A Home And Heritage Crafted From Nursing History

Kath Ryan has a deep and abiding connection with Mackay’s health service.

Even when she sits in her home at Seaforth, she is immersed in our region’s nursing history courtesy of the timber she salvaged from the old nurses’ quarters in Mackay.

“I took some time off and my husband and I got on the tools to build a house together on our property,” Kath recalls.

“This was back in 2003/4 and about that time we were pulling the old nurses’ quarters down here.

“I didn’t want them to go, because I’m an old nurse and I’d have liked to see them stay.

“So I got the job of co-ordinating that project.

“It was a terrible building, but it had a lot of history, and I like to hang on to history.

“I bought a lot of the timber and spent the first three months of my time off getting the timber home and pulling out nails; they were all really old nails because it was built in the early 1900s.

“All of the frame of our house is hardwood from the original nurses’ quarters.

“And then there's Oregon pine beams, and I bought a whole heap of floorboards and I put them on the walls.

“I sanded them back, hours of laborious labour. “

This testament to the services of nurses past illustrates Kath’s ongoing dedication to her profession.

“I started nursing in 1972 and my husband and I were just doing a bit of travel when we came here in 1975,” Kath said.

“I had an interesting start (at the Base hospital); I came to see the matron at the time and she said ‘we don't have any jobs so it’ll be at least six weeks before you hear from me’.

“So I literally drove home, which was about four or five minutes away; the phone was ringing and it was matron saying ‘can you start this afternoon?’”

Kath has literally ‘done it all’ over the past 51 years.

She has held nurse unit manager positions, managed rural sites, advanced to nursing director medical role and was also the project co-ordinator for the build of the new Mackay Base Hospital from 2012.

She has also incorporated stints of community nursing, spent a number of years in Mt Isa, and attempted to retire a couple of times.

But different circumstances kept drawing her back.

“We had just literally finished building the house, and the CEO rang me up and said ‘we need your help for a little bit’,” Kath said.

“I was really passionate about building a new hospital, that it was what Mackay needed.

“So I came on board and helped out for a bit, then the job came up as permanent.

“I absolutely loved that project because it was something that I knew could benefit our district, attract staff and provide that environment that people wanted to come to.

“Because once people came here, what Mackay has to offer is phenomenal.”

Kath then attempted retirement again, but it was not meant to be.

“I had made a commitment to myself that I would finish my nursing career where I started, which was at the bedside,” Kath said.

“So I went back and worked in the nursing pool.

“Then dear old COVID stuck up its head, and I ended up being one of the testers down at the Showgrounds.

“Those nurses that I worked with down there, I've got the utmost respect for.”

Now in what she believes will be her final chapter in nursing as a mask fit-test coordinator, Kath is enjoying the opportunity to invest time and care into our staff.

“I look back at my nursing career and think I have been such a lucky person,” Kath said.

“I've worked in every aspect of health, from community to mental health; I did my midi (midwifery) here and delivered 503 babies in my time.

“Coming to Mackay for three months and staying for 30 odd years has been the best thing I ever did.

“Because I felt like I could give back to the community in a way that I wouldn't have been able to in bigger towns, and I love that.”

She has her beloved horses, dogs and cattle, as well as her husband, three daughters and eight grandsons to share retirement with.

But she’s not going anywhere just yet!

“This is one of those jobs (mask fit-testing) where I can help make staff safe,” Kath said.

“Staff are very important to me, and I get to see staff across the health service, every level and speciality.

“I get to talk with them and it's a real pleasure.

“I said I wanted to finish up at the bedside.

“My bedside now is with the staff.”

By Mackay Hospital and Health Service

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A testament to dedication: Kath Ryan, a beacon of nursing excellence with 51 years of unwavering service in Mackay's health sector. Photo supplied: Mackay Hospital and Health Service