Meet the Team

Wendy has been an Enrolled Nurse at Estia Health for 12 years and began her career as an Assistant in Nursing and physiotherapy aide before completing her nursing training. 

Wendy shares her passion for working in the aged care sector and at Estia Health ‘It’s rewarding that you can go home and actually feel as if you’ve made a difference. 

Watch a video on Wendy's story

Liz has been at Estia Health Altona Meadows for nearly 40 years, starting her career in nursing, during which time she experienced all aspects of caring for older Australians.

‘I love people and I love their life stories. The elderly have got so much charisma and information to give you and so much love to give. Being with them has enlightened my life.’

Liz was asked by the home’s Regional Aged Care Manager to support with planning and organising engaging lifestyle activities and experiences for residents, as well as supporting them when they first moved into the home.

Liz talks about the varied role ‘I think it’s the perfect combination, as you get to know everything about the resident and how to help them settle in. When someone first moves in, we meet with them to build a clear understanding of them as an individual. If they can’t tell us themselves, we’ll ask their family, which often involves everyone giving us lots of bits of information, which we build into a big puzzle that tells us their story. This includes where the resident is from, what they like doing and what they like eating. For people living with dementia, understanding their past is especially important as it plays a big part in their day and how they’d like to fill it. Once I have all this information, I share this with the rest of the team so they can also help each resident settle in and feel at home.

Liz shared one example of a resident and how she supported her when she first came to stay ‘I had one absolutely lovely lady who was very proud, didn’t believe she had dementia, but her daughter called me distraught after a social worker recommended us as her mother had been found wandering outside at night confused and lost. This lovely lady came to us for a short respite stay. When she first arrived, she wanted to leave within the hour as she didn’t believe she needed to be in the home. She wasn’t really keen to join in the lifestyle activities, but we realised she was happy when she could help other residents feel settled, so we’ve given her that job and she’s wonderfully supportive of other residents’

Angeline has worked for Estia Health for 18 years as a Registered Nurse and is incredibly passionate about the care residents should receive when living in our homes. Angeline says of her day ‘my day begins with a hand over early in the morning, then we get residents ready for the day, breakfast and it’s at that point that I try to lift the residents’ spirits and make the day really happy for them. I like to listen and interact with the residents - I look them in the eye and show that I really care about what they have to say and really listen.

When residents first move in we try to help them settle in and we encourage them to interact with other residents, especially if they’re from different backgrounds, like here, we have people from Italy and Malta. My father’s Italian and I speak Italian so know how important it is to connect in this way. We also look to fulfill their dietary requirements, whether that’s vegetarian, always having a glass of wine with dinner or a particular bread with their meal. It’s important to give residents choice in all aspects of their day. Ask them what they would like to wear, what shoes they would like – respect is really important.’

Angeline also spoke of how she and the team support residents' families ‘It’s important to reassure the family when they come in, little updates like “Mum ate today, she slept well last night or she interacted well today with her friends” so they know what they’re doing in the day.’

Angeline says of her long experience as a nurse in aged care ‘I enjoy the fulfillment of caring for residents, I take satisfaction from seeing them smiling and happy. Pride in my work is very important. I go home, relax on the couch and know that I’ve made someone smile. It’s good to go home and say yes, I did what I could today.’