute of Personal Trainers (AIPT). Alyce worked as a private practice Dietitian for over 8 years in Darwin and Brisbane before joining the NAPHL Health Hub in Cairns in November 2019. Alyce’s mantra is “Eat well, move well and feel amazing”. In her spare time, she teaches group fitness classes in Cairns.
Dietitian - Julietta Close | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Julietta is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist who graduated with her Masters of Dietetics Studies after completing a Bachelors of Exercise and Nutrition Science at the University of Queensland.She adopts a holistic approach to health and believes in the importance of fostering a healthy relationship with food. She has a particular interest in mental health and eating disorders, where she has completed additional training in eating disorder management. She also has an interest in oncology and malnutrition. Julietta is passionate about supporting those living with disabilities with daily living skills to improve their nutrition and independence. Not only is it important for Julietta to make her clients feel heard, but she is committed to educating and empowering clients to make sustainable lifestyle changes so that they walk out feeling confident that they can achieve their personal goals.
Dietitian - Carla Sommers | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Carla is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who is passionate about helping people make simple diet and lifestyle changes for their long-term health. Carla has a Bachelor of Human Nutrition majoring in Food Science, with a Masters in Dietetics from Deakin University. She is a Monash FODMAP trained dietitian. Her areas of special interest include dietetics for bariatric surgery and chronic disease management. Carla says it is important that her patients feel as though they are in a safe environment to enable growth and learning around the impact of their food and nutrition on their health and wellbeing. She is passionate about teaching clients how they can make simple changes to their diet and lifestyle which can have large positive effects on their health. She has a strong commitment to ensuring that her clients feel they have been heard and that their treatment has been developed in collaboration with them to achieve their goals. Carla’s practice involves taking the complexity out of nutrition and breaking down recommendations into achievable stages to support her clients to achieve long term success. She finds it rewarding helping people improve their nutrition to assist with the management of health conditions and observing the ongoing positive impacts this has on their overall health and wellbeing.
Psychologist - Corrina Horan | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Corrina is a mental health professional with a passion for supporting people to overcome mental challenges that are holding them back. Corrina graduated from James Cook University with Honours and is completing her Associate Fellowship in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy Training (REBT). She has a special interest in supporting people with high prevalence mental health conditions, particularly anxiety and panic disorder. She also has an interest in disordered eating and eating disorders. Corrina works from evidence-based practice and has a strong commitment to client choice, control and unconditional respect. She is passionate about helping clients to meet their needs in ways that are most helpful for them. It is important to Corrina that her clients feel lighter, more relaxed and, as therapy progresses, more confident about facing challenges.
Psychologist - Gillian Lunn | Townsville Expand Gillian is a Clinical Psychologist who is passionate about supporting people and their families to overcome challenges and implement changes to their lives. Gillian has a Masters of Psychology (Clinical) and a Bachelor of Science from James Cook University. She has a special interest and experience working with young people in the areas of social and separation anxiety, self-esteem, behavioural concerns and neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD, ASD and Intellectual Impairment. Gillian believes it is important to have a good understanding of the ‘why’ behind symptoms and behaviours and spend time with clients and their families developing this understanding and providing information that helps them to make sense of what they are experiencing. She enjoys empowering young people to be able to implement the changes to their lives and take control of their circumstances using the strategies they have been taught. She also believes good engagement in therapy is vital to making positive change and enjoys using elements of fun and creativity in this process, such as storytelling, drawing, colour and games to meet the individual needs of clients. Gillian believes family involvement is fundamental when working with children. As children look to their parents for guidance and support, she feels it is important to not only empower her child clients but their parents too in continuing to support their child’s growth and resilience. Gillian wants children and their parents to walk away from appointments feeling capable of going forward in their lives with a good understanding of themselves, what’s happening around them and how they can manage difficult times. She acknowledges that childhood development brings with it ever-changing circumstances and challenges that families may need support with. She hopes they leave knowing that we are still there for them in the future and feel comfortable returning should they need this support. Gillian is also the proud owner of Therapy Dog, Ollie. Ollie is a four-year-old Spoodle (Cocker Spaniel x Poodle) who has undergone training to be a Therapy dog. Ollie works closely with Gillian a couple of times per week to provide additional support to clients.
Mental Health Social Worker - Michelle Bell | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Michelle is a Mental Health Accredited Social Worker who is passionate about helping people overcome challenges in their personal and professional lives. Michelle is registered with the AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers) and is also a registered nurse. She is a trained neurofeedback practitioner, YMHFA and BRiTA futures facilitator and Butterfly Foundation group facilitator. Michelle has a special interest in perinatal mental health services and pain management. Michelle has experience and skills in a wide range of mental health and emotional issues, including depression; anxiety and stress; perinatal anxiety and depression; anger, trauma and PTSD; pain; interpersonal relationships and communication difficulties; eating disorders; grief and loss, including grief and loss associated with chronic illness; substance misuse; indigenous emotional health and wellbeing; chronic and enduring mental illness and assisting people with job readiness skills. Michelle is trained and experienced in a number of therapies including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IP), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Brief Solution Focussed Therapy and Cognitive Analytical Therapy Formulation (CAT). Michelle’s practice takes into consideration the uniqueness of every person and situation. She applies a social work theory base to her practice that is founded on social justice ideals, and that acknowledges the inherent strengths of each individual. Michelle has a strong commitment to holistic health, health literacy and preventative and early intervention health strategies. Michelle has worked in a range of primary and secondary mental health settings including a specialist mental health employment agency, Queensland Health Mental Health Services (TCCU and ABI), TAIHS and rural areas.
Mental Health Social Worker - Michael Harman | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Michael is a Psychosocial Therapist and Recovery Specialist with a passion for strengthening individuals, families and communities. He is an accredited Mental Health Social Worker with over 20 years experience delivering health and wellbeing programs and services. Michael has a Bachelor of Community Welfare and a Bachelor of Social Work from James Cook University, as well as being a qualified Community Mediator through the Department of Justice and Attorney General. Being a Townsville local raised in a defence family and witnessing the behaviours attributed to PTSD has been a primary motivator for Michael working in the mental health sector. He is the father of a child who has a disability which has motivated his ongoing commitment to assist all people to be valued in society. Michael says he enjoys working with people from various backgrounds and finds that people who have a disability or mental health concerns are some of the most sensitive, nicest and most talented people. He has over 25 years experience working within the mental health and disability sector and is a leader and advocate for people who have been marginalised. He has a firm belief that people who have a mental illness or disability can make a valuable contribution to the community. Michael works with people in the areas of anxiety and depression management, anger management, bipolar disorder, relationship issues, intellectual disabilities, positive behavioural supports and pain disorders. He also provides training to support workers in managing specific challenging behaviours and outcomes. Michael is passionate about helping clients feel a sense of empowerment and mastery over thoughts, feeling and behaviours. He gets great satisfaction from supporting clients to identify their strengths, values and resources and then demonstrate this with positive life choices and goals for now and the future.
Nurse Practitioner and Diabetes Educator - Karen Carcary | Townsville Expand Karen is a Nurse Practitioner and Credentialed Diabetes Educator with a passion for helping people achieve their health improvement goals. Karen is a Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife. She has a Bachelor of Health Sciences from Central Queensland University, a Masters of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University, a Graduate Certificate in Teaching / Communication from University of New England, a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education and Management from University of Technology Sydney and a Masters of Nursing from Charles Darwin University. Karen works collaboratively with clients to achieve their health improvement goals. She is passionate about enabling clients to understand their condition and be able to choose the management options best suited to them. She has a special interest in promoting individualised self-management strategies. Karen says she wants clients to leave their appointment feeling that their concerns have been listened to and addressed, and that they have the tools and confidence to self-manage.
Board Chairman - Dr Michael Clements Expand B.Econ (Hons) MBBS DAvmed MPH FRACGP FRACMA FACAsM GAICD MRAeS Dr Michael Clements is a Northern Australia Primary Health Limited’s (NAPHL) Non- Executive Director. He’s also an experienced General Practitioner and Practice Principal of two Townsville based private practices and an outreach medical services to remote North-West QLD. After joining the board in 2016, Dr Clements has been heavily involved in strategic policies and shaping the long term objectives and directives of the organisation. With over a decade of medical practice, he’s gained a wide variety of skills, specialist qualifications and experience in primary health care. He’s also undergone specialised medical training in various locations throughout Australia, United Kingdom, the Middle East and across the world. Dr Clements first came to Townsville as a posting with the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) as a Medical Officer in 2010. During his service in the RAAF he worked across the New South Wales, Northern Territory, Western Australia and gained first-hand experience delivering healthcare and disaster relief to remote and hostile environments and war-torn countries. This experience inspired him to gain a special interest in delivering quality health care to remote and rural communities. “It’s always been my dream to provide care where it’s needed most and as a junior medical student, I attended many remote clinics where there was a stark lack of health care services. This drove my medical learning and desire to meet the needs and expectations of rural and isolated communities.” Dr Clements strongly aligns with NAPHL’s values, particularly commitment to community. He emphasises on providing city-level care within a wide reach in North Queensland. He assists NAPHL in continuing to identify gaps in health service provision, finding innovative solutions in fulfilling the needs of Queensland’s diverse communities and targeting opportunities for superior service delivery. He credits Townsville City for providing a well-established hub for a lot of the healthcare that goes on in regional and remote communities. When asked about the best approach to delivering primary health care to communities in need he states, “the best thing we can we do as an organisation is helping communities to help themselves by providing high-level training, education, resources, guidance and superior service provision.” Dr Clements moved to Townsville with his family for the relaxed lifestyle and family-centred atmosphere. His greatest satisfaction comes from helping patients navigate their health journey and achieve their health goals. Professional Summary Dr Michael Clements is an experienced Townsville based General Practitioner and Practice Principal at Fairfield & Townsville Central Medical Practice. Dr Clements has accrued a wide variety of skills and special interests in his time with the Royal Australian Air Force and with QLD Health as Director of Medical Services at Ingham Hospital. Interests include veterans’ health, pediatric care, mental health, chronic disease and palliative care.
Deputy Chair - Helen Stanton Expand Bachelor of Engineering, Minerals Processing Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors GAICD Mastering the Boardroom, Australian Institute of Company Directors Mrs Helen Stanton is a Northern Australia Primary Health Limited’s (NAPHL) Non-Executive Director and Chair of People and Culture Committee. She is also a company director and business improvement consultant. During her career, she has had governance roles in employment services, disability support services, community services and not-for-profit health sectors. Mrs Stanton joined the board in 2012, when NAPHL was previously known as Townsville Mackay Medicare Local (TMML). Mrs Stanton is passionate about the transition NAPHL has made from a funded model to a service delivery model with a focus on innovation. She praises NAPHL on applying practices that utilise years of industry knowledge to make a real difference in our communities. Mrs Stanton currently lives in a small regional town and this fuels her passion for bridging the gap in rural and remote community access to healthcare. She believes the importance of primary health care comes back to listening to people and understanding that each community is different in how they view and prioritise their health. Mrs Stanton strongly believes that there should be no barriers to the quality of healthcare in remote and rural communities. Differences, but no barriers. Professional Summary Mrs Helen Stanton is the Company Director of Mater Health Services North Queensland, Energy Queensland and Business Improvement Consultant. She specialises in strategic planning, operational risk, team problem solving and facilitation. Her career includes operational, leadership and commissioning roles in the mining industry.
Director and Chair of Finance, Audit and Risk Committee - Will Fellowes Expand Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), University of Queensland Chartered Accountant, Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors Mr Will Fellowes is a Northern Australia Primary Health Limited’s (NAPHL) Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. Mr Fellowes has significant experience gained from providing assurance and advisory services to clients ranging from not-for-profits, private clients in start-up phases, local, state and federal government entities. He has also worked extensively with multinational listed and private companies across the world. Will also has corporate experience where he has worked in various senior executive roles including Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Through interactions with the healthcare systems throughout his life, Mr Fellowes grew a strong interest in health economics and sustainability of healthcare. He is particularly interested in the importance that primary health care plays in achieving sustainability in the healthcare system. Mr Fellowes has great interest in how to create the best experience for our aging populations and how we can influence the clinical service delivery models to create sustainability into the future. Mr Fellowes aligns strongly with NAPHL’s values, particularly integrity and innovation. He believes that working as a finance professional is about having authenticity and being able to have open, frank and honest discussions. He was drawn to working alongside NAPHL because of the difference the organisation is making to the lives of everyday people and is looking forward to continuing to assist the organisation in providing innovative solutions and best practices. He lives by the motto, “dare to be different and don’t be afraid of failure as you won’t achieve success without first achieving failure.” Professional Summary Mr Fellowes has 14 years working with PwC where he is as an experienced Advisory & Assurance Director and specialises in internal and external audit with organisations across Australia and globally. He is also on secondment as the Co-CEO of InnoWell Pty Ltd, a mental health technology company delivering digital health solutions to promote person centred mental health care and to ensure that people receive the right care at the right time.
Director - Donald Whaleboat Expand Director Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors Masters of Public Health Bachelor of Health Science Indigenous Health Professional Summary Donald Whaleboat joined the NAPHL Board in May 2018. He is an experienced Company Director, serving his third term on the Townsville Hospital Health Service Board and has prior experience as Chairperson of the Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Health Services from 2011 to 2016. His board experience and interests are in consumer and community engagement, quality and safety in health care and health workforce. Mr Whaleboat is passionate about building quality, responsive and sustainable primary health care for people of north Queensland and rural regional communities. He also has particular focus centred on the need to address the disparities in health outcome for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the level experienced by all Australians.He believes the many challenges and opportunities for health care providers and stewards of health care, lay outside the four walls of the consult room, and it’s about the interaction and relationship between health services and communities. Donald's health professional portfolio started in early 1990s as a community nutrition worker, health promotion and community development worker, and public health nutrition policy and strategy officer. He later moved into the field of primary health care as facilitator for strategic workforce and health service planning; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker scope of practice and professional development pathway. Apart from board duties, Donald is a senior academic at the College of Medicine and Dentistry and Associate Dean Indigenous health for the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine James Cook University. He is a member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in North Queensland. Special Responsibilities Chair of NAPHL People and Culture Committee First Nations community relations