Lucinda’s Lifestyle Activities at Carpenter Court Aged Care Centre
“There are many areas in Aged Care that you can be a part of – it’s a satisfying and humbling field of work to be involved in and I feel privileged to get to know the residents that live here and the staff that care for them,” says Lucinda, the Lifestyle Coordinator at Carpenter Court Aged Care Centre (“Carpenter Court”).
Lucinda has been with “Carpenter Court family” as she describes the Centre, since 2018. She had worked in Aged Care previously, yet prior to commencing at Carpenter Court, she was working in administration, running several large departments for a business. The pull back into the Aged Care sector was the ability to make a difference in the lives of others. “I had no opportunity to improve the quality of someone’s life like I used to when I was working in Aged Care,” she says of her former work. “A friend recommended Carpenter Court and said there was an opening for Lifestyle Coordinator, and I decided it was the right time to make the move back into Aged Care.”
Indeed, there is plenty of opportunity to make a difference in the resident’s lives and at the same time, spread joy. “We are lucky to be right on the beach and, during the warmer months, we run a swimming group at the Merewether Baths,” Lucinda explains of the sea pool located close to Carpenter Court. “We are a part of an online trivia group that’s run around the world and compete against them all once a month as well. Also, one of the Lifestyle Assistants and the Chaplain take the residents to The Salvation Army Café 360 at Eastlakes to help put packs together for people in need once a month.”
When asked what the residents’ favourite activity is, it is the opportunity to ‘belt out’ some karaoke tunes. “The residents love karaoke,” exclaims Lucinda. What started with residents initially singing along with Lucinda, has since turned into impressive individual performances by the residents themselves. “They ask me to send videos through to their family – they are super proud. The staff come into the lounge room and have a dance or a sing as well. The residents get to choose what they want to hear and a lot of the time there’s a story to go along with why they made that choice. I’ve never sung so much Johnny Cash, Elvis, John Farnham, Rod Stewart, and AC/DC before!”
Lucinda’s Lifestyle work also revolves around community-centred engagement and ensuring that residents still feel connected to the community outside the Centre. “It is of huge importance for the residents to stay connected to the Merewether community because a great deal of them have grown up in the area,” tells Lucinda. “It is imperative that everyone feels like they have a place in a community and Merewether really embraces our residents.”
Reflecting on what Lucinda most enjoys about her role as Lifestyle Coordinator, she says: “That the residents here are given the choices to continue with community access, enjoying things they have done throughout their lifetime and provide them with new things to enjoy and learn.”
