‘Best of the best’ acknowledged in aged care awards

Held in Canberra on 9 August, the annual awards this year acknowledged the work of the three winners across the award categories of Team Innovation, Individual Distinction and Outstanding Organisation for their “exceptional” work in the aged care sector in improve services and standards of care for ageing Australians.

HESTA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Debby Blakey congratulated all three award winners for their achievements.

“This year’s winners have shown outstanding leadership and have worked collaboratively to design and implement improvements in their workplaces, delivering the highest quality care to ageing Australians,” Ms Blakey says.

“Through their work, they are supporting the continuous improvement of the sector and we’re proud to acknowledge their efforts through the HESTA Aged Care Awards.”

The three winners, who were selected from 13 national finalists include:

The Geriatric Flying Squad, Uniting War Memorial Hospital NSW – Team Innovation Award

Yulunda Matau, Amana Living James Brown Care Centre, WA – Individual Distinction Award

Wintringham, VIC – Outstanding Organisation Award

Winners of each category have been awarded a share in a $30,000 prize pool – with each category winner using the money to further support their work.

The Geriatric Flying Squad plan to use the money to fund education sessions and develop a suite of resources to educate local police and ambulance services about their referral pathway, with Yulunda aiming to attend an international conference and participate in educational sessions focused on innovations in mental health and palliative care for aged care residents, and Wintringham are hoping to put the funds towards providing training opportunities for staff to give them the opportunity to further develop their skills and expertise.