Hepburn House and regional Vic: best ever

Jo Beswick has already led an amazing life but she says moving to the Central Highlands and taking up the position of care manager at Hepburn House are the “best decisions ever”.

Jo started her working life in international trade finance and lived away from Australia in places including China, London and Switzerland for many years.

“I was really lucky to travel the world but I actually always wanted to be a nurse. The only reason I didn’t go into nursing when I left school was because my father didn’t want me to. He thought finance would be better money.

“But after I had my second daughter and it was time to go back to work I didn’t want to go back to the corporate world – so I finally ended up in the world of nursing. That was 12 years ago.”

Jo worked in the acute sector for many years and then gained experience in other fields including medical, surgical oncology and orthopaedics, “and a little bit of mental health” and then decided to get into management.

“Someone told me to get into aged care because you can progress much quicker but really the biggest drive for me was that I really love people and can talk easily with people. And I had noticed that with nursing in a hospital you meet amazing people but they are only with you for a few days – and I always found myself wondering how they were.

“With aged care you can form a long-term relationship, not only with the resident but also the family members. And that is really why I decided on aged care.”

Jo said the move to regional Victoria after many years in Melbourne, came three years ago when she was headhunted for a 12-month contract at Bendigo.

“That lead me to regional life and I really loved it and so I sold my home in Melbourne and am now living on a big property at Kyneton with my daughters, who are now 25, 22 and 15 and three cats, two ragdolls called Paisley and Paddington and a Siamese called Twiggy, and Remy the Staffordshire bull terrier. It’s the best decision I have ever made and I have never looked back.”

Jo said while it was only her second week at Hepburn House she was loving it. “Everybody is so lovely and really supportive, the residents are just so nice, and the families as well, and the staff are just amazing. I am living my best life.”

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