Today Safer Care Victoria announced that Karrie Long has been appointed as Victoria’s new Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer (CNMO). Karrie is a visionary nursing leader with over 15 years’ experience driving health delivery innovation to ensure safer and more effective patient care. This year, she became an inaugural recipient of the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Dame Yvonne Moores Global Leadership Scholarship.
In her role as CNMO, Karrie will provide professional leadership, advice, and direction to the sector drawing on a unique set of skills acquired across all aspects and levels of nursing, including regional and metropolitan health settings and academia. Karrie brings with her an expansive knowledge of Victoria’s public health system gained through her previous roles as a clinician in intensive care and in education, digital health, research, and senior leadership, including the Director of Nursing Research and Interim Chief Nursing Officer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Karrie has a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Clinical Nursing (Rural Critical Care) and a Master of Public Health.
Karrie spent her childhood in Papua New Guinea, which has been a strong driving force behind her career in health and where she can be of service, particularly to vulnerable and voiceless populations. She demonstrates a real passion for digital health, having designed and implemented Telehealth at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. This was informed and driven by a career of nearly 20 years of practice in regional Victoria, where she saw the need to better connect, improve and innovate health for all Victorians.
Karrie starts in her new role with Safer Care Victoria on Thursday 20 April 2023.