After an incredible 38 years in pathology, we bid farewell and celebrate Jane Fay, Tweed Technical Assistant, as she begins her well-earned retirement.

Jane first joined the old Tweed Dis­trict Hos­pi­tal in 1987, help­ing estab­lish the lab with her men­tor and friend, Mel Cason. At that time, the Tweed lab was just a satel­lite with only two staff members—Jane and Mel. Over the years, Jane became the go-to per­son for blood col­lec­tion, train­ing count­less staff in venipunc­ture, and was often called upon for patients with dif­fi­cult veins, chil­dren, and babies. “I didn’t realise col­lect­ing spec­i­mens meant using a nee­dle,” she recalls. “Now I’ve trained dozens of peo­ple to do it.”

Jane’s con­tri­bu­tions extend­ed across micro­bi­ol­o­gy and his­tol­ogy, and she even helped train med­ical stu­dents through the Uni­ver­si­ty Cen­tre for Rur­al Health. She has wit­nessed enor­mous changes in pathology—from glass tubes and hand­writ­ten results to today’s dig­i­tal systems—but what she trea­sures most are the friend­ships, team­work, and cama­raderie of the old Tweed, where staff across all roles sup­port­ed each oth­er like fam­i­ly. It was here she met her hus­band, raised her chil­dren, and built life­long memories.

Reflect­ing on Jane’s impact, Pre and Post Ana­lyt­ics Man­ag­er, Sarah Noakes shared, “Jane will­ing­ly shares her knowl­edge and exten­sive expe­ri­ence with new staff, she has built val­ued rela­tion­ships with staff through­out the LHD [Local Health Dis­trict] and always advo­cates for the pathol­o­gy ser­vice. The con­nec­tion she has with staff and patients will be missed in the lab and in the community.”

Jane now looks for­ward to home ren­o­va­tions, camp­ing, and trav­el. Her ded­i­ca­tion, kind­ness, and com­mit­ment have left a last­ing mark on Tweed Pathol­o­gy, and she will be deeply missed.

Beyond her tech­ni­cal exper­tise, Jane has been a men­tor and guide to many. Lab­o­ra­to­ry Man­ag­er Owen shared, “Jane has been a guid­ing influ­ence in my jour­ney as a lab­o­ra­to­ry man­ag­er. Her wis­dom and gen­er­ous advice, espe­cial­ly in the ear­ly days of my man­age­ment career, shaped the way I approach the role to this day. I’m deeply grate­ful for her influ­ence and proud to have worked along­side her. Wish­ing her all the best in a well-deserved retirement.”

Jane, thank you for your extra­or­di­nary ser­vice, your kind­ness, and the count­less lives you’ve touched. Wish­ing you joy and adven­ture in retirement!

If you are inter­est­ed in join­ing the NSW Health Pathol­o­gy team, vis­it our careers page for oppor­tu­ni­ties and study pathways.

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