Cameron Goodyear, Interim CEO, with 40 Years of Service Award recipients

13 December 2024

This week we hosted our annual Years of Service Awards to honour staff members who have reached significant milestones in their careers, marking 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 years of service.

This year we celebrated the dedication and achievement of 720 staff members, who have collectively provided Austin Health an astounding 12,980 years of service!

Speaking at the event, our Interim CEO Cameron Goodyear expressed gratitude for the contributions of our staff, "As we celebrate the remarkable milestones of our dedicated staff, I am reminded that our greatest asset is our people, whose passion and commitment drive our success every single day.”

“This celebration is not just about years of service, but about the countless moments of excellence and innovation that each of you has contributed to our journey."

We caught up with Anthony Skipper, Manager Renal Technical Services, who marked an impressive 45 years of service this year, and asked him to share some memorable moments from his time at Austin Health.

Tony Skipper, Manager Renal Technical Services, with Cameron Goodyear, Interim CEO

Anthony, better known as Tony to his colleagues, started working here in 1979 when the organisation was known as Austin Hospital and had 1,785 employees. “Going from that to Austin Health in 2024 with approximately 10,000 employees is a big change in itself,” remarks Tony.

When asked what has kept him at Austin Health for half a century, Tony shared, “The job had the correct mix of technical challenges with a touch of human caring. I have enjoyed the multidisciplinary teamwork that goes with my job and problem solving with all types of people.”

Tony adds, “Living in this locality all my life I can say my community’s perception of Austin Health is far better now than back in 1979 and that gives me a sense of pride.

While Tony has many cherished memories from his time here, one particular memory stands out. “Once for a home dialysis patient, my team assisted in installing his dialysis machine into a caravan in preparation for a lap of Australia.”

“Later that same year, I was camping in central Queensland and around a campfire I was asked, what I do? When I explained the response from one of the groups was that they had met someone while camping in Exmouth, a small town in Western Australia, who had a similar dialysis machine setup - turned out to be the same patient my team and I had helped. That gave me a buzz because of the part I played.”

As we honour Years of Service milestones, we look forward to continuing our journey with the same passion and commitment that has brought us this far. The dedication of our staff is the cornerstone of our success, and we are excited to see what the future holds for Austin Health.

Congratulations to all our people who marked a milestone year!