Plaque honours Pam’s career in health

FORMER Queen Elizabeth Centre welfare director Pamella Taylor has been honoured with the installation of a plaque at the QE.

An initiative of the Soroptimist Club of Ballarat in celebration of the 92-year-old’s career, the plaque was unveiled in the centre’s main foyer last week.

Mrs Taylor co-developed the SafetyLink emergency call system and co-founded the Ballarat branch of Soroptimist International in 1979.

About 30 people attended the plaque unveiling, including Grampians Health and Safety Link staff, Soroptimists, and people who served on the QE Executive Committee with Mrs Taylor from 1979 to 1984.

“We could never have imagined how successful that initial acorn of an idea (SafetyLink) would be, or most importantly, how many lives it has saved,” Mrs Taylor said.

“I feel very humbled that the Soroptimist Club Ballarat, which I was a founding member of, thought it worthy of recognition today.

“I am very grateful, and thank you to my former QE colleagues who are also present this afternoon, to share this with me.”

Mrs Taylor was assisted by Grampians Health’s SafetyLink and statewide equipment program operations director, Jeni Burton to unveil the plaque.

Carol Taylor said she couldn’t be prouder of her mum.

“Particularly given what she’s achieved in her career, for women, for nursing and the broader community,” she said.

“With SafetyLink, that little device went from zero to 20,570 clients. That’s pretty impressive, but more important are the lives that it’s saved. It’s a credit to her.”

Mrs Taylor is a former nurse and now-life governor of the QE where she developed SafetyLink in partnership with the health facility’s engineers.

For service to nursing, and to the community, Mrs Taylor was awarded a general Medal of the Order of Australia last Australia Day.