2RPH volunteer Teresa Plane named NSW Senior Australian of the Year

Wed, 16 November 2022

As many of you know, Teresa joined Radio 2RPH in Glebe in 2016, trained as a reader and then went on to present two popular programs on a weekly basis:

• Ageing with Attitude (funded by the Older Women's Network and the Department of Ageing and Disability); and
• Meditative Moments (a deep reflection on life, death, and the universe).

Teresa trained as a community broadcaster at 83 years of age, after many years as a pioneer in palliative care nursing. Her passion and life-long journey began during a drive home from hospital as she listened to a life-changing interview with psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross discussing the five stages of dying. Teresa has wryly observed that she has always been a death-denying nurse! She went on to study palliative care methods overseas before opening a hospice and palliative care unit at Mt Carmel Hospital in Western Sydney in 1978. She later established Macquarie Hospice, a home care and daycare centre and as an innovator and leader spoke many times at international forums, universities and conferences. As she approaches the age of 90, Teresa continues tirelessly as an advocate for innovation in palliative care, the rights of senior Australians and is an internationally acclaimed expert on the life well-lived.

All of us at Radio 2RPH are inspired by her commitment to volunteering, her passion for delivering insights and her role in encouraging us all to give back. Congratulations.