Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) has farewelled three nurses after a combined 131 years of service.

Young Hospital facility manager Lucy Dunstan has paid tribute to recently retired nurses, Joy Benson, Del Hill and Angela Power, for their contribution to the hospital and local community.

"We are fortunate to have worked with such dedicated and skilled nurses over the past 50 years and we wish them all the best in their retirement," Lucy said.

"Although Del, Angela and Joy will be missed, they have been wonderful mentors to our younger staff.

"As shown by our longstanding staff members, we find that once people experience working at Young Hospital, they tend to stay with us. It is a beautiful town and community and we try to be a progressive, flexible and supportive work environment, offering maximum opportunities in education and training."

Joy Benson, a registered nurse and midwife, has retired after a rewarding career at Young Hospital spanning 52 years.

"Nursing in a facility like Young Hospital has meant I have been able to work across all wards and expand my knowledge and get to know so many people in many teams," Joy said.

"I began nursing in 1971 and have absolutely loved looking after my patients. I really will miss my colleagues, but it was time to retire."

Registered nurse Del Hill began her nursing career in 1977 and has been with Young Hospital ever since.

"I just have always loved my job here and looking after clients and have spent time in every department including medical, surgical, labour ward, emergency, theatre before transitioning to oncology 6 years ago," she said.

"The best advice I received was to treat all my patients as if they were my own family, and I have always tried to stick with that."

Currently on long service leave, Del is looking forward to spending a little more time with her family and friends in Young, before winding down to causal work and eventually retiring by the end of the year.

"After 46 years of caring for others, I feel it is time to wind down and let the younger ones step in. We have some amazing nurses coming up through the ranks, and sometimes I feel proud as I watch them take on leadership roles," she said.

"I have been fortunate to work alongside wonderful colleagues from all areas of healthcare and have made lifelong friendships for which I am truly grateful."

After 33 years of nursing at Young Hospital, Angela Power decided it was time to retire and tick a few things off her bucket list.

"Nursing was a great experience and vocation, and I spent the first probably 28 years in emergency before specialising as an oncology nurse at the hospital," Angela said.

"I loved the professional interaction with the other staff, that multidisciplinary team approach in my role and of course the patients. We got to know our patients very well, so it was a really rewarding nursing experience."