Health manager Wendy Park started her new position on Monday replacing David White who had recently resigned to join the Royal Flying Doctors Service in Broken Hill.

Ms Park who was most recently at Tweed Heads, said she was familiar with the north west area, and had in the past worked as a health manager at Collarenebri for three years.

Ms Park had spent the past 18 months as a registered nurse on the coast.

But she said she had decided to leave the coast and come to the Ridge, because it was an opportunity for her to return to the region.

"I like working for the Far West Area Health Service, because I am familiar with how the organisation functions," she said.

"It's a great system, and I'm looking forward to working with the local health staff teams," she said.

Ms Park said in her position at Collarenebri she had worked on the health plans for the rural hospital to be built there, and she said she would be doing a similar task here.

"The only difference in Collarenebri was that they already had a hospital but it was being upgraded, whereas here the community health component is a big thing.

"It will be a challenge," she said.

Ms Park said one of her key roles would be to implement the start of the new hospital.

"The inside of the hospital needs to be planned, and that's what I'll be doing."

Ms Park said she wanted to get the rural hospital up and running by the end of the year.

"It is a major task and exciting venture.

"It will be a huge building that we're putting up," she said.

Ms Park said she wasn't sure how long she'd stay in the Ridge but said she would take on her job as it came, following the completion of the hospital.

"It is also good to catch up with many people I know in the area and spent some time with friends," she said.

"I'm excited to be here and be involved with this massive project and the building of the rural hospital," she said.

"I'd like to think that I'm an approachable face here, that anyone who wanted to discuss the health service would feel comfortable in seeing me and doing so," she said.

Construction and development on the new rural hospital to be built on Pandora Street would start on Monday.

Ms Park said she wanted to promote the new hospital's construction progress as much as possible.