Farewell to Tina Murphy 1971 – 2022
Greenwood Health started 2022 as ‘Ground Zero’ for New Zealand’s Omicron outbreak. Not the most auspicious start for a medical practice to be sure.
As we do with most things, we weathered it well and managed to maintain our infection control standards at a level that saw no staff members or patients contract covid-19 from visiting or working at the practice.
The year was a tough one with covid-19 and the wicked 2022 influenza affecting staff members across the year, we also had a couple of departures and a few delays in getting new General or Nurse Practitioners into roles.
Our year was improving as we approached Christmas and 2023 is looking brighter from a staffing perspective. We may be able to even open those books again. Something we have been striving for since we reluctantly closed them 2 years ago.
Covid-19 wasn’t done with us, as we began as ‘Ground Zero’ we ended with yet another accolade we could have done without – we are one of the only places to lose a clinician to covid-19 complications.
Urgent Care Practitioner Tina Murphy, who saw and cared for many members of our community when they have been at their sickest and most vulnerable contracted covid-19 on a visit back to the UK in September this year. After an intense and short battle with covid-19 and its resulting complications Tina died on 11 December 2022.
To say our team is in mourning is one of the largest understatements ever heard. She was such a well loved member of the team, and the core of our urgent and after hours services.
Tina was with Greenwood Health from December 2017, back when Nurse Practitioners were relatively new to our region. She came in with a hiss and a roar. A highly trained emergency NP she had the most incredible gift of bringing calm to the most chaotic of medical situations, managing them with ease, grace and the occasional inappropriately appropriate bit of light hearted humour.
She has changed the landscape of Nurse Practitionership at Greenwood Health, across the region and arguably across Aotearoa. She upskilled our Doctors, Nurses, Healthcare Assistants & Administrative Team Members with her knowledge, skill and patience as a truly excellent teacher.
Having lived and worked in the UK and other areas of New Zealand, Tasman was where she found her home and she absolutely loved living in this paradise. Finally finding the work/life balance she wanted to end her working career with. Of course, no-one expected it to be quite so soon.
Knowledge ahead of her death that her time was running out Tina had a large number of lessons to pass on. The one that we are all carrying with us, as her legacy is to grab life – do the things we have always wanted to do but put off, no matter how large or small they are. It is a message she wanted everyone to hear, as you just don’t know what life will bring.
A huge thank you to the Motueka community for the outpouring of support while we have been in mourning for our colleague and friend. You are all one of the reasons we enjoy (and Tina enjoyed) living in this place so much.