As part of Northern Health’s Thank You Week, we have collated heartfelt messages from volunteers, donors and the local community, expressing their gratitude to staff.

Although our volunteers haven’t been walking the halls of Northern Health for much of the year due to the pandemic, this didn’t stop them from spreading the love to our hard working and dedicated healthcare workers.

Mandy Davis, Volunteer, chose to thank all the “doctors and nurses in our Emergency Department. A big thank you to all the nurses in Day Procedure Unit and a a big thank you to our nurses doing the COVID swabs. You are all amazing.”

“I would also like to say a very big thank you to all healthcare workers, main reception, our wonderful cleaners and an extra big thank you to our volunteer coordinators.”

Volunteers Ann and Ian Ellis acknowledged the challenging times our healthcare workers have gone through during the pandemic.

“Thank you times a million to the wonderful staff at Northern Health for their untiring work ethics. It is at times like what we have had for two years that you discover how unselfish emergency workers are. You are our frontline troops and too often go unrecognised.”

Christine Lorkin, also a Volunteer, thanked the doctors and nurses in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for saving her son’s life after he suffered from a heart attack.

“They were able to revive him on two occasions and clear a 100 per cent blockage to the main artery in his heart. He has made a remarkable recovery since being back home. The family cannot thank Northern Hospital Epping staff enough for the important and initial role they played in his recovery.”

Our COVID-19 testing team, from nurses, traffic controllers and to the Pathology team, have also been recognised.

“Thank you to the COVID-19 testing team who are working under really trying conditions – cold and wind. They are all so friendly and happy to answer any questions,” Joan, Volunteer, said.

The ‘Shout a Coffee to Healthcare Workers’ campaign was an initiative led by Northern Health Foundation, for the community to show their gratitude for staff who are working tirelessly to keep our community safe.

Tricia Lee, Board Member Northern Health Foundation, showed her thanks and appreciation to our staff by shouting 1,000 coffees to frontline medical staff.

“We are very grateful for the hard work of all healthcare workers in Victoria. They are working so hard to keep us safe. We wanted to do something to show our appreciation. When we came across this campaign, we thought it was the perfect way to connect directly with the staff at Northern Health and show we care,” Tricia said.

Lalor Primary School put together some care packages for Northern Health staff. Janene Tessari, Business Manager, and Trevor Robinson, Principal, said it was the school’s way of showing their thanks and expressing how grateful they are to our staff who had given so much time and dedication to ensure our community was protected and cared for during the past two pandemic years.

They were humbled to think that their ‘small’ gift of gratitude could have an impact on the hospital staff. Janene stated that they were only a small school community but the students and their families were proud of what they had achieved.