The team had planned to celebrate the milestone by welcoming community members, past workers and volunteers to the event, but had to downgrade their party plans due to COVID-19.
Moira Palliative Care clinical nurse specialist Heather Rice, who has seen out each and every one of the 20 years, said it was rewarding to be part of such a valuable service.
``The highlight of our service is making a difference, no matter how big or small, to our patients and families,” Ms Rice said.
The free service looks different two decades on, now comprising three clinical nurse specialists, a bereavement support worker, social worker, occupational therapist, administration support, volunteers and district nurses in each town to help support patients and their families five days a week.
Ms Rice said looking back, the humble beginnings were challenging.
“The vision was for a Hume Region Palliative Care to have five sites to outreach to rural areas, which were Moira, Lower Hume, Benalla, Wangaratta and Wodonga,” she said.
“Initially we had limited support from visiting palliative care specialists, but we were fortunate to have access to nurse consultants Coral Marks and Sue Salau.
“They were both great pioneers and mentors.”
Across the years, the team has benefited from the expertise provided by St Vincent’s Palliative Care physicians and the Palliative Care Consultancy team, based at Goulburn Valley Health.
Ms Rice said her team would continue to improve the quality of life for locals living with life threatening illnesses for decades to come.
“We look forward to many more years of providing support and care to our community,” she said.
“Thank you to everyone, past and present, who has been part of the Moira Palliative Care service.”
Nathalia Cobram Numurkah Health chief executive Jacque Phillips congratulated the staff and volunteers on their efforts for the past 20 years.
“The previous Numurkah District Health Service, now NCN Health, has a long history in supporting and providing community palliative care in the Moira Shire,” Ms Phillips said.
“The palliative care staff, volunteers and local health services are congratulated on your commitment to high standards of palliative care and seeing the service grow and expand to what we see today.”
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