industry & reform
I think the opportunity to contribute and to make a difference , and to join a team that I think on a daily basis is doing something very special , was something that I was very excited about . Having said that , my wife did say , ‘ You said back at university you wanted to be a sports reporter , well how about we finish that dream ?’
On a mission
HammondCare CEO Mike Baird . Photo : Supplied
HammondCare CEO Mike Baird discusses his new career in aged care .
Mike Baird interviewed by Conor Burke
In April , HammondCare announced that the 44th premier
of NSW , Mike Baird , would replace long-serving CEO Stephen Judd . Six weeks into his new role , Baird recently sat down with Aged Care Insite to discuss his career change and the challenges that lie ahead .
ACI : You ’ ve come from politics and banking , two jobs that are not high on the public trustworthiness scale , and now you ’ ve jumped over to aged care , a sector that ’ s similarly in a bit of strife at the minute . You didn ’ t want an easy life ? MB : Well , I think my wife did comment that she thought that after politics it would become much easier . And clearly , a [ banking ] royal commission and losing a CEO and chairman of a public company in banking probably didn ’ t fit that bill .
And then coming into aged care , with the challenges across the sector and the Aged Care Royal Commission , it probably doesn ’ t fit the bill . But I couldn ’ t be more excited for the challenge .
I ’ m sure everyone has said that it ’ s a big change . But how does one get approached to be CEO of an aged care provider ? What I wrestled with after three years [ at NAB ] was the day-to-day purpose . I didn ’ t , I feel , use everything I had , everything in terms of wanting to make that impact on a daily basis in people ’ s lives . I didn ’ t feel it used all the skills and experiences that I ’ ve undertaken . And I thought I ’ ve probably got one or two senior exec roles left in my career , and I really want to do something that is deeply purposeful , that makes me not get out of bed each day but jump out of bed . And I didn ’ t know what that was .
When I decided that I was leaving NAB , I thought , ‘ Well , I ’ ll connect with a whole range of people , and opportunities , and start discussing them .’ And a couple of weeks after that decision , I got a call to ask , ‘ Oh , would you be open to HammondCare ? They ’ re looking for a CEO , and there ’ s a process underway .’
And as I thought about it and read about it , and looked at HammondCare , the history was quite incredible . And then the mission to improve the quality of life of those in need , that literally made my heart beat faster . And over the following weeks and months , it became clearer and clearer to me that the mission , the organisation , the opportunity to help the country deal with the challenges in the aged care sector , coupled with my personal experience , it was clear to me that I ’ d found my home .
I ’ ve handed my mother into full-time care , and that was heartbreaking and difficult . And I thought what an amazing opportunity to make a difference to people everywhere .
You know first-hand what it ’ s like to go through political and bureaucratic barriers . What are the barriers , as you see it , to providing really good aged care to older Australians ? I think it starts at a much higher level . I think it starts at the level that we just don ’ t , as a country , value our elderly as we should .
And I think there ’ s a context that we certainly try and avoid getting old . That seems to be part of the day-to-day thinking and discussion , ‘ Oh , well , that ’ ll happen when you ’ re old .’ And there ’ s not a celebration and a value that ’ s ascribed to our elderly Australians . I think what we need to do is remind the country of the value of our elderly and the care that they deserve . If you have that value , then you don ’ t have to try and work out what ’ s the best way that we can provide care . There is a demand that we provide the best possible care .
So , I think that shift in mindset [ is needed ], because if that is there , then the community expects the government to fund and provide the support that ’ s needed . And I ’ m not saying they ’ re not , I ’ m just saying that for a very long period it hasn ’ t got the focus and attention we deserve . We have that opportunity now . And I think that the way forward is an aged care system that provides the funding necessary to deliver not just care , but the best quality life , with the best quality of options , with the best quality of support , that ’ s tailored and individualised , and partners in a way that works closely with family , friends and carers .
It seems to me , as an outsider coming in , that having adequate care is where everything is centred from . Historically , almost every care provider was managing on the basis of doing a reasonable
16 agedcareinsite . com . au