12 GEORGIANVIEW 2021 SPRING
#GCHeroes
Anne Moller's infectious laugh and robust presence brings
a sense of hope to her patients, like maybe things aren't
as bad as they seem. Although retired now, she is the
nurse you want by your side. She's the one who will make
you smile through tears and warm your hand in hers. She
has been – and still is – a light for so many in their darkest
times.
And make no mistake; she's not a stranger to dark times.
Anne (pronounced 'Anna') graduated from Georgian
College's two-year Nursing program in 1978.
Although the first eight years of her career were spent at
urban hospitals in Edmonton and Barrie (with a year at a
nursing home in Barrie) she spent the next 10 years as an
outpost nurse working in Canada's far north.
She recalls arriving in Nunavut (Northwest Territories at
the time) in 1988, to an isolated village of about 400
people, now called Qikiqtarjuaq (pronouced ki-kik-TAAK-
jo-ahk). There was a suicide epidemic at the time, and as
an outpost nurse, she was often left on her own. One of
her first experiences still haunts her.
"A 14-year-old girl hung herself with a shoelace on a
towel rack in her bathroom and I had to go to the house
with the RCMP and try to resuscitate her," she recalls,
her ardent voice lowering. "That kind of thing is totally
devastating. You do your best, but there were no mental
health resources at that time."
There were many more incidents just as traumatic during
her time up north, but her love for the people and her
faith kept her going back there for a decade.
"Your faith will take you through things that you don't
WORKING BEHIND THE FRONTLINE
Anne Moller, class of 1978
