At the 2026 Tasmanian Palliative Care Awards, we were privileged to hear from Lisa Brown, last year’s recipient of the Ruth Andrews Memorial Award for Kindness. Lisa shared how the award inspired Gift of Comfort, a community project bringing warmth and comfort to patients and families at Peacock One.
We’re grateful Lisa could join us and share her story, including her memories of working alongside Ruth and what this past year has taught her about kindness in palliative care. You can read Lisa’s speech below.
Good afternoon everyone,
It’s really lovely to be here today and to have the opportunity to share a little of my journey since receiving the Ruth Andrews Memorial Award for Kindness last year.
Winning this award was one of the proudest moments of my nursing career.
It was made even more special because I knew Ruth and had the privilege of working alongside her. Ruth was fun-loving, warm and incredibly kind, and she genuinely cared about her patients and the people she worked with. So when my name was announced, I was quite overwhelmed. To receive an award carrying the name of someone I had known and respected made it incredibly personal, and it is something I will always treasure.
It also made me stop and reflect on what kindness really means in palliative care.
We often don’t realise the impact of the small things we do. We’re simply doing our job, sitting with someone, holding a hand, listening, finding that extra blanket, or taking a few more minutes with a family.
But often, those are the moments people remember.
And that thinking became the inspiration behind Gift of Comfort.
At Peacock One, we provide compassionate palliative care, but our patients are still spending some of the most precious days of their lives in a hospital room.
I wanted to find a way to make those rooms feel less clinical and more like somewhere patients and families could simply be together and feel comfortable and at peace.
Gift of Comfort is about those simple touches, a beautiful quilt on the bed, the warm glow of a bedside lamp, the calming scent of lavender, things that might seem small, but can completely change how a room feels.
It’s about creating a space that quietly says:
You matter. You are cared for. And this time together matters.
With the wonderful support of Palliative Care Tasmania, that idea has grown into a community project, with individuals, businesses and community groups helping us bring it to life.
Watching Gift of Comfort grow has been incredibly special. To know that something inspired by receiving this award is now helping our patients and their families at such a vulnerable time is something I’m incredibly proud of.
This year I also lost my mum, and for a short time I experienced palliative care from the other side, as a daughter rather than a nurse. It reinforced for me just how much compassionate care matters and how families remember the way their loved one was cared for. I think that experience has made me an even more compassionate nurse.
The award also gave me the opportunity to attend the Palliative Care Nurses Australia Conference.
The prize helped make that possible, and it was such a valuable experience. Being surrounded by people who share the same passion for palliative care, hearing their ideas and experiences, and reflecting on my own practice reminded me just how proud I am to be a palliative care nurse.
When I stood up to receive the Ruth Andrews Memorial Award last year, I never imagined what would grow from that moment.
It gave me confidence. It gave me an opportunity to learn and grow professionally. But most importantly, it inspired me to take something I have always believed in kindness, and turn it into something that can make a difference to our patients and their families.
Because in palliative care, we can’t always change what is happening.
But we can change how someone feels while it is happening.
We can make a room feel warmer. We can make someone feel safe. We can give a family a little more comfort during a time they will remember for the rest of their lives.
And I think that is what this past year has taught me most.
Kindness doesn’t have to be something extraordinary. But to the person receiving it, it can mean absolutely everything.
I’m incredibly proud to have received Ruth’s award.
And I’m even prouder that, through Gift of Comfort, I’ve been able to pass a little of that kindness on.
Thank you.