The Aged Care Award and Employee of the Year

Aged care is a large industry, where staff are required to provide high quality services. Employers need to make sure they pay their workers correctly and manage their workforce in a professional manner.

The Fair Work Commission has recently awarded a 15% increase in wage rates for aged care workers, including nurses, assistants in nursing and personal care workers in residential and home care. This is a landmark moment, and starts to address systemic underpayments that have caused a crisis in the sector.

Employee of the Year アンチエイジングケア

The Employee of the Year award recognises the outstanding contribution and dedication of an individual employee to the delivery of care and services to older people. This person has excelled in their work, demonstrated initiative within their workplace and helped to inspire and strengthen their colleagues.

Aged care is a huge industry that requires many dedicated people to deliver services and make it a place where older Australians are comfortable and happy. Nurses are one of the most important roles in this field, but there are also cleaners, cooks, drivers and hospitality staff who are the unsung heroes who ensure that everything is running smoothly.

Evalyana is a loyal, hard-working and compassionate employee who goes above and beyond to make sure the residents are taken care of every day at StoneBridge Florissant. She is always willing to train new employees, works extra shifts and does whatever she can to ensure everyone gets the care they need.

She is the resident advocate of the home and spends her days ensuring that each person receives what they need to be their best. Her leadership, compassion and patience are second to none. She is a great asset to the team and we are so thankful she is a part of the StoneBridge family!

Tracey is a person-centred care professional and is responsible for designing lifestyle programs that enhance the health outcomes and wellbeing of our residents. By embracing the diverse interests and abilities of our residents, she creates meaningful, exciting events that allow them to live their lives to the fullest!

Her passion is ensuring that our residents enjoy life and are engaged with their community. She demonstrates this through her work with the PAC event at Lifeview and by helping to design and run Magic Moments, which encourages our residents to connect socially, physically and mentally to help them live well into their later years.

We are so proud of all of our staff and recognise the amazing role they play in caring for older Australians, but there are some who really stand out. Some of our nominees for this award have been long-term employees who have worked at the same facilities for decades, while others have volunteered their time to help improve and enhance the quality of life of older Victorians through innovative programs.

Innovation in Service or Design

As the ageing population grows and needs increasingly complex care, the aged care sector is constantly being updated with new technologies. These range from cutting-edge sensors to virtual reality and smartphone apps, as well as initiatives to 'personalise' the experience for older Australians.

The use of technology can help improve the health and wellbeing of people living in aged care, allowing them to manage chronic diseases, share information among carers and access medical assistance in their homes. This includes the ability to reduce hospitalisations, emergency department visits and laboratory tests by improving communication between patients and their doctors.

Innovative technologies can also help to coordinate support services for older adults, easing shared care and care transitions. This can help improve patient outcomes by reducing hospitalisations and lengths of stay, and ensuring patients receive the appropriate level of care and attention at each stage of the treatment process.

However, the use of these new innovations should be co-designed with end users (older people, health care and aged care providers) to ensure their benefits are realised. They also need to be carefully evaluated and time-tested before implementing them, so that they do not cause detrimental effects to the people using them.

There are also a number of ethical issues to consider when introducing innovative technologies into aged care, including the collection of personal data and research. These needs to be addressed and policies developed to protect data privacy and security.

Creating an environment that is conducive to innovation work requires a culture that supports experimentation, risk-taking and learning. It also entails a shift in the way that people within an organization work, and a willingness to leave their comfort zones to try new things and challenge what is accepted as normal.

The award recognises an aged care service that has demonstrated outstanding compassion, leadership and innovativeness in the delivery of a program, project or initiative that shows originality to improve the lives of those living in aged care. The Award is open to all services, providers, individuals and communities that provide services to people in aged care.

Community Contribution

Fronditha Care, which focuses on delivering aged care services and support to the Greek community in Victoria, was named as the state's candidate for two national awards at this year's Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) Awards 2019. The company won both the Innovation in Service or Design award and the Employee of the Year award.

Fronditha Managing Director, Alexia Athanasiades, said the organisation was very proud to win both awards and is committed to fostering a culture that values innovation and individual contribution.

Khoryom ‘Tut’ Nyon, a personal care worker at Fronditha Care’s 60 bed residential care facility in Lower Templestowe, STORGI, was awarded the HESTA Aged Care Awards individual distinction for his exceptional contributions to the community. Having fled his home country of South Sudan in the wake of civil war, Tut has dedicated his life to helping others - despite what he has had to endure.

His community was particularly touched by his decision to devote the prize money from the HESTA Aged Care Awards to the community he was able to help. He has committed to giving this money to the South Sudanese community so they can pay for schooling in order to become professional care workers themselves.

Mt View Homes, a small rural community-owned aged care provider, was also honoured for its contributions to the community. It is a long-time provider of aged care services to its local community, and has managed to maintain its viability even during times of drought and financial challenges.

As part of its mission, Mt View Homes also has a strong commitment to community engagement. It works closely with local organisations to develop programs that promote community involvement and social inclusion.

In addition, they are active in their local church community and provide a regular volunteer program at the local library.

All of these efforts have made a positive impact on the lives of the local community and are well worth recognizing. They are a shining example of the dedication and hard work that goes into providing quality aged care services.

Employee Recognition

A key part of a successful employee recognition program is to ensure it reflects company values and the culture within your organisation. This means employees need to feel valued as they work towards a common goal, and it’s also important to show your appreciation for the contributions made by those who go above and beyond on a daily basis to make sure all staff are happy and productive.

In aged care, for example, it is often important to recognise an individual or team member for the contribution they have made. This could be something as simple as providing outstanding customer service or a long service record of going the extra mile to meet resident needs.

Whether it is a one-off award or a regular occurrence, the best employee recognition programs show appreciation to employees who go above and beyond. These individuals will be able to help keep everyone in the workplace on track and motivate others to do their best work.

As an employee, it is a great feeling to receive recognition from their boss or managers – this shows that they are appreciated and valued. It also boosts staff morale and increases their productivity.

However, it is also important to be aware of how your employees like to be recognised – some people enjoy a rousing applause while others prefer a more personal thank you from someone they are close to. This can help you tailor your recognition to each individual.

Another great way to encourage and reward good performance is to offer a small monetary award. This can be an easy way to give your staff a small pay rise or gift card for a special occasion without having to wait for pay increases or annual reviews.

This is especially useful in aged care where it can be difficult for staff to ask for a pay increase. It can also be useful for those who are working in challenging areas to be recognised and given a small gift or prize in recognition of their efforts.

This is a great option for an employee who has been working at the company for a long time and deserves recognition for their years of hard work. It can also be beneficial to encourage staff to be creative and find new ways to recognise their hard work as this is a great way to show that you are thinking of your employees and appreciate them.