From the CEO

This year’s Aged Care Employee Day on Friday 7 August is going to be a day of celebrations and thank yous at Liscombe House. And rightly so. We have just been lifted out of lockdown by the Victorian Public Health Unit, a testament to our team of nurses, carers, cooks, allied health professionals, lifestyle officers, cleaners, administration staff and volunteers. They are all champions, and never have I been reminded it of so much as these past months.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have been based at Liscombe House where I have seen firsthand the extraordinary lengths that our team goes to delivering the best of care to our 80 frail residents. Nothing is too much bother. Even when working in a lockdown which saw our staff donning and doffing full PPE in the Liscombe House several times a day – an exhausting process at the best of times, let alone in the storm of one of the deadliest viruses the world has endured.

We have worked through a myriad of ever changing government details – abiding by both Federal and Victorian Government directives, many of which give conflicting advice. We have put in place window visits, introduced many different technology options for families to continue ‘meeting’ and ‘talking’ with their loved ones. We have introduced a booking system which through May and June enabled around 600 visits. We have baked cakes for birthdays, we have made muffins and had flowers delivered by families for the team, and all the time run countless activities for our residents across the three wings of Liscombe House. As one of our residents told me” “I’ve never been busier.”

All of this has been delivered with a cheery smile. The efforts made to keep our families up to date, even when there is little to say, has been greatly welcomed. We know this from the many messages we have received. All of which mean and continue to mean a great deal.

There is no doubt that aged care is in the media headlines, but as the CEO of OCAV, I will say this: we are dealing with a highly contagious virus which is changing all the time, which we are learning about every day. That is not to excuse or to ignore what is and has happened. But now is not the time for blaming.

Across the world, and now in Australia, the virus has ravaged aged care settings. Keeping the virus out and at bay requires dedicated and skilled staff, the very best of infection control measures and stringent risk management, access to PPE and other essential equipment. All this is to be delivered by people who are anxious about their own health, their own loved ones, and their colleagues. And for the team at Liscombe House, anxious too for the residents and their families, who are very much a part of our community.

While the spotlight has been on aged care, the staff in our other villages must not be forgotten either. They have introduced initiatives such as frozen meals, a pen pal program between residents and volunteers, fielded calls from worried independent residents, kept going with essential maintenance and upgrading units in each village, worked in the gardens to provide winter splashes of colour and prepare for spring and warmer weather, and so it goes on.

This year’s Aged Care Employee Day’s theme is ‘#thanksforcaring. I cannot think of a better theme.

I hope you enjoy the stories in this newsletter, do follow us on Facebook (@ocav1) – we regularly post a mix of OCAV stories and useful information – and join the conversation.

Take care, stay at home, wear a mask and keep washing your hands!