Our Team
Dr Byrdie Johnston is an experienced GP and has lived and worked in the Eastern Bay of Plenty for over 10 years.
She is stoked to be working with a fantastic team of people who love living in the Eastern Bay and share her love for General Practice.
Dr Byrdie Johnston
BHB, MBChB, FRNZCGP
General Practitioner and Director
Dr Byrdie was born and raised in Te Puke and attended Auckland's School of Medicine. She has been a doctor since 2002; and a GP since 2007. Byrdie loves being a GP and is excited to be setting up her own General Practice.
The name "Thrive Medical" was chosen to reflect Dr Byrdie's passion for preventive care. Mental and physical wellness starts with keeping things simple and getting the basics right. Her aim is to help patients feel inspired about making positive changes in their life.
Dr Byrdie is interested in all aspects of General Practice. She encourages her patients to take an interest in their own health decision-making. She is good at explaining things in simple logical language so that patients have a clearer understanding of their health situation and 'what the plan is'.
Byrdie is married to a sheep and beef farmer and they have 3 school-aged children.
Lacey Burnett
DNP, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Lacey Burnett is a United States trained Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). As a DNP FNP, she is trained to treat the entire family, from infancy to older adulthood. Her care includes assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of the majority of conditions that may present to primary care with the understanding that some individuals require a collaborative approach with other members of the health care team. She offers a range of minor surgery procedures including long-acting contraception management.
Lacey worked in multiple acute care settings until discovering her passion for primary care and its role in disease prevention, early detection, and chronic illness management. She enjoys getting to know her clients and strives to foster a holistic, collaborative, and therapeutic relationship which encourages active participation of clients to improve health and functional status. She hopes her work as a nurse practitioner will help decrease health disparities and improve population health, especially for underserved and marginalized individuals and families.
Lacey is thrilled to be joining the team at Thrive Medical and helping improve the health and well-being of the people of the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Lacey is married to a GP and they have 2 young sons.
Michelle Brown
Nurse Lead
Melissa Davies
BCompN PGcert TravMed
Nurse Prescriber
Melissa is a very experienced Practice Nurse. She is dedicated to providing quality nursing and promoting health and well-being within the Eastern Bay community. She completed her Bachelor of Nursing in 2003 at WINTEC, then gained her Community Nurse Prescriber qualification in 2023.
Raised in the South Waikato, she moved to the Eastern Bay of Plenty in 2008. Her passion is primary health care and she loves all aspects of primary health nursing. Her special interests are supporting patients with their long term management of respiratory conditions like COPD/Asthma (including offering Spirometry); as well as Travel Medicine and specialised micro ear suctioning. Melissa gained a Post Graduate Certificate in Travel Medicine through Otago University. She enjoys providing patients with up to date travel advice and vaccinations.
Melissa is married with 3 children and she loves to spend time outdoors, fishing, and supporting her children at all their sporting interests.
Donna McConnell
Nurse Prescriber
Donna has been a Practice Nurse since 2005. She completed the Community Nurse Prescriber Course in 2023.
Donna grew up in Auckland and completed her Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing) at Auckland University of Technology in 2003. She moved to Whakatane in 2004 to complete the New Graduate Programme at Whakatane Hospital. She started Practice Nursing in 2005 and have been working in General Practice since then, with a small break to help the Outreach Vaccination team before joining the team at Thrive Medical.
She is married with 2 teenage boys. She plays golf, enjoys quality time with her friends and family, and spends week nights and weekends watching her children play sports. Donna enjoys the variety that General Practice has to offer and likes that in General Practice she can build long term relationships with her patients and their families and provide education to help families on their own health journeys.
Marrianne Toone
Healthcare Assistant
Lana McNicholas
Practice Manager
Lana was born and raised in Whakatane and has 10 years experience in Primary Care. Her previous roles include Practice Manager for both small and large General Practices here in the Eastern Bay, as well as other leadership roles within the Sector. She is one of only a few qualified Practice Managers in New Zealand. She enjoys the business side of General Practice; her passion is ensuring that the operational functions of a General Practice are of most benefit to the enrolled population, and ensuring the sustainability of General Practice.
Lana is excited to be a part of Thrive Medical, working alongside an amazing team to make a positive difference in our community.
Lana's family include her partner and two young sons.
Elise Jarvinen
Receptionist
Elise was born and raised in Kawerau. She has had 30 years of administration experience working in Corporate, Recruitment and Engineering Sectors within New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Although the medical sector is new to Elise, she is excited to be joining and supporting Dr Byrdie and her team and is looking forward to building positive relationships with staff and patients within the Practice.
In her spare time, Elise enjoys travelling and spending time with her friends and family. She is married to a Mechanical Design Engineer and they have two teenage children.
Tania Archibald
Receptionist
