Collinsville already feels like home to Dr Cathy Reto.
Cathy joined the team at the MPHS in January this year, filling a vacancy for a much needed second doctor to work at the hospital, in aged care and in general practice.
Before coming to Collinsville she was the Medical Superintendent at Hughenden Hospital and the only doctor to work across the hospital and general practice.
Originally from Enga Province in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, Dr Reto has practiced medicine for more than 20 years and has built her career around rural and remote medicine.
After graduating from the University of Papua New Guinea with a MBBS she completed her internship and worked in the Port Moresby General Hospital emergency department.
She then went on to work for the giant Porgera gold mine in her home province and eventually went on to serve as the chief medical officer for the mine before moving to Australia in 2005.
At Townsville University Hospital she was a rural reliver doctor before accepting permanent positions in Ingham, Tully and Hughenden.
Dr Reto has a special interest preventative medicine and would love for people not to need her services so much.
When not working she likes to go fishing at the beach and spend time with her adult children in Townsville.
“Collinsville is great, I like small places. I’m from rural PNG and always wanted to do something for rural people in PNG, but due to personal circumstances I had to leave the country.
“I always wanted to be a surgeon, but things changed for the better and rural health is for me. I‘ve seen everything and everything in my career and I love it,” she said.
Dr Reto said the opportunity to work with another doctor attracted her to Collinsville.
“Here we have a good roster and Dr Soe and I both get a break. It’s a nice feeling to know there is a colleague nearby so I don’t feel like I’m alone anymore.
“I know Director of Nursing Ben Lawrence well from Hughenden, so I don’t feel like a visitor. The patients and community have made me feel very welcome here,” she said.
She has a Masters in Public Health and Tropical Medicine from JCU and while in PNG worked on a mosquito research project with JCU.
“While I was in Port Moresby I was involved in a large Filariasis study in partnership with JCU, the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research and the Porgera gold mine,” she said.
Filariasis is an infectious tropical disease caused by parasitic round worms and transmitted to humans by mosquitos.
