When Shellharbour Hospital opened in 1986, Lynette Thompson was straight there to offer her services.
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More than three decades on, the Albion Park Rail resident’s dedication to the hospital auxiliary has seen her awarded an Order of Australia Medal for service to the community.
The great-grandmother, who was also Shellharbour’s Citizen of the Year in 2011, said she was overwhelmed by this latest recognition.
“You don’t do it for pats on the back – you do it for your own satisfaction that you’re helping people who appreciate it and need it,” she said. “However I was very excited to be recognised in this way.”
Mrs Thompson said she was proud that the auxiliary had donated almost $1 million in equipment to Shellharbour Hospital – including bladder scanners, infant warming systems, defibrillators and ECG machines.
Auxiliary members also offered a range of services to patients.
“Six days a week we do the trolley service – so we take around articles like sweets, toiletries, nighties and undies,” she said. “It’s great for those patients who don’t have visitors often, or who can’t get to the kiosk easily.”
She thanked her husband Alan, and the Shellharbour community, for their wonderful support of the hospital auxiliary. “We couldn’t do what we do, without that support,” she said.