Speak Out April 2019

Association news

Vale Sue Morse 30.7.1959 – 10.3.2019

SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA WOULD LIKE TO SADLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE PASSING OF SUE MORSE. SUE WAS AN ADVOCATE AND A PIONEER FOR HER PATIENTS, THEIR FAMILIES AND THE PROFESSION. CURRENT AND FORMER COLLEAGUES PAY TRIBUTE TO SUE AND HER COMPASSIONATE AND INFLUENTIAL LIFE.

I t is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Sue Morse, an extraordinary woman, speech pathologist and mental health clinician. Sue died last month at the age of 59. She will be remembered as a fierce advocate for her patients and their families, as a clinical educator, a mentor and a much respected “trailblazer” for her profession. Sue started her career as a speech pathology graduate at the Ballarat Base Hospital in 1981 and moved to the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne in 1983 where she then worked for 35 years. The Children’s Hospital was a very special place for Sue where she had been a patient herself as a young child. Her early career interest was in brain injury, particularly the recovery of communication skills after complex illness. Sue thrived in the intellectual rigour of research and co- authored a number of research papers on language outcomes in the context of neurobehavioural recovery. She had a deep undersanding of developmental neurology as well as the emotional and psychosocial toll rendered by serious childhood illness.

As a senior clinician Sue earned the utmost respect of her colleagues within and outside the hospital, and in 2010 was awarded the RCH Chairman’s Medal. The Chairman’s Medal is the most prestigious award that can be bestowed by The Royal Children’s Hospital upon a member of staff, and recognises exemplary achievement by an individual in her or his chosen field. It commemorates an outstanding contribution to the work and reputation of the RCH, and a significant impact by the individual on the hospital’s vision to be a great children’s hospital, leading the way. This award recognised Sue’s contribution to the development of speech pathology practices which are now considered essential to the multidisciplinary care of children with complex disorders, including videofluoroscopic swallow study and intervention with infants and young children with eating and drinking problems. Early intervention work with very young children and their parents sparked Sue’s passion for working closely with the pioneering Infant Psychiatry group at RCH. Her work as a mental health clinician was outstanding, as were her clinical skills with children of all ages. Her playfulness was balanced with a directness and a deep understanding of what was important to the child and the family. She was particularly influential in the development of an infant mental health culture at RCH and was a fierce advocate for the infant in the health care system. Sue’s tireless compassion, her capacity to inhabit the world of her patients, to honour their dignity and to guide her patients and colleagues through the language of therapy and its wonderful metaphors will be remembered. We will miss her very much. Libby Ferguson former colleague, MCRI Alex Giannini, RCH Bernadette O’Connor , RCH (and can be available for any enquiries in regards to Sue)

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April 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Speak Out