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Werribee Mercy Hospital midwife Louise Thompson has retired after 29 years’ service and after witnessing more than 55,000 births at Wyndham, in Melbourne’s booming west.
Louise has been a highly respected and trusted healthcare professional in the region for more that 40 years, starting as a graduate nurse in 1979 before training as a midwife in 1981.
She joined Werribee District General Hospital in 1985, which became Werribee Mercy Hospital (WMH) in 1994, where she retired last month as Midwifery Nurse Unit Manager.
“Serving the Wyndham community is a part of my DNA — it has been my home for my whole life,” Louise says.
A born-and-bred local, Louise has seen Wyndham grow from a small country town to what is now one of Victoria’s fastest-growing communities.
Federal Government Centre for Population statistics released last month put Wyndham City’s population growth at 5.7% a year over the next decade.
Its 2016 population is now set to more than double, which will see WMH serving almost half a million Victorians by 2036.
“The growth of Werribee Mercy has been massive, to the point where we keep outgrowing our infrastructure,” Louise says.
“Back when we first opened our birth suites in June ’94 we only had around 60 births a month – now it is more than 300.”
Louise’s career recently came full-circle when Midwife Ann-Maree Arredondo joined the WMH team: Louise helped birth Ann-Maree 24 years ago.
“Honestly, it makes me feel a bit old hearing that,” Louise says with a laugh.
Ann-Maree says the reality of working alongside Louise at the hospital she was born at has taken some time to sink in.
“It is still surreal … having Louise as a manager has always meant a friendly hello and heaps of support,” Ann-Maree said.
Louise says her time at Werribee Mercy has been distinguished by the people around her.
“Being able to work with amazing people who all perform so well as a team is what has been getting me out of bed in the morning for 29 years,” Louise says.
WMH General Manager Maree Pane says Louise has been a trusted healthcare professional and colleague to hundreds of women and staff over the past 40 years.
“Louise has always been a strong advocate for midwifery and our maternity service here at Werribee Mercy Hospital and played a significant part in the growth of the service,” Ms Pane says.
“Louise will be missed by the team.”
