Lenore Borg was awash with smiles when she received her recognition for 50 years of service at Mackay Base Hospital.
The supervisor of linen services still remembers her first day on 25 August 1971. She was just out of school and only 15 years old.
“My uncle worked here, and they were looking for staff, so I decided to apply for an operational role. In those days we were cleaners, kitchen workers and relieved in the laundry.
“When I first started in the laundry, we would just service the Base now that has grown to servicing Sarina Hospital, North Mackay Private Hospital, Icon Cancer Centre and home renal at Mackay Community Health, QAS Mackay.
“With the expansion of services over the years, such as COVID-19 clinics and more beds, we have also grown to support them.”
Throughout the past five decades Lenore has experienced a lot of change. Three redevelopments has seen the equipment she works with become high tech, faster and more efficient.
“In the laundry the machines used to be like a giant eggbeater,” she said.
“You would load the linen in for it to be washed, pull it out still wet and then hang out on the clothesline to dry. If it rained you just had to bear with it. Then we would bring the laundry in, fold it all up by hand ready for delivery onto the wards.
“Now bags of linen are tipped onto a conveyor belt for a trip to the washing machine where it is thoroughly cleaned. An automated stacker lifts the clean laundry into the dryers. After drying it is folded by a machine, stacked onto trolleys, and taken to the storeroom ready for delivery. We also have a tracker that counts the amount of laundry we do for each area. Much easier than counting by hand like we did in the old days.”
Looking back on her career Lenore says Cyclone Debbie has been the most memorable experience.
“We’ve always been prepared for a cyclone but living in Mackay they normally go elsewhere. We had to keep going with a handful of people. Everyone chipped in and did whatever needed to be done to keep things going.
“Staff were working in the laundry and then helping out in the kitchen feeding patients, staff and their families.
“The rain and wind were so strong we had to store the linen in the hospital and not in the laundry, so we didn’t have to go outside as much, and the trolleys didn’t wet the floors.”
Lenore doesn’t yet have plans to retire and wants to continue making her contribution to the care of patients.
“I’ve been in this particular job for about 25 years and I still really enjoy it,” she said.
