Our Wonderful and Much Loved Emeritus Professor Barbara Hayes OAM passed
away peacefully yesterday morning in the Palliative Care Unit at the Townsville
Hospital.
We were all very privileged to share so much of her amazing life and will
always remember her with admiration and appreciation.
Assoc. Prof. Lee Stewart, Head of School
It is
with great sadness that, on behalf of the Faculty, I wish to acknowledge
the death of Emeritus Professor Barbara Hayes OAM, who passed away peacefully
at the Palliative Care Unit of The Townsville Hospital.
Emeritus
Professor Barbara Hayes OAM was the Foundation Head of the Department of
Nursing Sciences (1989-1997) and Foundation Professor of Nursing Sciences
(1989-2006). Barbara’s key legacy in both of these roles was a collaborative
and collegial approach to health workforce development that transcended
professional divides. Most importantly, Barbara brought the academic side to
nursing and midwifery, holding Fellowships with the Royal College of Nursing,
The Australian and New Zealand College of Mental Health Nursing and the
Australian College of Tropical Medicine. As Emeritus Professor, Barbara was
admired as a passionate and active researcher and supervisor to the end.
At its
establishment, the Department of Nursing was the first undergraduate health science
Department at James Cook University, and the first University School of Nursing
in the tropics in Australia. As such, Barbara’s contribution helped shape the
cultural foundation of what we now refer to as the Faculty of Medicine, Health
and Molecular Sciences, particularly our rare collegiate and cooperative
relations. It was a privilege to have worked alongside Barbara, and she will be
remembered with great warmth by all who knew her.
Professor Ian Wronski, Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, Health & Molecular Sciences