In my own words

Three aged care workers share their passion for helping older people.

Derek Or—Registered Nurse, Carinity Wishart Gardens, Brisbane I was born in Singapore and my career inspiration came from my dad and grandmother.

Our family values are to provide support, care, and love for our elderly parents. My grandparents had been living with us since I was young, and my dad was their caregiver.

When my Nana suffered a stroke, my dad took care of most of Nana’s needs while the rest of us contributed to the best of our abilities. After Nana passed, I decided I should convert my grief into something more powerful that would allow me to move forward in life. So I promised that I would take care of elderly seniors, just like my grandparents were taken care of, so lovingly.

In 2012, I took my dad’s advice, came to Australia, and started my Registered Nurse studies.

Aged care is my passion. After almost five years as an RN, I am currently pursuing a degree in psychology to further enhance my contributions to our seniors. I love to sing with the residents. I usually start with You Are My Sunshine to uplift their mood, and sometimes followed by You Are Beautiful. Occasionally, some may tell me that they are no longer beautiful, but after sharing my Nana’s message that ‘true beauty is not skin deep as it goes far deeper to our very heart and soul’, they agree and sing along.

Palliative care is important to me and I believe the last page of a person’s life story should be written in the sweetest of memories. They should not be alone or in fear. They should receive care with love and genuine support.

2020 AMH Aged Care Companion OUT NOW!

The AMH Aged Care Companion is a trusted, practical reference for nurses and health professionals who work with older people. It contains the latest evidence-based information on the management of more than 70 conditions common in older people. The new release includes a number of changes. Those that may be of interest: updated topics including behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), epilepsy, heart failure, immunisation, type 2 diabetes and urinary tract infections. The 2020 Book and Online release is available now. Go to www.amh.net.au for more information.

I am proud to be part of the Carinity family and I am grateful to everyone who has supported me. All the happiness and joy that I experience, I share with my residents and colleagues. We are one big happy family!

Derek Or has the wellbeing of residents at heart.

Chris Watkins—Personal Carer, Bayside City Council, Melbourne I’m 46, a personal care worker who also provides domestic assistance, shopping assistance and respite care.

I grew up in North Queensland and worked as a builders labourer, came down to Melbourne and worked as a painters labourer then went into hospitality, which I did for nearly 20 years.

My partner suggested a career change into care and said to me, ‘why don’t you give it a try, you’re a people person’.

I went and did the Cert III course three and half years ago and absolutely loved it. When I did my practical placement, I knew it was something I wanted to pursue as a career.

In care, you build up a rapport with your clients and it’s fantastic.

It is such a nice feeling to come home at the end of the day and say, ‘I’ve done my job and those people can stay in their own homes’.

One of my former clients had MS and we have maintained a great friendship. He used to be a guitarist, and I’m a guitarist as well. Because of his condition, he can’t play anymore but he can sing, so we have a singalong with my guitar and he’s come along to see my band play a couple of times.

I’ve also got a regular client who is 97 and I help her with domestic assistance. I do the cleaning, then we sit down and have a cuppa together.

I so look forward to seeing her every fortnight. It’s not only the support and the social connection, it’s what I’m doing that enables her to live in her own home.

That’s the feeling I didn’t get with hospitality—it was nothing like this.

Chris Watkins loves knowing he is helping older people to age in place.

Francesca Ruxton— Diversional Therapist, Carinity Brookfield, Brisbane One of my greatest passions is playing the saxophone for residents.

It’s really popular, particularly when we haven’t had our entertainers coming in during COVID-19.

I kind of think of myself as a live jukebox. They ask me for such-and-such a song and sometimes I know it and sometimes I don’t. So I say, give me a couple of weeks and I’ll go home and learn it.

Then I do my own backing tracks on my laptop computer and I turn up and play their song and they love it.

The sax is so versatile, you can play anything from hymns, to rock and roll, to jazz, to classical. Many years ago, my mother went into aged care and someone came along one day and had a chat with her about what she had done and liked doing. I asked this woman whether this was a job and she said yes, it’s diversional therapy.

I went to university and I started picking up work as a volunteer, at first. At that time, I hadn’t been playing the saxophone for 20 years. I thought, I’ll take up my sax again, so I started practising and playing for residents and I haven’t looked back.

The reactions vary enormously. Most commonly, they sit there with their eyes shut and I know they are just being transported back to wherever that song takes them.

Sometimes they cry. I thought I was distressing them but then I realised I was not, it was just bringing back emotions because the songs carry so much.

Songs are like little time capsules, so if people have lots of tears coming down their cheeks I don’t worry any more, I just let it happen and they say ‘we love it’.

I was only playing once or twice a month but I’m now playing up to twice a week.

It’s about lifting spirits, especially in the COVID-19 situation. It makes them happy and that’s why I’m here. ■

Francesca Ruxton playing the saxophone for Fay Jones at Carinity.

CIRCULAR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TURN HEALTHCARE FOOD WASTE INTO FERTILISER

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ealthcare facility members of the enrich360 ® Circular Community are reducing the volume by up to 93 per cent and turning their food waste into fertiliser and recycled water, using enrich360 ® Bio-Dehydrators. With bio-dehydrators from 22kg up to 1.1 tonne per day enrich360 ® not only provide machinery and support but also collect the fertiliser outputs from their community members and get it back to our farms to help grow more food creating a circular economy.

The enrich360 ® dehydrator system, turbo-charges the food waste decomposition process through accelerated dehydration and agitation, reducing the original waste volume by between 80 and 93%. Food waste (meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, coffee grinds, flower displays, compostable napkins and assorted plateware) is placed inside the food dehydrator for dehydration, sterilisation and volume reduction.

The process is takes approx. between 8 and 24 hours to complete depending on the size of the unit. The machine is then emptied, ready to receive the next load and can be run

Circular Community Members turn Healthcare food waste into fertiliser

seven days a week. The product from this system can be Healthcare facility members of the enrich360 ® Circular Community used as a directly-applied fertiliser or as a compost or soil enhancer. It also creates reusable green water of around 75 cent and turning their food waste into fertiliser and recycled water bio-dehydrators from 22kg up to 1.1 tonne per day enrich360 ® not only provide machinery and support but also collect the fertiliser outputs from their community members and g litres per 100kg of food waste. food creating a circular economy. Brisbane’s 780 bed Princess Alexandra Hospital has The enrich360 ® dehydrator system, turbo-charges the food waste decomposition process through accelerated dehydration and agitation, reducing the original waste volume by between 80 and 93%. recently installed an enrich360 ® E550A food waste biodehydrator which can handle up to 550kg of food waste fruit, vegetables, coffee grinds, flower displays, compostable napkins and food dehydrator for dehydration, sterilisation and volume reduction. and compostable items every day. Director of Operational Services at the hospital, Noel Matson, says, “We’re now The process is takes approx. between 8 and 24 hours to complete depending on the size of the unit. machine is then emptied, ready to receive the next load and can be run seven days a week this system can be used as a directly-applied fertiliser or as a compost processing 370-390 kgs of food waste every day. It’s green water of around 75 litres per 100kg of food waste. reduced our waste removal task significantly.” The fertiliser output from the machine is used on the hospital grounds Brisbane’s 780 bed Princess Alexandra Hospital has recently installed an dehydrator which can handle up to 550kg of food waste and Operational Services at the hospital, Noel Matson, says, “We’re now processing and pure distilled waste water is captured to water the every day. It’s reduced our waste removal task significantly.” The fertiliser the hospital grounds and pure distilled waste water is captured to water the hospital gardens. enrich360 machinery is available to purchase rent and rent to own and is suitable for the smallest private enrich360 machinery is available to purchase rent and rent hospital right through to the largest facilities – patient food waste, to own and is suitable for the smallest private hospital right Contact enrich360 Pty Ltd for a free, no obligation video waste assessment and proposal at through to the largest facilities – patient food waste, café www.enrich360.com.au or call Dean Turner on 0499 360 360 and food court wastage. Contact enrich360 Pty Ltd E220 for a free, no obligation video waste assessment and proposal at: www.enrich360.com.au or call Dean Turner on 0499 360 360.

E220M Pictured

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