SWAN Hill aged-care employees have been recognised for their hard work and dedication in caring for elderly people in the region.
Wednesday marked national Aged Care Employee Day, which was established in 2018 as a way to pay tribute to aged-care workers around the country.
Employees at Respect Alcheringa and Hope Aged Care were treated to free food and coffee at an event organised by local volunteers from Rapid Relief Team.
“We saw that this day was coming and thought that it was a great opportunity to celebrate the hard work they were doing,” RRT local team leader Bill Dowell said.
“It’s a thankless job, and quite a few of our community are in these homes.”
Wendy Buckingham, who has been working at Hope Aged Care since its establishment in 2022, said she tried to meet each resident’s specific needs every day.
“I look after their daily living, which can be anything from being their friend, to helping them shower, or to help them (with meals), if they’ve lost that ability,” she said.
“We have to make sure we make them feel at home. This is their home and we are essentially visitors.”
Ms Buckingham’s colleague Karen Baird said the work could often be challenging, but was also fulfilling.
“It’s the satisfaction of helping someone that’s no longer able to do anything for themselves,” she said.
“It’s important to be there for them, as sometimes you become the only people the residents get to see.”
Alcheringa aged-care worker Cate Isma said all staff members were involved with the residents and got to know them personally.
“Everyone that works here, including cleaners, hairdressers and chefs, get to know the residents on a personal level, and they have all become like family to us,” she said.
Every day at work is different for Ms Isma, who has had decades of experience working in the industry.
“Every resident has different likes and dislikes. Getting to know them personally helps us adapt how we care for them,” she said.
“I always love talking to the residents and hearing their life stories, and there has never been a boring day.”
While the employees find working in aged care rewarding, they said that it was not always easy.
Alcheringa’s Ermalita Alvear said working in the dementia wing could be difficult due to caring for residents who were vulnerable to memory loss and mood swings.
“There are a lot of ups and downs, but you know that there is a reason why they need to be here,” she said.
“How you feel can also affect how they’re feeling too, so most of the time we have to look at things positively and carry on with a positive attitude.
“You can have someone that’s not very happy and then they completely change a minute later with a smile on their face.
“But we need to have a lot of empathy in this job and everyone here has a big heart, or otherwise they wouldn’t be here in the first place.”
Alcheringa general manager Debbie Payne said employees at Alcheringa appreciated their efforts being recognised.
“Aged care doesn’t pay a lot, so for people to say thank you is just lovely,” she said.
“You can see the smiles on their faces when they saw the wonderful people from the Rapid Relief Team come in. I think it had a huge positive impact on them.”
Ms Payne said carers didn’t often get much recognition for the difficulty of the tasks, and having to adapt to new changes every day.
“It’s a very fast-paced environment for a registered nurse or a carer when they have to deal with complex clinical-care needs,” she said.
“So they need to have those clinical skills and constantly be upskilling to meet the different needs of residents.
“And with staffing shortages, the job is very challenging but, also very rewarding.”
