integratedliving Wellness team: 3 ways we help people thrive
The wellbeing of our clients is at the core of everything our Wellness team does.
Made up of teams across our Activity Centres, Virtual Wellness and Wellness Centres programs, our Wellness team looks after multiple aspects of our clients’ health and wellbeing. We find out more about what makes our teams so passionate about what they do. Here’s a hint: our clients!
Activity Centres Team
Adrienne, Manager – Activity Centre Operations
What qualities do your team members have that set them apart?
Our team members are creative, flexible and have a willingness to adapt. The entire Activity Centres team have incredibly creative minds and add their own individual flair to everything they deliver to our clients. What sets our team members apart is their ability to adapt to fast change with a positive mindset. Each day is different in our Activity Centres and adaptability is essential with the ever-changing needs of our clients.
What does your team enjoy about working with our clients?
Our team enjoys being able to witness meaningful social connections between clients. Sometimes the connections are formed instantly when a new client starts attending, and other times it blooms over time. The clients at each centre are like a big friendship group really. They care for each other and advocate for one another. To see those connections forming is something really special, and we are thankful to be a part of that. Our team members bring so much fun to each work day. Sometimes so much so it doesn’t even feel like work.
Our clients have lived incredibly full lives, and we love hearing their stories during our reminiscence therapy sessions. These memories are so important for our clients who are living with dementia as it encourages meaningful story sharing.
What makes your team so good with our clients?
The Activity Centre Coordinators are with our clients from the day of onboarding. They create such beautiful and meaningful care plans to implement in centre. Our Activity Officers implement activities according to the clients’ care plans and what is meaningful to each client.
The activities delivered are always centred around the clients, and encourage them all to use their current skills and abilities.
What does your team find most rewarding about working in aged care?
Our team members love to see the smiles on the clients' faces throughout the day. They gain great satisfaction seeing clients reaching their goals, even if that goal is to create friendships and access their local community. Being able to give our clients’ carers the respite they need, knowing their loved ones are safe and happy with us, is also hugely rewarding for our team.
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Virtual Wellness Services Team
Zoe, Digital Support Officer Team Leader
What qualities do your team members have that set them apart?
Our team members have a very high care factor, passion for their clients, and they are all innovative.
What does your team enjoy about working with our clients?
Our team members really enjoy teaching clients what they want to know. Seeing clients get that ‘light-bulb moment’ is so rewarding for the client, and just as rewarding for our team! They love seeing the independence the clients experience from learning and building knowledge of the tech world. Our team members really enjoy witnessing the confidence that the Digital Dialogue program grows in our clients. It is very satisfying to see clients’ smiles and moments of joy when they accomplish something that previously scared them. Then there are the little things, the excited emails, the kisses blown at the end of a successful zoom lesson, the good news stories.
Our clients are amazing people who have led amazing lives and for them to find joy and confidence through our programs is very satisfying. Our team enjoy getting to know our clients through listening to their stories, and then giving them the tools to explore technology and expand on their skills, areas of interest and social connections in sessions. It's immensely satisfying being able to connect them with the virtual world as so much of society now connects in this way.
What makes your team so good with our clients?
Our team members are great with our clients because of their compassion, patience, IT knowledge, and they are all focused on the client and their needs.
What does your team find most rewarding about working in aged care?
Our team members really enjoy making a big difference in people's lives. They appreciate being able to listen to each client and learn about the stories, friendships and experience each person has had. They love learning from them, working in aged care. It is incredibly rewarding being able to make a positive impact in the lives of our seniors. Our team enjoys the positive impact the clients have on our lives, through passing on their own knowledge and wisdom learnt over the years.
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Wellness Centres team
Ben Sharkey – Exercise Physiologist and Melanie Ward – Wellness Centre Coordinator
What qualities do your team members have that set them apart?
Our Wellness Centres team has a great depth of experience and knowledge. This enables us to collaborate and deliver diverse, results-orientated programs to all our members no matter their personal health journey.
What does your team enjoy about working with our clients?
The diversity of our team members allows us to be flexible and adapt on our feet to meet the needs of our clients, physically, emotionally and mentally. We love to have fun, sing and talk about sport and other lively topics with our clients. This creates a safe and happy environment for members to go from strength to strength in their health and wellness journey.
What makes your team so good with our clients?
Our team has a broad knowledge of the benefits of exercise for a lot of chronic health conditions. There is always someone to call on for advice to help our clients achieve their goals as safely and effectively as possible. We also love building rapport and connecting with our clients. It’s rewarding to learn about their interests and hobbies, and it can help with increasing their social interaction and FUN, which is another important part of our job. We make exercise safe and effective, while also making the experience enjoyable and socially rewarding.
What does your team find most rewarding about working in aged care?
Seeing people achieve their goals is a very rewarding feeling, regardless of the size of the goal. It could be anything from being able to put socks on independently, to returning to a sport or hobby that they enjoy. All goals influence the quality of life, and it is very rewarding to know you have had a positive impact on someone’s quality of life.
And fittingly, we’ll give our final word to our clients.
What do you enjoy most about the Wellness Centre and about the staff?
"I appreciate the friendly, helpful team members who are always happy. I leave feeling I have achieved something, and better about myself."
- Margaret, Wellness Centre client.
“The team are friendly, encouraging and helpful. This is the first gym I have ever wanted to keep coming to. I can increase my fitness and flexibility at my own pace.”
- Janice, Wellness Centre client