NATIONAL UPDATE
WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER With 25 years’ experience in the age services industry, LASA’s Kerri Lanchester explains the value of LASA Membership.
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erri Lanchester has a unique perspective on aged care. She grew up in a close extended family, her grandparents living with great-grandparents. She was blessed to have her great-grandparents in her life until her late teens, and her grandparents until her early 40s. “I learnt so much from these relationships with my older family members, about the importance of family and elder wisdom,” she said. “Watching them get older and needing care, I witnessed outstanding care as well as instances that framed my desire to ensure quality elder care is available to anyone who needs it— regardless of their circumstances. “As an informal carer to my grandfather, I gained insights that have guided me through 25 years of proudly serving older Australians.” That experience included 15 years working for a long-term Member organisation of Leading Age Services Australia (LASA). Now in her role as LASA’s General Manager Member Relations, Kerri understands what Members want, and is still passionate about what older people need. “I knew how important LASA Membership was to me in my role, and also for my teams. I knew I could get expert advice when I needed it, and if I had a concern, LASA could escalate it on my behalf,” said Kerri. “A LASA Membership is a bit like health insurance. For some, it’s nice to know it’s there if you need it. For others, it’s about accessing as much as you can. “But for every Member, being part of an organisation that is strongly connected with its Members, industry and government, that provides a united voice for the collective body of Members, is a big advantage.” LASA offers Members a very attractive suite of support. With expert advice on residential care, home care, retirement living/ seniors’ housing and employment relations just a phone call or email away, Members get individualised advice when they need it. The dedicated Member-support 1300-number and programspecific email contact inboxes provide Members an easy way to get Membership-inclusive support. Fielding thousands of requests for support each year, during the COVID-19 pandemic LASA has been responding to 50 Member enquiries per day.
LASA General Manager Member Relations Kerri Lanchester at Tri State 2020.
There are additional fee-for-service offerings that can give Members the extra support they need, with administrative matters like claims and billing, payroll processing, financial audits and more complex employment relations matters. Plus LASA’s Safety & Quality Management System, which is helping subscribers remain compliant with the new Standards, offers generous discounts for Members and rural and remote operators. “We helped one provider get over $700,000 per annum in increased revenue by helping them to claim correct ACFI subsidies. It’s very difficult to find the time to do these things on their own, especially for small to medium providers,” said Kerri.
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