Awards and Industry Honours
Vasey RSL Care strives to provide the best possible care and support to the people entrusted to our care. Our innovative programs have been recognised by industry bodies.
Australian Aged Care Quality Council (AACQA): Better Practice Awards (9 awards over 5 years)
2017:
‘Memories Through Music’, Vasey RSL Care Brighton East
US social worker, Dan Cohen, developed a program to enable those with memory loss to listen to music that had personal meaning for them. He put customised playlists onto iPods so that the music would reawaken lost memories from their past.
Staff at Vasey RSL Care Brighton East were inspired to set up their own program, which involved ensuring that staff were aware of and understood the concept, educating families about it, and having family members help create the personalised playlists for their loved ones.
Bentleigh RSL and many individuals who have donated iPods, headphones and iTunes cards: the program continues to grow and reach more residents.
‘Living Our Values & Promises’
Since 2012, Vasey RSL Care has worked to improve engagement with community members – residents, clients, consumers, staff, volunteers – to better understand needs and develop collaborative strategies for the future of the organisation.
Our Values and Promises were developed from the research undertaken for this project and they form the basis of our service delivery.
2016:
‘A Life With Meaning’, ANZAC Hostel
Research shows that a sense of meaning or purpose in life has strong positive effects for people of all ages. To retain health and happiness in older age, it is important that aged care residents should continue to have meaningful experiences in their lives. Staff at ANZAC Hostel consulted with residents to explore and identify what would provide meaning or purpose, and out of this, twelve separate types of purpose were identified. The new lifestyle program was developed using this knowledge to ensure the best possible outcomes for residents.
2015:
Diabetes Care
Vasey RSL Care instigated a program to improve the quality of life for those living in our aged care homes who have diabetes. This involved a range of actions:
- Diabetes screening: some people are not diagnosed so a diabetes screening procedure takes place on admission to our care.
- Care plan: diabetes management is included as part of each individual’s care plan.
- Monitor blood glucose levels: testing is individualised and actions for levels which are outside their personal range are followed.
- Monitor feet and skin: residents with diabetes have a daily foot and general skin check during personal hygiene and regularly see a podiatrist.
- Avoid/monitor flu: residents receive the annual flu injection to protect them from current strains of flu. Also, all staff are offered the flu shot to help avoid flu being brought into the workplace. As with all residents, any signs of a cold, flu or infection are closely monitored and treated.
- Kidney function: work with General Practitioner’s so that an annual check up occurs which includes monitoring of kidney function through blood tests.
- Vision testing: optometrists visit each of our homes regularly to monitor vision.
2014:
‘What is important to you?’, ANZAC Hostel
This program, created by the team at ANZAC Hostel and lead by their lifestyle coordinator, asks new residents, “What is important to you?” in order to have a better understanding of each individual. This helps staff provide opportunities within the lifestyle program for each individual to satisfy their personal needs for meaning and purpose. The program has been recognised as an innovative, person-centred lifestyle approach to supporting those in our care.
Staff Development & Retention
This is an organisational award that recognises our commitment to retaining staff, through providing opportunity for development and growth.
2013:
The HELP Model of Care including ‘The HELP Force’ and ‘The HELP Conversation’ (Category – innovation), ANZAC Hostel
The program aims to develop inter-generational social connections using a structured program for Year 9 students of Star of the Sea College located adjacent to our home. Students are encouraged to apply for positions matching their special interests and skills with the lifestyle program at Vasey RSL Care Brighton (ANZAC Hostel).
The program has lead to improvements in quality of work for staff and quality of life for residents, as well as benefits to the students’ skills and awareness from being part of this program.
‘Remembrance…The Musical’ and the War & Peace Panel (Category – Resident Lifestyle), ANZAC Hostel
Two initiatives promoting feelings of purpose, achievement, and confidence and raising the self-esteem of residents were developed by staff at ANZAC Hostel. The ANZACtors Performance Group wrote, produced and perform ‘Remembrance…The Musical’ to a group of local students. The script contains real life accounts of residents and evolves each year.
‘The War and Peace Panel’ provides residents with the opportunity to share their war experiences with a student audience. Emotional support is provided throughout for residents who may experience war related distress. The program provides an opportunity for the younger generation to hear first-hand accounts from those who experienced war.
Artists in Residence (Category – Resident Lifestyle), ANZAC Hostel
The Artists in Residence program began as a weekly two-hour art class, lead by professionals: it grew to include a monthly outing to galleries, involvement in the Art and Dementia program at the local gallery and a weekly art display in the ANZAC Hostel home. Often the focus of aged care living is on ensuring physical wellbeing. Emotional wellbeing can be forgotten and feelings of self-worth easily compromised.
Through the Artists in Residence program, residents have embraced their newfound skills and say they feel better about themselves.
SACS Consulting Awards
2016: Residential Manager Ivanhoe, Alexandra Wilinksi, was winner of the SACS Consulting non-executive leadership award for her contribution to Vasey RSL Care at Brighton East and at Ivanhoe.
ACSA Awards
2015: Vasey RSL Care Volunteer, Jeanette Spike, was the winner of the Aged & Community Services Australia Volunteer Award for her tireless work for our organisation.