Reward for life of service to health

HEATHCOTE Health announced two new life governors at its recent annual general meeting.

They are maintenance supervisor Frank Dailey and district nurse Karen Wilson.

The award recognises the exceptional voluntary, philanthropic and/or professional commitment an individual has made to Heathcote Health.

Mr Dailey’s nomination mentioned his tireless commitment to the wellbeing of staff, hospital patients and aged-care residents.

He said it was good to be acknowledged by his peers.

“As I said when the board rang up to tell me, I’m just doing my job,” he said. “But it is nice that somebody has thought that you do go over and above.”

He said the best part of his job was helping other people.

“You see the pleasure on the residents’ faces,” he said. “It’s only a small thing quite often, but it’s still very rewarding.”

Mr Dailey has been involved with several redevelopment projects in his 15 years with the health service.

He said one of the standouts for him was the extension to the palliative care room.

“Families have now got more room,” he said.

Ms Wilson’s nomination described her as a very kind, compassionate and caring person who brings a ray of sunshine to her clients.

When accepting the award, she said it was the nearest she would ever get to a Logie and apologised for turning up in her scrubs.

“But this is me in my workplace,” she said. “No frills, no luscious Logie outfits, just me.”

She said being made a life governor was an honour.

“It’s a tough gig, district nursing,” she said. “But it’s very rewarding and it’s where my heart is, that’s why I’ve stayed with it for so long.

“It’s very different to a patient coming into acute because then you’re just seeing that patient and what condition they’ve come in with.

“It’s quite a privileged role, because people are opening up their hearts and homes and trusting you to come in and look at the whole big picture.”

Ms Wilson also received a 30-year service medal and has been a district nurse for more than 25 years.

She said the early days were demanding.

“They were huge days,” she said. “We didn’t have any home support workers then, so our day would be doing showers first, then medications and all afternoon would be wounds.”

The workload was not the only challenge, some of her patients lived in primitive conditions and others expected more than just medical care.

“I can remember seeing snakes and possums in the rafters,” she said.

“There was another lady that every time you got there, she asked you to catch her horse for her because she couldn’t.”