Lifestyle Programs at Weeroona Aged Care Centre
It was a serendipitous route that led Weeroona Aged Care Centre’s (“Weeroona”) Lifestyle Coordinator, Lauren, to working in aged care. “I was an aged care entertainer and basically COVID hit, and everything went under, and entertainers were the first to be locked down and the last to come back,” Lauren tells. “So, I decided what’s the next closest thing and, I thought, through my work as a Lifestyle entertainer, I loved talking with the Lifestyle staff and decided: ‘let’s see how it goes.’”
In five months since being at the Centre, Lauren has introduced many new Lifestyle activities, including the rotating library at Weeroona. “Our library does visit people who have asked to be a part of the library, but then there are others that don’t really want to be part of the library but still want to read,” she explains. “So, what I do is I grab a couple of books off the shelf, put them on the trolley and push it around and say, do you want a book to read? What kind of genre would you like to read today?” Lauren has thoughtfully considered the different needs residents too, also catering for a resident who is blind. “Once a month we do a book club, so we will get e-books in for her so that she has books to listen to.”
As a Centre, Weeroona is also quite multicultural and hence Lauren also caters the Lifestyle activities around this, hosting cultural days once a month. Since Lauren started working at the Centre, its residents have experienced the rich cultures of Lebanon, with the February focus on China, to align with Lunar New Year. The cultural celebration will be complete with Chinese food and drinks and the Chinese singers and dancers show to make the experience fully immersive.
When asked what she most enjoys about her work at Weeroona, Lauren notes it is the residents. “The most important thing that I enjoy is making the residents happy and seeing them smile and their eyes light up,” she states. “For example, yesterday we had a resident who had a birthday and couldn’t read. So, I said, ‘well you know what? I’m the best person for this, I will read you your birthday cards, plus I’ve got a cake here,’ and her eyes welled up and she had this big grin on her face. It was amazing - I love making people smile.”
For Weeroona’s Centre Manager, Remelie, she similarly reflects on the impact residents have on the staff at the Centre, reiterating the joy residents bring. “Looking after the residents; I love all of them,” before reflecting, “they are our families, especially for us who are immigrants to the country, we don’t have our families here, so people that we care for are our families.”
For those considering a career in the aged care sector, Remelie highlights the importance of cherishing the amazing moments with residents. “I tell my staff, the moment they step in the door, think about focusing on not just your task, but enjoy the moment in front of you. Say yes to everything.”
