Saturday, 7 August 2021 is Aged Care Employee Day. To acknowledge and thank our vital aged care workers, healthy@home is profiling some of the valued staff employed by the service providers in our consortium.
NOT everyone can say they start their working day with a smile but Centacare aged care service delivery manager Sandra Jaynes spreads happiness from the top and her colleagues and clients feel that too. “I love my job,” she says. “It’s never a drudge to go to work. Every day I arrive excited to be here and ready for what the day will be bring.”
And it’s not a novelty that’s about to wear off – she has been with Centacare since 2012 and worked in residential care for 20 years before that.
Sandra currently manages two day centres and one of her greatest pleasures is calling in to say “g’day” and to stop for a chat with everyone in the room.
Another is getting together with her team each morning to come up with ideas to make every day brighter for clients.
Her reward, she says, is the smiles.
“These are the most appreciative people I have ever met,” she says.
“No matter what you do, you always get a smile and a ‘thank-you’. It makes your heart sing.”
“You get the benefit of being able to help them, and then you get the appreciation and recognition from them so you really can feel you have accomplished something.”
Day centre thrives on team spirit
Sandra began working for Centacare as an activity officer at the Aspley day centre and, by the time she had completed her Diploma in Community Services, a coordinator position came up.
After a restructure, she found herself in the role of Aspley Centre Service Delivery Manager and now the day centre at Enoggera has also been added to her remit.
And while she has plenty of qualifications on paper, Sandra still firmly believes that all the theory in the world won’t help if you don’t have the heart for the job.
There are eleven members in her team who share her enthusiasm.
“I absolutely love working with them. They are fabulous and are thinking all the time about what is best for the clients. I am so well supported,” she says.
Together, they identify areas where they can make life even better for their clients and come up with all sorts of ideas to introduce fun and excitement to their day.
For example, they have theme days, like the recent Bastille Day celebration, when everyone dressed up and played their part.
Photos are taken to preserve the memories and feedback from both clients and carers is always positive.
Individual support makes the difference
Sandra’s enthusiasm and cheerfulness is contagious, making her an excellent role model for the team. She always leads by example, whether it’s lending a hand for transporting clients or running activities.
“I love to see the clients and have chat. That’s the best part of the role,” she says. “I have never stopped being connected with them. They know me and that is important.”
This shone through recently when a woman suffering agoraphobia was referred to the centre.
“It took me nearly 12 months of calling and chatting to her to get her to come in,” she says.
“She started coming regularly but then stopped when COVID hit. Through regular phone calls to keep her connected, she come back when things resumed. She trusts us and is very happy when she’s here.”
Constant lockdowns didn’t make it any easier for the client. The challenge of getting her out of the house is repeated with each lockdown, because she has to learn to trust again.
But it gives Sandra a huge sense of achievement knowing that she has been able to make a difference.
“I’m a people person and I love the hands-on stuff that is making lives better and richer,” Sandra says. “That’s really important because if you are happy, you live longer.”
MAIN PHOTO: Centacare aged care service delivery manager Sandra Jaynes (photo supplied).