A lasting legacy
Family of the late Alan Wolff OAM has asked people keen to express their condolences to do so in the form of a donation to Wimmera Health Care Group.
Professor Wolff died last week aged 69, following a battle with illness.
His legacy to Wimmera health care spanned 37 years, a contribution that earned him Order of Australia recognition during Queen’s Birthday Honours this year.
Professor Wolff, forced into retirement by illness, was originally from Melbourne and with his wife Yvonne Cymbalist – also an award-winning and long-practising Horsham doctor – moved to Horsham in 1984.
He told The Weekly Advertiser in June that he and his wife, who raised two children in Horsham, had initially moved to the Wimmera for training and had intended to stay for only a handful of years.
“The town has been very supportive – it was one of the things that attracted me to Horsham – a place where you could do projects that were of benefit to the community. It’s a pleasant place to live,” he said.
Professor Wolff’s achievements, roles and contributions to medicine were comprehensive.
He was Wimmera Health Care Group medical services director from 1984 to 2020, its Clinical Pathway Program founder in 2000, Limited Adverse Occurrence Screening Program founder in 1989 and remained a general practitioner.
In his work with the Department of Health
Services Victoria he was a member of Victorian Quality Council from 2001-2008 and Clinical Risk Management Reference Group and Sentinel Event Review sub-committee for nine years. He was also a founding member of Limited Adverse Occurrence Screening, LAOS.
His professional appointments included Clinical Professor with Deakin University’s Faculty of Health and being co-author of Enhancing Patient Care: a practical guide to improving quality and safety in hospitals, with Sally Taylor in 2009.
He led a Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services Medical Records Review, Integrated Quality Management Model Program as part of a National Hospital Outcomes Program and a Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, 2010, and Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
His broader community involvement included membership with Rotary Club of Horsham East.
Wimmera Health Care Group this year renamed Wimmera Medical Centre the Alan Wolff Medical Centre, in his honour.
Donations will go towards training and educating interns and registrars – always a passion of Professor Wolff.
People can make donations in cash or by cheque or direct deposit and visit website whcg.org.au/ donations-media-events/donations-to-whcg to complete a donation form.
They can also address cards of condolence to Medical Administration, Wimmera Health Care Group, 83 Baillie Street, Horsham 3400.