Aged Care Employees Find Spirit in Song at the End of a Long Year

Launched this week at the Anglican aged care provider’s annual Industry Breakfast, Benetas employees raised their voices in a powerful rendition of Vanessa Amorosi’s hit song, Absolutely Everybody, to mark what can only be described as an incredibly hard year.

Reflecting on a significant outbreak at their Western Melbourne aged care home, the Benetas team got together to consider what really matters and recall on what got them through the long year. This has been the most challenging year of my working life said Residential Manager, Rakesh Sarkar at the event.

“Getting through the outbreak was really only possible by us all coming together in ways that we wouldn’t have dreamt of before.”

In the first week of the outbreak Mr Sarkar received between 100 to 150 calls per day from family members and worked for two and a half months straight. Mr Sakar said that it was with the Regional Business Manager by his side every day, and endless support and donations that he and the team received from affected families and the local community that got him through.

“One of our families emailed me on a hard-day to say that they were baking eight dozen hot pastizzis for the residents and the team alike. I can’t tell you the joy and comfort this brought to us all,” he said.

“I then had frontline employees infected with COVID-19 call me every few days to say that they would be back at work as soon as they were cleared. That’s not something every Residential Manager had the benefit of hearing.”

As a panelist at the event, LASA CEO Sean Rooney said that ‘sometimes things were a bit rough’ was an understatement for those in aged care this past year.

“It makes you reflect on what really matters.”

While those in aged care were most vulnerable to the virus with often reduced lung capacity and physical resilience, the dedication that each and every aged care employee and volunteer brought to their work day in day out was incredible, said Benetas CEO Sandra Hills.

“They truly worked through the hardest of times to ensure that absolutely everybody received much needed care and support regardless of the personal and professional pressures they faced in doing so.”

“Like all frontline workers during this pandemic, our team put those most vulnerable to the virus at the front and centre of their care. Never has their deep commitment to older Australians been more apparent than this year.

“As a resident from our home who endured a significant outbreak said earlier this week, older Australians are the same as everyone else in the nation.

“This is something that our team know better than anyone and are singing loud and clear to the tune of this today.”

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