Coordinators in NSW took time out to meet their lead writer for the first time when she was recently in town for the Sydney North HealthPathways Symposium and Workshop.

The morning after the workshop, coordinators from across NSW’s various HealthPathways sites got together for a breakfast meeting with the Streamliners team, including NSW Regional Group Lead Jenna Panckhurst.

In what turned out to be a four hours-plus informal catch up, they all had a chance to chat face-to-face with the person who heads the team that pulls all their pathways together from across the ditch.

Central Coast Coordinator Louise Parfitt says it was great to finally meet Jenna, as well as HealthPathways Writing Team Leader Melissa Taylor, Service Delivery Manager Matt Sinclair, and International Business Development Manager Andy Froggatt.

“Being relatively new to the world of HealthPathways, Jenna has been instrumental in my understanding of the program and the pathway development process. Her support and advice has been invaluable over the past 11 months, and to be able to put a face to the name - and voice - was great.

“Although I have always felt comfortable chatting to Jenna, now I am even more so.”

HealthPathways Sydney Programme Manager Paul Bennett (pictured right) has worked with Jenna for more than two and a half years but only met her for the first time at the meeting.

“To have that relationship where you’re talking to someone every single day, it’s almost like having an old fashioned pen pal, so to finally meet them was great,” he says.

“Personal contact just enhances that relationship. And Jenna got a picture of who we are, particularly the rest of my team, and they now feel comfortable to ask her questions now that they’ve met Jenna.

“We hit the big 400 mark this week and we wouldn’t be anywhere near that without Jenna’s input. We can’t thank her enough.”

The meeting was a regular get-together for many of the region’s coordinators, who try to meet every two months to encourage collaboration.

“I really enjoyed meeting the coordinators that I have had the pleasure of working with for so long,” Jenna says.

“These are all people that I interact with on a daily basis and I feel like I already knew them so well. It really highlighted the benefit of face-to-face meetings in building and maintaining relationships.”

The get-together in downtown Sydney comes on the back of regional HealthPathways teams in Victoria getting the chance to meet their regional group lead Graeme Wilson at symposiums and workshops last month.

In both cases, allowing coordinators and clinical editors to put a face to the name of key Streamliners contacts has proven invaluable and will no doubt be repeated whenever possible for future events.

Left to right: Melissa Taylor (Streamliners), Ben Neville (South Western Sydney), Jamie Brugman (Sydney), Sandra Fitzgerald (Hunter and New England), Jasmine Glennan and Erica Drew (Western Sydney), Matthew Sinclair (Streamliners), standing Cameron Stewart and sitting Paul Bennett (Sydney), Marika Mackenzie (Hunter and New England), Jenna Panckhurst (Streamliners), and Sandy Vincent and Louise Parfitt (Central Coast). Photographer: Andy Froggatt.