Aged Care Employees Day shines light on resiliency of sector
After a difficult year in the aged care sector, there’s no better time to celebrate our team’s hard work and dedication this Aged Care Employees Day on August 7.
Andrew Perta, General Manager, Kingston Centre, Sub acute & Residential Care, said his team had been able to keep their heads high and provide great care despite many barriers, including special COVID-19 restrictions on movement for Aged Care employees.
“While a lot of people have been working from home, these teams have shown up every day wearing full PPE and taken all the precautions they could to take care of the residents,” he said.
“It’s been pretty impressive that they’ve been able to do this over such a long period.”
Andrew, who has worked in the sector for almost 12 years, said Aged Care Employees Day was important to recognise all the hard and specialised work that goes into great care.
“We’ve had a really strong focus on keeping facilities COVID safe, and our wellbeing and lifestyle teams have been trying to keep residents emotionally supported through a wide range of activities and specialised support for people with dementia,” he said.
“We’ve also tried to tailor lifestyle programs by introducing new activities and giving people more opportunity to do things.
“We have recently got a new bus, and we’re very excited to get residents back out into the community because we haven’t been able to use it yet.”
He said his favourite thing about working in Aged Care was creating innovative ways to meet resident’s health and wellbeing needs.
“Because they’re here long term, we have a responsibility to provide not only high-quality care but also to create an environment where residents can pursue their interests,” he said.
“The teams I’ve worked with over the years have overcome the impossible to reconnect residents back with their community.”
The Kingston Centre will be looking at potentially introducing a health promotion model of care to better assist residents in the future.
