Chris Trapani will retire in July after 41 years as a nurse at the Dandenong Hospital. 66269
By Danielle Galvin
AFTER 41 years of dedicated service, Chris Trapani’s time as a nurse at the Dandenong Hospital will come to an end.
On July 15, she will resign from the Southern Health family for some much-needed rest. In the years since she started at the hospital she has seen immense change and growth.
“A highlight of my career at Southern Health was my involvement in the refurbishment of the north block in 1989, which saw 40 new beds for the hospital.”
Chris always wanted to be a nurse, starting at the age of 17 in Tasmania.
“I started working at Dandenong Hospital in 1970, when my son was just 10 months old,” Chris said.
The past 41 years have seen the dedicated orthopaedic nurse in a variety of roles, from working in the children’s ward to helping surgeons in theatre.
In 2004 Chris became the first liaison nurse. She was given responsibility for researching how emergency patients could be better managed by staff, and how to establish better pathways.
“I’ve seen the change in the way orthopaedic surgeries are performed. It used to be that recovery times in hospital were 10 to 12 days. Now patients are out in four days. It’s about managing patients better,” she said.
Chris calls herself a ‘Dandy girl’, having lived in Keysborough and Narre Warren for most of her adult life.
“I’ve really enjoyed watching the community grow. I’ve had a great career and I enjoyed collaborating with people and seeing patients improve,” she added.
But it’s the next few months that will be particularly enjoyable for her.
With three grand-children and another on the way, Chris is looking at joining a walking club, gardening and basically having some time out to herself.
“On July 24 we leave for the US for a month,” she said.
Although Chris will miss the camaraderie of the Southern Health staff, she’s will mostly be sad not to come to work to be around the people and the patients she sees everyday.
“It’s a great hospital that’s very forward thinking,” she said.
The changes that she has seen at the hospital have been, in her mind, fantastic.
“Dandenong has been good to me. I suppose I’ve given a lot to the hospital but it’s given a lot to me.”
