Giving Thanks to Our Dedicated Carers

Almost 400,000 aged care staff nationwide work tirelessly to make the lives of older Australians better. On Aged Care Employee Day on 7 August, Carinity celebrates the contribution of more than 1,300 dedicated aged care and home care workers who care for Queensland seniors.

Janelle Steer started working in support services at the Carinity Hilltop aged care community in 1998, fulfilling laundry, cleaning and kitchen duties.

Her “desire to help and assist the elderly to live their best life in their older years” inspired Janelle to study a Certificate course to gain qualifications as an Enrolled Nurse.

“What inspired me to work with the elderly is they are often vulnerable, frail people that need help and a way to adjust to living their new lifestyle when coming into aged care,” Janelle said.

“My favourite part of my current role is being able to interact with residents and their family to fulfill their desires and needs. My compassion and caring nature helps them to maintain their quality of life and provides dignity to them.”

Family inspired Emily Fowler to work in aged care.

 
Emily Fowler helps support Carinity Cedarbrook aged care residents such as Hendrika De Roos
Main photo: Carinity Hilltop aged care Enrolled Nurse, Janelle Steer (centre) enjoys supporting older Queenslanders to live their best life in their older years

“My father is blind and two of my sisters have autism, so I grew up with a caring nature,” Emily said.

Initially working with Carinity Home Care as a Lifestyle Carer supporting seniors in their homes, Emily now serves at the Carinity Cedarbrook residential aged care community on the Gold Coast.

“At Cedarbrook I started as personal carer, and over the years have assisted as receptionist and acted as roster clerk,” she said.

Emily is now the Administration Officer at Carinity Cedarbrook. The role involves assisting with admitting and welcoming new residents, along with multiple other administration duties. 

“I enjoy meeting potential residents and families and being able to assist them to begin their aged care journeys. I like knowing I am contributing to making a difference to someone’s quality of life,” Emily said.

“It is such a pleasure to be able to be a part of a resident’s ‘final chapter’, treating them with the grace and respect they deserve. If you want a career where you feel you make a difference in people’s lives, this is it.”

Following her time as a hospital nurse, Rosemary Butterfield commenced work as a Registered Nurse at the Carinity Brookfield Green aged care community in 1994.

“My role was to look after 56 residents in the lower building as well as being on-call for the independent living units scattered around the site,” Rosemary said.

Rosemary was later a Clinical Nurse Consultant and a relieving site manager, before shifting into aged care governance roles at Carinity’s head office in Brisbane.

 
Rosemary Butterfield has worked on the floor and behind the scenes with Carinity Aged Care for 30 years

She has since worked to optimise aged care funding across the organisation and has overseen the compliance of Carinity’s residential aged care sites.

“My current role involves internal auditing, analysis of clinical indicators, and management of the clinical systems we use in aged care,” Rosemary said.

“I enjoy working with people who have a love and passion for the care of elderly people. We are all one large family with a common goal in helping others.'

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