News

Teresa Plane might be 89 and retired from the workforce but she is very busy as a volunteer working with people at the end of their lives.

Teresa began her career as a nurse and in 1962 she founded Mount Carmel Hospital at Seven Hills in Sydney’s western suburbs . Many years later she heard the world renown psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross speaking about the five stages of dying on the radio and it changed her life.

Filled with a passion to learn more, Teresa went overseas to learn about palliative care. On her return in 1978 she created the first modern multi-disciplinary palliative care unit in Australia.

Teresa’s contribution has been recognised with the 2023 NSW Senior Australian of the Year award. Since then she has been busy creating a TAFE course for volunteers to help nursing staff with comfort care, bathing and feeding.

Teresa is a resident of the RSL Lifecare ANZAC Village in Narrabeen, where the NSW Palliative Care Volunteer Conference 2023 will be held in October. We are very excited to have her as the opening plenary speaker and are very much looking forward to hearing her share her thoughts on volunteering and palliative care.

For more information or to register for the NSW Palliative Care Volunteer Conference 2023 – The Power of Perspective please click here.