From left to right: Karen, with Oksana, who has been a Midwife at Gold Coast Health since 1994, and Alison who has been a part of the Gold Coast Health team for over 35 years.
As part of our 30th birthday celebration, we are calling for Gold Coast locals born in 1994 at Gold Coast Hospital to celebrate your 30th birthday with us! If you were born on the Gold Coast, at Gold Coast Hospital in 1994, chances are one of these amazing midwives brought you into the world!
Karen has been a part of the Gold Coast Health team for over 35 years. Her nursing journey bloomed from a passion for working with people, which led her to specialise in midwifery, falling in love with helping families and their newest precious additions.
“In my third year of nursing, I had a placement within the maternity ward and that’s when I realised that, yes, I was definitely keen to work with women having their babies and helping with breastfeeding education and supporting them and their newborns,” said Karen.
Karen is currently the Acting Midwifery Unit Manager of Maternity inpatient unit- South and a part of the Midwife Education team at Gold Coast University Hospital. Her career is a tapestry of beautiful moments, caring for thousands of local families and babies. She was part of the big move from the Gold Coast Hospital to the new Gold Coast University Hospital and helped deliver the last baby of the millennium, with the unknown of what Y2K would bring. She also loves bumping into families she has cared for, and recalls reintroducing herself to the family of a young lady whom she helped deliver more than 20 years ago when they shared a graduation ceremony, her previous patient beginning her nursing career and Karen, graduating her masters in Clinical Education.
Over the last 30 years, the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation has also been a part of Karen’s career journey, funding and awarding her a Midwifery Scholarship for her Masters in Clinical Education and funding critical equipment that aided in the care of her tiniest patients.
“Over the years lots of equipment has been donated, from incubators to warming equipment for the premature babies. The midwifery scholarships are still a wonderful help for nurses completing their studies, and I was thrilled to receive mine. We are very lucky to have the support of the Foundation,” said Karen.
With Gold Coast Hospital Foundation’s 30th Birthday just around the corner, you can celebrate your 30th birthday with us and join our Birthday Ambassador program to raise funds to provide vital access to critical equipment and services, helping to save the lives of our local Gold Coast community.