Indigo Interview: Proud to call Beechworth home

Sherryn Chapman was born and educated in Shepparton before her path eventually led to the Indigo Shire. “I moved to Stanley in 2001, spending 13 wonderful years there before relocating to Beechworth, which has proudly been my home for the last 12 years,” she said. What do you do workwise? My early years in Beechworth were spent embedded in the local community, working at Victoria's Cafe, the Jeans Shed, the newsagents, and Hotel Nicholas. I later transitioned into healthcare, studying to become an enrolled nurse and working across both the old Warner Road nursing home and its modern site at the Beechworth Health Service on Sydney Road. After completing further tertiary studies at Charles Sturt University to become a registered nurse, I then became a clinical nurse specialist spending 12 years in the operating theatres at Northeast Health Wangaratta. Recently, I embarked on an exciting new professional direction, joining the team at The Microinvasive Clinic in Wangaratta. I work alongside Dr Peter Hebbard, an innovator who pioneered a groundbreaking, ultra-minimally invasive ultrasound-guided procedure to relieve carpal tunnel symptoms. What led you to your role/career? Nursing was a beautifully serendipitous event. Looking for a career path that would genuinely spark my passion, I went to a local TAFE to speak with a careers advisor. They casually suggested I stay back for an evening information session on nursing. I did, and the rest is history. What do you love about your work? I am fundamentally a people person. What I love most is the human connection — building immediate rapport and a sense of camaraderie with patients. It is incredibly rewarding to make someone feel comfortable, safe, and less frightened during what is often a highly stressful and emotional moment in their lives. Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing? Housing pressure is a critical challenge for our region. Ever since I first moved here, housing has been an ongoing issue, characterised by a severe lack of long-term rental options and an escalating affordability crisis for locals. What would you do to solve change or improve that situation? Solving the housing crisis requires a sophisticated, multi-pronged strategy. We must actively boost our local housing supply, implement fairer regulations within the rental market, and reform broader tax incentives to protect long-term residents over short-term holiday lets. What do you see as one of the most important current world issues? Beyond our local borders, I believe global health security and equitable access to medical innovation is one of our most pressing global issues. As healthcare advances rapidly, ensuring that everyday people — regardless of where they live — can access life-changing, modern medical procedures vital for a fair future. If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why? I would love to meet Florence Nightingale. I would walk her through our beautiful historic streets and down my favourite part of the rail trail. I'd want to show her how far regional nursing has come, how we've preserved the heart of patient care she fought for, and share with her how much technology has revolutionised the health sector. What book are you reading? "This Has Been Absolutely Lovely" by Jessica Dettmann. I love to read, and it is a form of relaxation, escapism and downtime.

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Indigo Interview: Proud to call Beechworth home

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