Violet Vines Marshman Annual Oration 2023

Born in the rural village of Branxholme in Western Victoria and trained as a nurse, Mrs Violet Vines Marshman devoted much of her life to improving the health and wellbeing of people living in regional and rural Australia.

Ten years before her death in 2014, Violet established the VV Marshman Charitable Trust. A bequest from the Trust allowed the La Trobe Rural Health School to establish the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research in 2018.

The Centre aims to be a world leader in eliminating disparities in rural health and wellbeing by facilitating high impact research that is rurally focused, collaborative and pragmatic.

Our approach to research is community focused and undertaken in partnership with rural communities and key stakeholders (government, industry, peak bodies and local service providers).

As the CEO of the National Rural Health Alliance, Australia's peak body for rural, regional and remote health, Susanne Tegen is an advocate for rural communities.

She has lived and worked in rural and remote Australia for most of her working life while living in rural South Australia, Northern Territory, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.

Her interests have led to stakeholder led medical workforce strategies, farm safety, mental health services, remote monitoring and telehealth initiatives, policies and funding change to support medical and health service access for rural and remote communities.

She recognises the value of rural medical and allied health training, community ownership and advocacy, health literacy, as well as government and private approaches to serving communities sustainably.

Ms Tegen has served in Chief Executive roles for several medical and health bodies, including MedTech and other peak organisations together with leading RANZCO, specialist training programs for medical professionals, policy and research.

Susanne has been on several government and health portfolio advisory committees, Medicare review panels, providing insights from a service delivery, strategic policy and consumer access lens to further the cause of rural and remote health.