By Jen Gourley
After more than 45 years of helping care for the people of Biloela, Rosanne Plummer has teed up to take a mighty swing at retirement.
A Registered Nurse, Rosanne worked at Biloela Hospital before starting a magnificent and long-running working relationship with Dr Richard Tan in the mid-1970s.
Dr Tan set up his first practice in Biloela in the Arcade in Kariboe Street in 1968, on the auspicious date of April Fool’s Day.
“I was on my own at that stage,” Dr Tan said. “Dr Horchner joined me in 1977 and Rosanne joined us just before that, before she got married.
“She came to work for us just before she married John and then she had a year off when she had Rhana (Rosanne’s daughter). And then a few years later, John appeared so she had another year off. But other than that, she was continuously the nurse/receptionist there at Tan and Horchner’s until we closed the business in 2011.”
In July 2011, Dr Tan moved into the new Biloela Medical Centre building on the Dawson Highway and Rosanne came too.
“She came here to work as Practice Manager. She was my boss for 11 years!” laughed Dr Tan.
Rosanne played a vital role in helping get the new medical centre up and running and spent the next decade overseeing practice operations.
She’s been described as the best needle giver, with many phoning to request that she be the one to hold the syringe. She’s offered a shoulder to cry on, a lap to sit on and has cuddled many crying babies to soothe them over the years.
Rosanne was extremely passionate about her work and had a strong but gentle approach to all those coming to both medical practices for help and advice.
“Rosanne – she’d call a spade a spade,” Dr Tan said. “She was a great worker, straight down the middle. She’s been great, otherwise, we wouldn’t have stuck together for so many years,” he said with a chuckle.
“We had a great relationship at work. She’s done a great job putting this place together. You know, especially in times when we’ve been short of doctors. She worked really hard to get locums, things like that.
It’s not just Dr Tan who appreciates his medical centre compadre. Rosanne’s colleagues have described her as “pretty chilled and laid-back as a boss, with a wicked sense of humour”.
Friday, December 2, was Rosanne’s last day of work, with her wonderful contribution to the community celebrated with drinks and dinner that evening.
A keen golfer for many years, it’s quite likely the local course will see a lot more of Rosanne now. Thank you for all your years of service, Rosanne. May all your shots find the fairway and hopefully there’s a hole in one in your future! Enjoy your retirement.
