Not many people can say they have worked at the same organisation for 50 years, but for Rita Kline, her relationship with Monash Health has been so much more than that.
“My mum passed away at McCulloch House, my stepdaughter had triplets at Monash Medical Centre through IVF, and my husband has also been admitted to every hospital in the health service,” she said.
While Rita has been touched personally in many ways, her career started well before her time with us where she trained as a nurse at Western General Hospital.
“I came back from an overseas holiday and decided I wanted to try something different, so I started an admin role at Queen Victoria Hospital,” she said.
Working in the outpatients’ department and managing outpatient appointments, Rita said she had the privilege of developing some beautiful relationships with long-term patients and their families.
“There was a clinic for children with Spina Bifida, which was actually the first multi-disciplinary clinic offered for children with the condition, and they’d come in quite often from birth up until their teen years,” she said.
“I worked in that clinic for more than 10 years and I really got to know the kids as they grew up, so when I got married some of the children actually came to our wedding.”
It was during this time that Rita began to get involved with the equipment side of the health service – which is where she remains to this day working as an Equipment Services Officer.
“I helped organise access to equipment for the children at the Spina Bifida clinic to help them with their incontinence and walking challenges, because we really wanted them to be able to attend school like everyone else,” she said.
Now, her role revolves around sourcing, sending, and receiving back equipment for our patients.
“I like feeling like I am helping people and am a positive influence on their lives,” Rita said.
“I can get two or three phone calls a day from family members of people who have had equipment supplied so they could be discharged from hospital, informing us they’ve passed away so we can collect it.
“Those people are always understandably upset on the other end of the phone, so if I can do or say something to help them, at the end of the day it’s worth it.”
During her amazing 50-year tenure, Rita has also been instrumental in the development of numerous programs across the health service including providing aids for people with disabilities, and a program for women with mastectomies undergoing chemotherapy.
“The women would come in for morning tea, and companies would send in makeup products and wigs for them to trial, so they’d have a lot of fun and it was a really feel-good program,” she said.
Rita said the difference between the health service 50 years ago and today is like day and night.
“Fifty years in the same place, you see a lot of changes take place,” she said.
“Back then, there were no computers, and we had absolutely no parking for staff, so some girls used to run in and out multiple times during a shift to move their cars.”
Despite the varied work Rita has undertaken while at Monash Health, she said she remembers every single one of her managers.
“I’ve always been fortunate to be a part of some really good teams that were really inclusive,” she said.
“My department right now is very caring with both the patients and my workmates, and we are just a lovely team to work with.”
Rita is one of over 1,400 people being recognised for their outstanding length of service to Monash Health in 2023, and will be celebrated at our Length of Service Awards this Thursday.
Congratulations to Rita for her significant achievement of 50 years of service, and we hope to have the privilege of supporting her for many years to come.
Approved by Louise Kanis, Executive Director, Communication and Engagement and Katrina Nankervis, Executive Director, Nursing and Midwifery