A long-serving and highly dedicated nurse who spent her career working at Proserpine Hospital is being remembered by the broader healthcare community this week, the ground-breaking ideas she implemented over the years celebrated by all that knew her.
Lola, the beloved wife of Mel and mother of Marcus, Michelle and Meagan, passed away unexpectedly in January aged 74.
Lola was passionate about delivering excellent healthcare to the community and it was her lifelong dream to become a nurse.
Initially undertaking cadet nursing before starting her nursing training in the late 1960s, Lola’s long career at Proserpine hospital began in 1983 as the nurse in charge of the operating theatre.
This was the beginning of a long relationship with healthcare and the local community.
Committed to supporting funding streams which assisted in providing services such as afterhours doctors, additional administration staff and the hospital consumer bus, Lola was well-known for advocating for what she believed the community needed.
Proserpine Hospital Director of Nursing (DON) Nicola Young said Lola worked tirelessly throughout the years as a Clinical Nurse in the operating theatre, sometimes seven days a week and was often on call 24 hours a day.
“In the years gone by there was only about four weeks a year when she wasn’t on call., Explained Nicola.
“Whenever theatre was happening or required, including emergency surgeries such as caesarean sections and appendectomies, as well as planned operations, Lola was there.
“If it wasn’t for Lola there is no way we would have had a theatre when the hospital was rebuilt 25 years ago.
“She pushed incredibly hard for the hospital to have that operating theatre open and available to the community even after hours.”
Nicola said Lola was very passionate about healthcare in our community.
“She always said that just because we were small didn’t mean we could provide any less of a service or that we couldn’t provide the best service here for our community in Proserpine.”
She had a proven record for implementing advanced care initiatives, sometimes even before recommendations had been made to do so, such as enrolled nurses have sterilising certificates and the benefit of skin-to-skin contact for caesarean mothers.
“So, when places like Royal Brisbane were just starting to think about it, Lola had already implemented these initiatives in Proserpine. She really was before her time.”
Health was not the only area of interest for Lola, she loved travelling within Australia and internationally and attended many international theatre conferences.
Despite retiring 14 years ago, her work continued as a member and president of Proserpine and District Hospital Auxiliary, working to raise funds and provide a link between rural health and the community.
She also served as a Mackay Health Community Council member from 2008 to 2011 and was a Consumer Advisory Partner in Mackay and part of the Consumer Reference Group in Proserpine.
Lola was a representative on a number of statewide consumer committees including Brisbane and Cairns with a particular focus on theatres and children’s services and was the recipient of a prestigious award from the Perioperative Nurses of Queensland.
She and her husband Mel were lifelong members of the Whitsunday Swimming Club and helped form the Cannonvale Cannons Swimming Club, of which she was also a life member.
Lola was honoured with an Australia Day award in 2011 for her contributions to the community as a sports administrator.
The Mackay Hospital and Health Service sends their condolences to the Mudie family on the passing of this incredible community advocate.
Lola Muddie was a nurse at Proserpine Hospital who dedicated her career to creating the best opportunities and standards for our regional hospital. Photo supplied
