LASA has announced the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory winners of the Excellence In Age Services (EIAS) Awards.
The winners are across five categories: Rising Star, Individual, Next Gen Young Leader, Organisation and Team.
Rising Star winner
Emily Skeen is at Carrington Care and started as a casual registered nurse. She has now been promoted to a managerial position based on her leadership capability, her passion for her consumers and her commitment to Carrington and the aged care industry.
Skeen has shown a passion for delivering exceptional clinical care and her practices and standards have ensured that she has excelled in her care delivery.
She has holistically improved both consumer care, service outcomes, staff engagement and motivation and has actively taken on the role as a clinical mentor and resource staff member for the improvement of wound management across the organisation.
Skeen has also demonstrated a willingness to empower her staff by encouraging them to be resourceful, using their initiatives and involving them in continuous improvement strategy identification and solution.
Individual winner
Janelle Veale is the general manager at Roseneath Aged Care Centre, in Glen Innes, 100 kilometres north of Armidale.
She joined Roseneath in June 2018, and prior to the appointment, worked in the aged care sector in Armidale for 14 years.
She is committed to aged care and helping senior Australians in regional areas.
Veale has developed a culture of providing a customer focus service within a team environment with her approach which she describes as ‘person first care planning’.
She is a leader with a commitment to quality and continuous improvement, and has strong communication skills – but her greatest asset is her listening skills with staff, residents, and families.
Through her vision and commitment, Roseneath’s residents’ have satisfaction, staff morale and health professional partnerships and she has created a buzz of excitement, joy and laughter.
Next Gen Leader winner
Michael Monteleone, is general manager of hospitality and operations support at Whiddon.
He has successfully held three roles during his time with Whiddon and brings to aged care a strong customer-service background in the hotel, catering and cinema industries and has applied this experience to significantly improve the food and dining experience at the organisation.
Monteleone is described by colleagues as ‘truly a breath of fresh air for the industry with his incredible passion and enthusiasm and he genuinely strives to make a real difference in aged care’.
Organisation winner
The Organisation winner is Twilight Age Care, an independent not-for-profit organisation that has been providing services to the vulnerable elderly for more than 105 years and currently operates four residential aged care homes across Northern Sydney, with a fifth under design.
The homes are boutique-size with 35 to 45 beds allowing the company to offer its unique Twilight Family Model of Care (TFMOC) to provide residents with the support they require and the lifestyle they need.
TFMOC empowers its staff to take an active interest in the holistic care of residents and has a significant cultural change for staff as it moved from task-focused care, to a fully resident-focused model.
Twilight Age Care have very low levels of negative feedback or complaints from families, residents or staff since implementing its model. Instead, they regularly receive delightful compliments.
Team winner
The Team winner is Gymea Community Aid and Information Service (GCAIS).
The Community Connections Team has the responsibility to deliver the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) and services including incividual and social support, transport and domestic assistance.
Under previously awarded Innovation and Social Support Funding, seniors’ exercise, including social support programs, were created and implemented in 2019.
GCAIS has a selection of 45 minute programs including Zumba, seniors boxing, matwork pilates, barre, yoga, Triple B, Buff Bands, Moves for All and Tai Chi.
The groups are free to run and invaluable as a no-cost option for seniors.
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