Meet Nurse Dean, who loves supporting the wellbeing of Yaralla Place residents

Dean is a loved member of the Yaralla Place team, known for building valued connections with residents.   

What inspired you to pursue a Nursing role in aged care? 

I have worked in hospitals, but I’m a passionate about working in aged care because it gives me the opportunity to provide emotional care, as well as clinical care.

Being able to focus on the residents’ quality of life and contribute to their happiness gives me a different level of professional satisfaction. Plus, I’m able to form meaningful relationships with them and their families.  

What do you love most about working at Yaralla Place? 

Although I’m busy, I try to take the time to have a cup of tea with residents, or go for a walk with them. I love hearing their stories and getting to know them. 

Residents are treated like family here, and finding out the little ways we can help make their day more enjoyable is important. It’s a privilege to be part of such a caring and dedicated team that focuses on high quality, personal care. 

To find out more about our two welcoming Maryborough communities, please call our friendly team on (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.org.au.

Yaralla Place residents were treated to an extra special morning of learning, connecting and community in July.

NAIDOC Week gives First Nations people and non-Indigenous people the opportunity to celebrate all aspects of First Nations histories and cultures, and Yaralla Place residents, supported by the local community, embraced every moment.

Residents and staff joined together to plan and prepare for the event, decorating the dining area and residents’ rooms and wearing clothing with Indigenous colours and motifs. Local Indigenous musician, Jon Vea Vea, performed songs, told stories and passed around cultural items such as woven baskets and animal skins to touch and smell.

The celebrations continued with children from the Unndennoo Community Kindergarten performing an Indigenous dance that delighted all in attendance. A delicious morning tea was then enjoyed, with specially iced cupcakes and damper served with golden syrup.

Resident, Clive, appreciated the efforts by staff, and their willingness to participate in the celebrations and ensure the residents felt included. “There was an atmosphere of energy and joy. It was a wonderful event at Yaralla Place,” he said

To find out more about our two welcoming Maryborough communities, please call our friendly team on (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.org.au.

Male residents at Yaralla Place are enjoying getting together regularly to connect and explore the local area.  

The Yaralla Place Men’s Group meets weekly with Spiritual leader, Ken, to share their special interests, support each other, work on projects or go on outings together. The Group proudly assembled our new BBQ and have more exciting projects in the pipeline.   

Each month, they are visited by Older Men Unlimited (OMU), a local community group that brings in memorabilia to share. OMU members are planning to bring in wooden toys they have made for the residents to sand, paint and even gift to their grandchildren or someone special.  

The group recently enjoyed the fresh air on the pier with a fish and chips lunch. 

To find out more about our two welcoming Maryborough communities, please call our friendly team on (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.org.au.

Qualifying as a Registered Nurse in India, Jinto relocated to Australia in 2017. He’s now using his experience and skills to manage PresCare’s Groundwater Lodge, leading our team to deliver exceptional care to residents. Jinto is excited to be embracing technology to enhance resident experience and improve job satisfaction for team members. 

What makes Groundwater Lodge so special? 

We’re a small, tight-knit community with a welcoming homestead feel. Unlike the larger aged care communities that can feel a bit vast, Groundwater Lodge is more personal. Our Care team is really able to connect with residents and get to know their stories, likes and routines. Groundwater Lodge, along with our sister community, Yaralla Place, are really special to Maryborough.  

What do you love most about your role?  

It’s an absolute pleasure to spend time with residents every day. Stopping to have a chat with them and finding out about their lives is a real highlight for me, and you’ll often find me playing the piano with one or two of them! I love that our team is united in supporting residents to continue enjoying their familiar routines and connections to the wider community.  

We’re in an exciting phase at Groundwater with the opening of a refurbished household, Bottlebrush, that is already home to nine residents and will soon welcome another six. As part of this growth, we’ve been building our permanent workforce significantly. This is amazing for our community as it reduces our reliance on temporary staff, giving residents more consistent care from a familiar team.  

I’m lucky to have such a great team here, and I love mentoring and helping them to be the best they can be.  

How are you making a positive difference to residents’ lives?  

I really focus on listening to residents and finding out their specific feedback or suggestions. Groundwater Lodge is their home, and it’s our job to make it as happy and welcoming as we can.  

I love technology and at Groundwater, we’re using it to empower our workforce to deliver optimised care while minimising administrative burdens. We provide each staff member with a handheld mobile device that gives them immediate access to every resident’s care plan – from personal lifestyle preferences to behaviour and medical charts – and tasks are performed with the resident at the point of care, not at the Nurses’ stations. This enables workers to spend more time with residents, which we know increases quality of life for resident, and job satisfaction for workers.  

To find out more about Groundwater Lodge, please contact our friendly team by calling (07) 4122 6800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.org.au

Apollo Care celebrates 30 new beds, new technology and staff housing at PresCare Groundwater Lodge.

Residents in the regional Queensland city of Maryborough have more aged care options than ever as Groundwater Lodge opens the final six of 30 new beds today at its 60-bed community.

Apollo Care acquired the community in 2021 from PresCare, along with sister properties PresCare Yaralla Place in Maryborough, and Alexandra Gardens in Rockhampton, 400km north.

Stephen Becsi, CEO of Apollo Care, said: “We knew the vital role PresCare and Groundwater Lodge played in this local community, so we immediately rolled out a program of crucial behind-the-scenes improvements to finances, compliance and governance.

“At the same time, we began rolling renovations across the site to improve the buildings and grounds and to bring new beds online. We’ve specifically selected furniture and furnishings in the bedrooms, dining and living areas to create a real sense of home. Each renovated bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and some have an adjoining door that can be unlocked so couples can live together.

“These final six suites, officially opened today by the Member for Wide Bay, Llew O’Brien MP, reflect our deep commitment to continuing the legacy and ethos of PresCare in this community.”

Touring the new suites, the Member for Wide Bay said: “I congratulate Apollo Care, PresCare, and their staff and residents on the upgrades and improvements that have taken place here at Groundwater Lodge.

“Currently, almost 30 per cent of Maryborough’s residents are aged 65 years and over. This number will continue to climb as our population ages and more Australians discover the natural beauty and lifestyle advantages of living in Wide Bay. “Apollo Care’s willingness to invest in facility improvements, staff services and new technology will lead to improved aged care outcomes for Wide Bay residents into the future.”

Apollo Care has also completely upgraded the community’s kitchen and created a fresh food program where all meals, including texture-modified diets, are created freshly onsite and residents are consulted on the menu to ensure they are receiving the food they love.

In response to high regional demand, Apollo Care has also developed a 20-bed specialist Dementia Support Unit at Groundwater Lodge.

“All told, we’ve created 30 new beds here,” said Mr Becsi, “which is quite an accomplishment given there were only 1000 new beds created nationwide in 2023.”

Meanwhile, there’s been a technological revolution at Groundwater Lodge.

The community has been piloting a mobile ‘one tool device’ – loaded with powerful programs – since mid-2023, delivering impressive results for staff plus improved organisational performance and resident outcomes.

Every frontline worker carries a ‘ruggedised’ device specifically designed for frontline workers with long-lasting batteries, sensitivity to gloved fingers and walkie-talkie functions. The devices are loaded with a consolidated set of tools connecting them to clinical and quality systems, technology platforms, other team members and residents.

“Before this ‘one tool device’,” explained Mr Becsi, “staff constantly ran back and forth between residents’ rooms and the nurses’ stations, accessing information from laptops or physical files for regular care and ad-hoc requests.

“Now, staff have immediate access to every resident’s care plan – from personal lifestyle preferences to behaviour and medical charts.”

Importantly, tasks are performed with residents and recorded at the point of care, which leads to more quality time with residents and more accurate notes.

Staff can also access CCTV and receive alerts if a resident living with dementia is wandering outside of familiar areas, and they have the ability to remotely lock or unlock doors or gates to keep residents safe.

“There’s even a bedside voice connection so staff can speak directly with residents as soon as they call,” explained Mr Becsi.

Jinto George, the Residential Services Manager at Groundwater Lodge, said: “When I arrived here last year, I was truly impressed by Apollo Care’s plan to introduce technology in a way that would help residents and staff.

“I’ve worked closely with staff on the rollout of the device, and everyone reports it’s easy, convenient and improves efficiency and accuracy.

“We also know that when workers spend more ‘soft skill’ time with residents, it increases quality-of-life for residents and job satisfaction for workers. This technology has not only transformed care for residents at Groundwater Lodge, it’s also helped us attract and retain great workers.

“Staffing is the number one issue nationwide in aged care, so our ability to attract 25 new workers in the past six months is a really significant feat. This is also because we’re providing staff accommodation onsite. Twenty three of our 24 twobedroom units have been assigned to workers from places as diverse as Zimbabwe, the UK, Canada, Fiji and the Solomon Islands, as well as some from intrastate and interstate.”

“Once they join Apollo Care,” says Mr Becsi, “our award-winning employee wellbeing program helps us retain them. All our communities provide staff with the ‘Work-Rite’ program which builds psychological resilience and identifies what’s going well and where we might need to provide more support. At Groundwater Lodge, it’s delivered on the ‘one tool device’ via weekly 10-minute on-the-job learning.

“Everyone benefits from this investment. Staff enjoy greater job satisfaction and improved wellbeing; residents and their families are happier; and more staff and residents are attracted to work and live here.”

Apollo Care was built from the ground up seven years ago by a team of industry specialists with 85 years’ cumulative experience. In addition to Stephen Becsi OAM, former CEO of Bethanie, WA’s largest NFP provider, Apollo Care’s leadership team comprises Barry Ashcroft, former CEO of Domain Aged Care, now Opal; Kylie Radburn, former National Care Governance Manager at Aveo; and John Young, a leading equity capital specialist.

The other communities in Apollo Care’s alliance are in New South Wales – Bundaleer (Wauchope), Charingfield (Waverley), Harden Grange (Harden), Vincent Court (Kempsey), Tenterfield Care Haddington (Tenterfield) and Tenterfield Care Millrace (Tenterfield); Queensland – PresCare Alexandra Gardens (Rockhampton), PresCare Groundwater Lodge (Maryborough), PresCare Yaralla Place (Maryborough) and Nanyima Care (Mirani); and Victoria – Yackandandah Health (Yackandandah) and The Bays (Hastings)

At PresCare Maryborough, we love supporting residents to get out and about in their local community. Sometimes, it’s the simple outings, like having fish and chips in the park, that mean the most, sparking reminiscing and connection.

Groundwater Lodge residents recently enjoyed this very outing at Anzac Park. The bus trip was full of conversation and laughter, with residents participating in a hilarious karaoke session using the bus microphone.

Once we arrived, residents enjoyed the open air and views of native trees as they reminisced about where they grew up, where they used to work, what they used to get up to as kids, and how things have changed around Maryborough. There were also stories of loved ones, new additions to families and shared interests.

Residents said the outing took them back to “the good old days” with resident Cole commenting, “Sharing fish and chips on a park table reminds me of family beach trips to Hervey Bay”. Resident Daphne claimed, “These are the best fish and chips I’ve had in years!”.

Outings like these feature in the Lifestyle Programs at both Groundwater Lodge and Yaralla Place, and residents are looking forward to more opportunities to socialise together in the wider community.

To find out more about our two Maryborough communities, please contact our friendly team by calling (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.org.au