Dianne Goodwin
Mrs. Dianne Goodwin, Di to all who knew her, passed away peacefully on 13 December 2020. Di was the Nurse Unit Manager of Thoracic Medicine and in the old RBH was Charge Nurse of Wards 1F and 4C. She was an icon of respiratory nursing and highly respected by the team. Di’s many achievements during her career with Respiratory/Thoracic Medicine at RBWH included introduction of ward based non-invasive ventilation, laying the foundations for Tracheostomy Management Team and being an active member of the Statewide Respiratory Network.
Di was also part of the planning and implementation of the new Thoracic Medicine department in collaboration with Mike Brown, Senior Scientist and Dr S. Morrison, then Director Thoracic Medicine. This saw the bringing together of outpatient clinics, respiratory function testing and sleep disordered medicine, including Sleep Studies and the Bronchoscopy Suite. She was passionate about having all things respiratory in the one place.
Throughout the hospital if anyone needed advice about a respiratory patient or condition Di would be there. She would provide expert opinion and practical help and support to staff and patients. She was on call 24/7 for any nursing or medical staff that needed guidance.
Di received an Australia Day award in recognition of her tireless work in providing and improving respiratory nursing services at RBWH and the community.
Some quotes from Di’s nursing team, past and present:
- “I will miss her wisdom, her advice, her office, door always open, but closed when you needed a chat.”
- “She was the matriarch of Respiratory Medicine.”
- “She inspired loyalty. She was loyal to us, her nursing team and would bend over backwards to look after the welfare, development and learning of the nursing team. Didn’t stop with nurses. Medical registrars and residents included. She respected the work of all members of staff in the health care service.”
- “Leadership was so much more than being an expert clinician. She cared about her team as people, not just staff.”
Vale Di Goodwin.