Healthy Families Invercargill has a new manager and she has already hit the ground running. 

Wendy Findlay joined the Healthy Families team last month, having come from her position as WellSouth’s Director of Nursing. 

Healthy Families Invercargill is part of a national prevention initiative aimed at helping improve health outcomes for our community in the places where we live, learn, work, and play. 

Passionate about working alongside the community, Wendy is thrilled with the opportunity to work solely in the prevention space. 

“I have a real passion for prevention and working alongside communities. I can’t wait to reconnect with the community and see what we can collectively do to make a difference.” 

At WellSouth, her primary responsibility was managing many of the organisation’s contracts and clinical programmes and when the Covid pandemic hit, she also took on responsibility for overseeing the set-up of the district’s testing centres and was fully immersed in all things Covid. It was a busy time. 

“Every day was back-to-back Zoom meetings.” 

In her new role the challenge is less about reacting to situations, and more about working with communities on prevention initiatives and supporting community leaders and stakeholders on collective action that improve health equity and outcomes across the region. 

“We want to be changing systems.” 

The mother of three children, including 12-year-old twins and an 18-year-old daughter, spare time is a rare commodity for Wendy, but in those moments when she is able to relax, she enjoys walking, exercising, and spending time with her family.  

“Family always comes first.” 

Article added: Monday 01 August 2022