THE DESIRE FOR PRIMARY CARE NURSES TO DO MORE, BE RECOGNISED AND VALUED FOR THE WORK THEY DO
With
Denise Lyons
Nurse Practitioner, Newcastle, NSW &
President, Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA)
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Newcastle, NSW | August 2025
Denise Lyons is a highly experienced nurse with over 40 years in the profession, including more than 25 years dedicated to primary care. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in the United States in 1985 and, in 2012, became an endorsed Nurse Practitioner in Australia. Currently, she serves as a primary care Nurse Practitioner in General Practice in Newcastle, where she is committed to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care that improves the health and wellbeing of her community.
Throughout her career, Denise has championed the vital role of nurses in primary health care. Her professional journey spans clinical practice, leadership, and policy, with a strong focus on innovation and equity in health service delivery. Passionate about excellence in primary care, she has contributed extensively to advancing the profession through leadership, mentoring, and advocacy.
As an elected Board Director, and now President of the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA), Denise is dedicated to strengthening the voice of primary health care nurses nationwide. She advocates for best practice, professional recognition, and sustainable models of care. Known for her collaborative leadership and strategic vision, Denise is committed to shaping a strong future for nursing and primary health care in Australia.
About APNA
The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) is the peak body and professional membership association for all nurses working outside of a hospital setting in Australia. APNA champions the role of primary health care nurses; to advance professional recognition, ensure workforce sustainability, nurture leadership in health, and optimise the role of nurses in patient-centred care.
APNA represents a significant and rapidly expanding workforce; primary health care nurses account for around one in eight of the 640,000 registered health professionals in Australia.
Source: Supplied and from Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) website
-
Lasers in dental treatment without needles and drills
In 2017, Dr. Omar Zuaiter and Alaa Habeb launched Dentroid, a dental technology startup with a mission to make dentistry a kinder and friendlier experience for patients and dentists using photonics (using laser technology) and robotics, as alternatives to needles, drills and sprays. The vision for the startup is to have dentistry adopt laser technology, addressing the root causes of dental pain & anxiety, and create a pain-free dental experience.
-
Family biz succeeds in vaccine approval & distribution
It’s been 10 years since Jenny and Karl Herz started in business. Over the past 10 years they’ve launched Biointelect and Biocelect businesses to help secure approval and distribution for new medicines into Australia.
In this Australian Health Journal interview, Jenny and Karl talk about the journey the husband and wife team took to get the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (Nuvaxovid) approved and distributed in Australia. The journey didn’t just include talented and diverse skilled staff but also their children working in both organisations.
-
Breaking silos to transform women’s health through MedTech
In an interview with Australian Health Journal, Jasjit Baveja, Director of Regulatory and Industry Policy at the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA), highlighted the growing importance of medical technology in addressing longstanding inequities in women’s health.
Drawing on the outcomes of the inaugural MTAA Women’s Health MedTech Summit, she explained how the event brought together clinicians, researchers, industry leaders, regulators, investors, government representatives and patient advocates to tackle complex challenges through a collaborative approach.
