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Matau plans to use the prize money to
attend an international conference and
participate in educational sessions focused
on innovations in mental health and
palliative care for residents.
HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey
said that Matau and the other winners
showcase the exceptional work undertaken
in the sector to improve services and
standards of care for ageing Australians.
HIGH ACHIEVERS
Diane Gellatly, Yulunda Matau and Bryan Lipmann. Photo: HESTA
Top boss awarded
Gong for service manager
who curbed staff turnover
and steered cultural change.
By Dallas Bastian
W
hen Yulunda Matau joined
Amana Living’s James Brown
Care Centre in Osborne Park,
WA, she was met with a poor team culture
and individuals who lacked leadership.
Fast forward almost two years, and
Matau has been awarded HESTA’s
Individual Distinction Award for driving a
cultural transformation at the centre.
When she first stepped into the role
of service manager, Matau noted high
staff turnover, so she sat down with every
employee, from the gardener to the
RNs, and laid out her expectations for
staff, noting that anything less would not
be tolerated.
“Once the staff realised that I was not
leaving and that I was there to support
them, their personal growth was amazing,”
Matau said. “The staff that we have now
want to work in aged care and have
a genuine passion for our residents.”
Having a more stable workforce has
meant that residents’ needs are anticipated
and met before issues arise, Matau said.
“The residents can live their lives as they
would have in their own homes. If they
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like to sleep in and have breakfast at 11am,
then this is what they can do.
“Resident choice is very important,
and keeping them in a routine that they
are familiar with helps their quality of life.
Our staff know our residents well.”
THE NAKED TRUTH
On top of reduced staff turnover, part of
the reason for that level of familiarity is due
to Matau’s introduction of a system that
rosters staff members so they consistently
care for the same residents.
“On analysis, I found that if a resident
required assistance with ADLs, on any
average fortnight they were seen naked by
29 staff,” she explained. “This is not only
undignified, but residents that did not like
to shower could get out of it by saying that
they had one the previous day.
“We now have the number of people
that can see a resident naked down to a
maximum of eight. And it’s the same eight
staff each fortnight.”
Matau added that residents now have
a name, not just a room number or a
diagnosis.
“Our families found it was empowering to
be able to talk to the staff that were looking
after their loved one if any issue arose.
There have been some great friendships
and truly amazing bonds formed between
the residents, family and staff.”
Uniting War Memorial Hospital’s Geriatric
Flying Squad (GFS) took out HESTA’s Team
Innovation Award for reducing unnecessary
hospitalisations of older patients.
Under the system the team co‑developed,
patients meeting select criteria are referred
by paramedics and police to the GFS, who
then treat and assess patients in their homes.
Diane Gellatly, clinical nurse consultant
and GFS team member, said the system
better uses existing emergency services,
resulting in more suitable patient care.
“Older people are too frequently
forgotten or disa