At University Hospital Geelong, there is a group of people whose faces you may never see, but whose voices you may never forget. They are the switchboard staff – the voices behind the line.
In a busy hospital, their role is nothing short of vital. They are the calm connection between patients and loved ones, the first point of contact for anxious families, the guiding hand for those trying to reach the right ward, and the team who activate emergency codes; summoning the hospital’s critical response teams. In the middle of chaos, theirs is the voice that comforts, reassures and connects.
Over the years, I have built a friendship with the team. Not in person, but over the phone. Call after call, in the rhythm of daily work, their warmth and care have always shone through. They have become more than colleagues at the other end of the line, their voices are a trusted, steady presence, just as they are for so many families who reach out to the hospital.
And importantly, they are also the ones who often connect grateful patients and families with the Barwon Health Foundation. Through this quiet role, they help create legacies of care – ensuring generosity can be directed to services like cancer care, maternity, research and more.
Recently, it was the switchboard team who connected me with a grateful patient wanting to leave a gift in his will to Barwon Health’s Andrew Love Cancer Centre, in honour of the care his wife received. After speaking with the patient, I rang back to thank the team for facilitating such a meaningful connection. Their thoughtfulness helped transform gratitude into a legacy that will touch countless lives.
They shared how much they love their work. They told me of a mother of a young patient who had expressed her gratitude to them. Through all the uncertainty, the transfers, the waiting, the worry; the switchboard staff had been the one constant. The mother and the team never met face-to-face. Yet through their voices alone, they had given this parent something priceless: steadiness in a storm.
That is the quiet, enduring legacy of the hospital switchboard. Day after day, call after call, they create small moments of connection that ripple far beyond the walls of their office. They offer reassurance when fear is overwhelming. They provide direction when everything feels confusing. They listen, patiently, when a family member simply needs to be heard. And, with humility and care, they also open the door for grateful patients to express their thanks through the Foundation, leaving a lasting imprint on the future of healthcare in our region.
I hope all 17 members of the University Hospital Geelong switchboard team know the impact they have every single day. They may never see the faces on the other end of the line, but their genuine care and calm words provide comfort to someone who truly needed them in that moment, and sometimes, they create the bridge that allows gratitude to become legacy.
It is easy to think of hospital care as the work of doctors and nurses at the bedside. But true care extends far beyond the clinical. It is woven through every part of the patient and family experience. And often, it begins with the voice on the other end of the phone.
For the switchboard team, this work is not about recognition. It is about people. It is about knowing that for the mother desperate for news, the son trying to find the right ward, or the grandparent lost in worry, the sound of a calm and caring voice can mean the world. And, as they so often do, it is about recognising when someone’s gratitude can be gently directed towards the Foundation, ensuring the legacy of care continues for future generations.
Switchboard may not be the first team that comes to mind when you think about the legacy of healthcare workers, but for countless patients and families, it has been the lifeline that made the unbearable just a little easier to bear. The legacy of our local hospital switchboard staff is built on compassion, connection, and quiet constancy – and for the Barwon Health Foundation, we are deeply grateful for the way they help turn gratitude into lasting impact.
So next time you think of hospital heroes, think also of the people behind the voice. You may never see their faces, but their impact is felt in every corner of our health service, in the generosity of grateful patients, and in the hearts of families across Greater Geelong.
And to the entire University Hospital Geelong switchboard team, thank you. Your voices are part of the fabric of our hospital, part of the memories of every patient and family you have helped along the way, and part of every legacy that has flowed through the Foundation because of the care you provide.
Zoe Waters
Executive Director
Barwon Health Foundation
