Our Executive

Health Service Chief Executive

Kieran Keyes

Kieran is a proud alumnus of James Cook University, holding a Bachelor of Nursing Science and a Masters of Business Administration.

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Kieran joined the Townsville Hospital and Health Service in 2012 as the Chief Operating Officer before taking up the substantive position of Health Service Chief Executive in June 2018. Kieran has held the positions of the interim Chief Executive at both the Townsville Hospital and Health Service and at the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service; with the latter he managed its transition to Board governance. Kieran has held senior executive roles with Townsville, Wide Bay and Metro North Hospital and Health Services and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

In addition, he has held leadership roles in the corporate areas of Queensland Health. Kieran began his professional career as a registered nurse, working in coronary care at the Townsville General Hospital. Kieran is an Adjunct Professor of the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine at James Cook University and he is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. When not working, Kieran is happiest when with family, fishing and coaching or refereeing rugby.

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Chief Operating Officer

Susan Freiberg

Susan is responsible for overseeing the operational delivery of healthcare services across the hospital and ensuring that we continue to meet the growing demands of the community with a focus on high-quality patient care.

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Susan has had an extensive career in the healthcare sector, with over 30 years of experience driving cultural change, workforce engagement, and service delivery improvements. She has worked in a variety of senior leadership roles, where she was instrumental in redesigning service delivery models and leading large-scale change initiatives. Susan’s professional background spans healthcare management, workforce development, and systems governance. She has a strong track record of successfully leading multidisciplinary teams and integrating innovative approaches to healthcare that benefit both patients and staff. Throughout her career, Susan has been passionate about improving health outcomes, particularly in women’s and children’s services, and ensuring that healthcare delivery models are aligned with the needs of modern society.

In her new role as COO, Susan is focused on driving operational excellence, enhancing patient experience, and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation. She brings a coaching leadership style that encourages growth and development at all levels, ensuring that the hospital’s workforce is empowered to deliver exceptional care to the community.

Susan is committed to supporting the hospital’s mission to provide excellent and compassionate healthcare while planning for a sustainable future that meets the needs of future generations.

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Executive Director of People, Strategy, and Governance

Shellee Chapman

Shellee is an experienced people and culture leader who is passionate about creating sustainable organisations with high-performing and engaged leaders, individuals, and teams.

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Shellee has both national and international cross-functional, multi-sectorial human resource and corporate services experience. She is a leader in systems and analytics, learning and development, employee performance and engagement, business conduct, occupational health and safety, and risk.

Shellee has worked in executive management positions for St John of God Health Care in Western Australia, Subiaco Hospital, and Bloom Human Resources where her expertise in workforce planning, executive coaching, human resource management, industrial relations, and talent acquisition came to the fore. She also worked in the Middle East for Sidra Medicine in Doha as part of the commissioning team to design and implement HR strategy for the company’s commencement in 2018 and continued in the role of Executive Director HR with responsibility for employee management and relations, performance and leadership development, organisational effectiveness, and culture.  

When Shellee is not working she enjoys cooking, the outdoors (camping and snorkelling) and is a Bridge enthusiast. 

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Executive Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health

Amanda Cooms 

Amanda is a proud Noonuccal woman, custodian of the land Minjerribah - the land, waterways, skies and spiritual systems of North Stradbroke Island - and comes from a tradition of artists, weavers, educators, storytellers, healers, lore people and political activists for social justice.

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Amanda joined the Townsville Hospital and Health Service as a social worker in 2016 and progressed to Assistant Director of the Social Work Department for almost two years before being provided an opportunity in her current position as Acting Executive Director for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.

Amanda has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health for over 25 years with a strong community perspective, significant experience in governance and community engagement and is passionate about improving health outcomes and equitable access to healthcare and support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

She believes in change from a grassroots level and self-determination as essential to support and empower historically underprivileged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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Executive Director of Clinical Governance

Marina Daly

Marina joined the Executive team in November 2019 and is responsible for ensuring safety and quality of care for our patients.

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In the role of Executive Director of Clinical Governance, Marina spearheads clinical assurance and improvement activities across the Townsville Hospital and Health Service.

The role includes maintaining standards set by health and aged care commissions, which is crucial for the community to have confidence in the safety and quality of the care the health service provides.

Marina leads, promotes and supports the Townsville Hospital and Health Service's strategic focus on research and innovation.

Marina began her healthcare career as a nurse and midwife in Ireland and has a degree in health sciences in nursing and a Masters degree in nursing leadership from James Cook University

Marina and her family are proud Cowboys supporters and members of the Picnic Bay Surf Lifesaving Club. The family also cheer for the Wallabies with Marina maintaining her allegiance to Irish rugby. 

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Executive Director Infrastructure Program Delivery

Tom Hegarty

Tom is the executive director responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to health infrastructure of the Townsville HHS.

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With over two decades of combined experience in finance and construction management, Tom specialises in delivering large-scale infrastructure projects and holds experience across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, is a Certified Practising Project Manager (CPPM), and a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management.

Throughout his career, Tom has worked with some of Australia’s most prominent organisations across diverse sectors including health, education, oil and gas, and defence. He has successfully led multi-disciplinary teams and overseen complex, city-shaping infrastructure projects that have had a lasting impact on communities.

In his role as executive director Infrastructure planning and delivery, Tom is passionate about delivering world-class, accessible healthcare infrastructure to support the needs of communities across north Queensland.

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Executive Director Digital Health and Knowledge

Louise Hayes

Louise Hayes is the Executive Director Digital Health and Knowledge Management at Townsville Hospital and Health Service.

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Louise is an experienced digital health enthusiast and health informatician working across the health sector for more than 20 years, in areas of strategy development, eHealth foundation design and implementation of electronic medical record solutions.

Qualifying as a CHIA (Certified Health Informatician Australasia) in 2014 as one of Australia’s inaugural certified practitioners has confirmed her passion and growth into the digital health profession and this is demonstrated through her many commitments of mentoring, lecturing, presenting at conferences and workshops and writing articles, and as the Chair of Health Informatics Society of Australia, Queensland Branch.

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Executive Director Allied Health

Danielle Hornsby

Danielle is a seasoned health service executive who has a passion for driving innovation to improve health services in regional centres.

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She currently leads the practice of some 700 allied health clinicians across the broader Townsville region, with a reputation and achievement record which has influenced rural health policy and practice nationally for over two decades. She is a speech pathologist by background, holds a Master in Business Administration and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery

Judy Morton

Judy is highly experienced health service executive responsible for the delivery of nursing and midwifery services across the Townsville Hospital and Health Service.

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Judy has 25 years’ experience encompasses rural, regional and tertiary heath service delivery. Her roles have been diverse including executive clinical and operational roles in Australia, Europe and UK.

Judy is a passionate advocate for the delivery of person-centred care and empowering nurses and midwives to embrace innovation and advanced practise models.

She is an advocate for northern Queensland and has led many projects focusing on equitable health services and growing a contemporary north Queensland nursing and midwifery workforce for the future.

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Chief Medical Officer

Dr Niall Small

Niall is from Edinburgh and after medical school and training in General Practice, moved to Queensland. He is a specialist Emergency Physician and has worked in Townsville since 1997 as the Director of Emergency Medicine and as the Medical Director of the Medical Service Group.

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He is currently the Chief Medical Officer at Townsville Hospital and Health Service, previously Co-Chair of the Queensland Emergency Department Strategic Advisory Panel, and has roles working with the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. He is a strong advocate of the ongoing development of clinical services and clinical training across North Queensland and has a particular interest in improving patient experience and flow through our complex health system.

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