Vasey RSL Care inspires Brisbane Better Practice Conference

– 25 September 2014 –

Every year the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency hosts a Better Practice Conference in each state, showcasing award-winning industry initiatives and ideas from around Australia. This year, Vasey RSL Care was invited to present on two initiatives that were recognised with Better Practice awards in 2013. Following on from presenting at the Better Practice Conference in Melbourne in May this year, representatives from ANZAC Hostel attended the Better Practice Conference in Brisbane this month to speak on their ground-breaking programs that are connecting generations between their aged care facility and the surrounding community.

Residential Manager, Svetlana Polianskaia, and Lifestyle Coordinator, Linda Brownfield, from ANZAC Hostel presented first on “The HELP Model of Care”, which contained “The HELP Force” and “The HELP Conversation”. This model focused on the inter-generational social connections built through ANZAC Hostel’s structured program for Year 9 students of Star of the Sea College to apply for positions matching their special interests and skills to provide lifestyle activities that engage with the interests of the residents. Linda Brownfield reported that feedback from the audience at the Better Practice Conference indicated the program “was inspiring, and provided audience members with hope that this model could lead to large scale, genuine improvements in quality of work for staff and quality of life for residents in the aged care industry.” The significant benefits to the students’ skills and awareness from being part of this program were also noteworthy.

The second Vasey RSL Care presentation at the Conference was titled “Remembrance…The Musical” and “The War and Peace Panel”, discussing these two award-winning legacy initiatives initiated by ANZAC Hostel. The presentation contained a moving live performance of Redgum’s “I was only 19” and sing-a-longs of some of the numbers contained within the musical, such as Vera Lynn’s “We’ll meet again”. With several tears shed by the audience, the presentation highlighted the importance of the valuable legacy held by World War II veteran residents and impressed on the audience the importance of supporting residents to share these important stories and messages, especially with the younger generation.

Vasey RSL Care is proud to share our innovative Lifestyle approaches with others within the industry, and was privileged to have the opportunity to learn from the ideas of other organisations at this year’s Better Practice Conferences.