Alice Springs Hospital: Nurse Jennifer Dredge departs after 31 years of service

“Alice Springs will always hold a special place in my heart”: A nurse who travelled from Brisbane thinking she would only stay a year is finally departing, 31 years and four kids later.

Alice Springs Hospital nurse Jennifer Dredge (nee Whittle) is departing the hospital after 31 years of service. Picture: Facebook

An Alice Springs nurse who road tripped to the Red Centre from Brisbane at the age of 24, thinking she would work a year then move on, is finally leaving, three decades later than planned.

Jennifer Dredge (nee Whittle) has been a part of the furniture at Alice Springs Hospital since 1993, performing almost every role there is to perform, but last Thursday, she said her last goodbyes, having been offered the director of nursing role at Hervey Bay Surgical Hospital.

“Alice Springs will always hold a special place in my heart,” she said.

“I was so sad walking out of that hospital and leaving Alice after 31 years there.

“It’s basically where I learnt everything.”

Mrs Dredge originally came to Alice Springs from Brisbane alongside a nursing friend “for a bit of an adventure”.

“We were only going for a year. She won the lottery and left, and I stayed, but I don’t think I got the worst end of the stick,” Mrs Dredge said.

“I ended up meeting my husband in Bojangles [Saloon and Dining Room] and we had all our four kids here.”

Mrs Dredge began her career at the hospital as a registered nurse in the surgical ward, but over time she progressed to fill various roles: discharge planning, policy officer, chronic disease co-ordinator, sterilisation department manager, and most recently nursing director for ambulatory services and preventing chronic diseases.

A younger Jennifer Dredge working a night shift at the Alice Springs Hospital surgical ward. Picture: Supplied

“Every opportunity that was prevented to me, I took,” she said.

Mrs Dredge said she was also aided greatly by bosses who allowed her to take periods of leave without pay: during these windows, she worked in London, Port Hedland and Melbourne, and undertook a year-long research project in Hervey Bay in 2018.

It was during that year she and her husband fell in love with Hervey Bay – which is where Mrs Dredge’s mother lives – and purchased a house.

When a former colleague sent through the job listing for the surgical hospital, she sent the chief executive an email – half in hope, half seriously.

After she had given up waiting for the call, her phone finally rang while she was on holiday in the area.

“It just felt like everything I’d done, all the opportunities I’d taken had developed me to step into that role,” Mrs Dredge said.

Asked whether she thought the health system had atrophied over her many decades in the field, Mrs Dredge said she believed hospitals were finding more and more ways to work magic.

“We are keeping patients alive for a lot longer, so their cases are much more complex than what they ever were 30 years ago,” she said.

“Having worked in other organisations in Australia and around the world, I think we do an amazing job.”

Friends and colleagues, both former and current, lauded Mrs Dredge on social media for her service.

“Such a big loss for [Alice Springs Hospital]. You were always supportive and committed even when things were really tough,” said one.

“An inspiring boss and mentor,” another added.

Mrs Dredge commences her new job in Hervey Bay on Monday.