Aged Care Employee Day
Aged Care Employee Day celebrates the more than 427,000 residential aged care, home care and retirement living staff who care for over 1.5 million older Australians. This year, The Salvation Army Aged Care (“TSAAC”) formally celebrated Aged Care Employee Day on Monday, 7 August, with each of our Centres and Services acknowledging the inspirational work of employees with an awards ceremony and a catered event.
TSAAC’s Human Resources Business Partners, Alison Geale and Lianna Greene, managed the Human Resources side of the project, with support from the wider Aged Care team. Lianna notes that this event was not made possible without an ‘all hands-on deck’ approach to the project. “There is a lot of collaboration with other teams in TSAAC. From our Enterprise Development team who design and create our awards, to the Communications team who ensure that everyone is aware of our celebration plans and send out the nomination forms for our awards, to our hospitality team who arrange the food for our lunches and afternoon teas.”
When reflecting on the steps involved to bring the project to life, Alison notes that the team began thinking about this event well in advance. “Our team started on this months ago, consulting with various stakeholders, working out everything from budget, right through to what refreshments would be served on the day,” she says. “The aim of the day is to place value on all our employees, so we’ve tried to involve a good cross-section of the various employee groups.”
When considering the significance of this day for the industry, Alison notes that it is not just an occasion to celebrate, but also offers a time to reflect. “It’s an opportunity for us to stop for a moment and think about why we’re here and the value of our work in Aged Care. In the day-to-day of work and life, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture. We have the privilege of making a fundamental difference in individual human lives every day. That’s worthy of celebration.”
For Lianna she also notes the significance of this day in highlighting the amazing work of all aged care employees, from Centre Managers, right through to those behind the scenes who work in the cleaning teams. “Aged Care Employee Day is an opportunity to say thank you to those who care for our most vulnerable. Their hard work does not go unnoticed and shines a spotlight on these very special people.”
Both Lianna and Alison note that working within this sector, brings with it many rewards. Alison reflects that she enjoys, “being part of a big team of compassionate, down-to-earth yet highly skilled professionals and supporting older people to live well in their senior years.” For Lianna, she says her work is a privilege and feels honoured to give back to a generation who have given so much to our society. “The most rewarding part is being able to give back to the elderly generations who have paved a pathway for future generations to come. It is heart-warming to see the impact my role has and how it plays an active part in ensuring the care and support of our elderly generations is maintained at a high level.”
