– 23 September 2014 –

Vasey RSL Care has won two Better Practice Awards based on a national evaluation of its programs by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency.

CEO Janna Voloshin and GM HR Susan Marsenic

The awards recognise staff excellence in the categories of Innovation and Staff Development and Retention.

Announcing the awards, Quality Agency CEO Nick Ryan said the award winners are great examples of innovation and customer focus.

“The programs have been well thought out, researched and planned and – most importantly – affect residents’ lives in a positive way,” said Mr Ryan.

Accepting the Best Practice Awards, the CEO of Vasey RSL Care, Janna Voloshin said she was proud the dedication and commitment of management and staff of Vasey RSL Care had been recognised nationally by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency.

“Vasey RSL Care has made a determined effort to provide the highest quality care to the ex-service community and widows of war veterans by recruiting and retaining highly qualified, motivated staff,” said Janna.

The Best Practice Innovation Award acknowledges a lifestyle program assessment tool in the form of a book introduced at ANZAC Hostel to engage residents by re-awakening memories using seven key lifestyle subjects – all prompted by the question: what’s important to you?

The conversations with the individual residents about their life experiences prompted by the What’s Important to You? book guide staff in delivering more personalised care.

Doctors visiting Vasey RSL Care’s homes also report benefiting from understanding what’s important to their patients from this person-centred perspective. As have students from Star of the Sea College who visit residents as part of the school’s community service program.

Susan Marsenic, General Manger Human Resources, accepted the Staff Development and Retention award for implementing a strategy to attract and retain suitably qualified and motivated staff in Vasey RSL Care’s, especially in our residential facilities.

The strategy has enabled Vasey RSL Care to successfully operate against the trend in the aged care industry where high staff turn-over is the norm.

“Currently, more than 40 per cent of Vasey RSL Care’s staff have over five years length of service and our voluntary staff departures have been reduced to 10 per cent from a workforce of around 400 people,” Janna said.

A critical part of the award-wining strategy is a residents’ satisfaction survey on arrange of quality of life issues, including staff care, with 92 per cent of residents reporting being satisfied or very satisfied.

“Achieving a consistently high level of satisfaction among our residents throughout five facilities is thanks to Vasey RSL Care’s management and staff who are genuinely committed the well-being of our clients,” said Janna.

(Headline Photo: Ronnie Alegre and Aaron Vongsay of ANZAC Hostel  with the Best Practice Innovation Award)