from the CEO

With the year coming to a close, it is wonderful to see families and friends reunited as borders gradually re-open and restrictions ease. Across BlueCross homes, we are delighted to welcome families and visitors again albeit some restrictions still in place.

While we may be enjoying increased freedoms, we are also alert to the increased risk this poses to residents in our homes as the number of COVID-19 cases in the community remain high. Therefore, we strongly encourage all family members, carers and visitors to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as this will greatly reduce the risk of infection and transmission within the residence and keep our residents and staff safe.

Residents’ health and wellbeing continues to be a top priority and we are proud to be the first aged care provider in Australia to introduce GEMS, a new dementia care model, to support the needs of residents living with dementia. Across our home care services, we have also introduced the Ask Annie app to our home support and community care staff so they can access virtual learning and dementia training modules whilst on the go.

Although this has been another challenging year due to the pandemic, our team members continue to amaze us with their dedication and passion in caring for our residents and clients. This includes coming up with various lifestyle activities and extravaganza events to bring cheer to our residents during prolonged lockdowns.

We look forward to the upcoming Festive Season and a better year ahead and wish you all safe travels and all the best for the coming new year. Enjoy this issue.