Meet Mathew, our Hospitality Supervisor who’s passionate about home-made food

Maryborough local, Mathew Bayley, is a seasoned professional who’s worked as Head Chef in Brisbane and Hervey Bay restaurants. He jumped at the opportunity to use his skills to help older Australians at our two PresCare communities.

What’s the best part about your role here?

Good food is essential to a good life at any age. At PresCare, I can use my chef skills to enhance meal times for residents through beautiful ingredients and a great combination of country-style and modern dishes.

How is this role different from working in restaurants?

The biggest difference is that I’m able to build friendships with residents. I love sitting and having a cuppa and a yarn with them, and I really value their suggestions and input into the menu design.

What are you most excited about with the opening of the new kitchen?

We can we now offer residents more variety, freshness and flexibility, and our team can really use our own flair to make the food service extra special. We’re excited about our new Winter menu that offers family favourites like Roast Lamb and Baked Fish with Hollandaise sauce, and dessert options like Caramel Tartlets and Butterscotch Self-saucing Pudding.

How would you describe your approach to food service?

I believe that food is one of the most important ways to bring people together. We work closely with the Lifestyle Team to ensure food is part of special calendar days, but we also work hard to make each meal something to look forward to. That’s how we help create a sense of home for residents.

To find out more about our two welcoming communities, please contact our friendly team by calling (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.org.au

We’ve been busy making our outdoor spaces at both communities even better over the last few months, and we have more additions planned as we look forward to Spring.

At Groundwater Lodge, residents have been potting seedlings in their own colourful planter boxes that sit outside their private suites, and the main garden beds are full of potted colour, like pansies and petunias.

Our orange, lime, apple and nectarine trees are fruiting, and so is our mini mulberry bush, providing residents with delicious tastes as they spend time enjoying the gardens.

We’re also growing lots of herbs, including chillies, parsley, basil, rosemary and thyme, and we’re looking forward to using these in our cook-fresh kitchen soon. We also use the herbs in garden-related activities, like making ANZAC Day wreaths or potpourri bowls.

The sensory garden in our Dementia Support Household will soon have a new retaining wall with in-built seating and some interesting garden art. With new seasonal planting designed to maximise sensory stimulation, residents will be able to engage with nature through touch, smell, taste and sight.

At Yaralla Lodge, residents have been painting pots and planting them with flowers. The garden beds have been freshly mulched ready for new Spring planting, and we’re also planning some new garden beds for the residents to grow veggies.

To find out more about our two welcoming communities, please contact our friendly team by calling (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.org.au

PresCare Maryborough and Rockhampton are proud to be part of the Apollo Care Alliance that beat a field of over 200 submissions from 15 countries to win two major awards at the prestigious 11th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards 2023 in Singapore.

Distinguished judges from the UK, Finland, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand awarded Apollo Care Innovation of the Year (Productivity) for organisational efficiencies and delivery of quality care. Apollo Care was also a finalist in two other categories – Operator of the Year (Residential Aged Care) and Innovation of the Year (Caregiver Model).

Accepting the award, Apollo Care’s CEO Stephen Becsi OAM said, “We took our new aged care industry model to an international stage and showed that it works for everyone – residents, their families, care workers, vendors and investors.”

“Apollo Care invests in innovation to make aged care better for residents and staff. 

“We strengthen each of our community’s care and operations through enhanced productivity, efficiency, compliance and, most importantly, resident experience,” Mr Becsi explained.

“At our three PresCare communities, for example, residents and staff are enjoying the benefits of a range of improvements and upgrades, including a cutting-edge cloud-based IT system, new hand-held mobile devices for every care worker, and a progressive clinical governance system that has seen the communities achieve the maximum three-year accreditation by the Australian Government’s Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Resident suites, common spaces and gardens are also being upgraded.

“It’s important to us that aged care services are sustained in regional areas, so locals needing residential care can stay connected to their community where they feel they belong,” said Mr Becsi.

Since commencing in 2020, Apollo Care has acquired seven communities and is in advanced negotiations to acquire a further six. This makes Apollo Care one of Australia’s fastest growing aged care providers.

Apollo Care was built from the ground up by a team of four industry veterans with a cumulative 85 years’ experience. In addition to Stephen Becsi, formerly CEO of Bethanie, WA’s largest NFP provider, Apollo Care’s leadership team comprises Barry Ashcroft, former CEO of Domain Aged Care, now Opal; Kylie Radburn, former National Care Governance Manager at Aveo; and John Young, a leading equity capital specialist.

“Our collective experience and ability to innovate are also crucial to addressing the tight labour market in Australia,” says Mr Becsi. “Attracting and retaining staff is a significant challenge and we’re constantly investing in our workforce. This includes measuring job satisfaction and productivity across the organisation via our proprietary dashboard,” said Mr Becsi.

To find out more about PresCare in Maryborough call (07) 4120 5800, or Rockhampton, call (07) 4999 0000.

This March, Ivy clocks up an impressive 20 years of service at our two communities. A qualified Diversional Therapist, she started volunteering at Groundwater Lodge in 2003 and her talent for creating rewarding activities for residents was soon recognised. She moved into Lifestyle soon after and has never looked back!

What does it take to be a Lifestyle Team Leader?

This job takes a lot of energy and creativity, but I’ve loved it from day one. I knew in my heart that I wanted to help older Australians enjoy every day, and this role has given me so much happiness over the years.

How do you design the lifestyle program?

It’s driven by what the residents like to do. We ensure there are plenty of opportunities for enjoyment, purpose and meaning, and connections to loved ones and the wider community. We include a mix of calendar days, bus trips, concerts, physical and mental exercises, and craft and games to name a few.

How do you support residents’ individual interests?

It’s our goal to help each resident continue doing the things they’ve always loved – we just make sure they’re supported to do so safely. Keeping them active and engaged is at the heart of our approach to lifestyle.

What do you love most about your role?

I get so much pleasure learning from residents. They teach me so much every single day. I love being there to support residents’ emotional and spiritual wellbeing. I also enjoy putting a healthy dose of fun and silliness into each day because laughter really is the best medicine!.

At PresCare Maryborough, team members like Ivy are passionate about making a positive difference to residents’ lives.

To find out more about our two welcoming communities, please contact our friendly team by calling (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.com.au

We love supporting residents to continue familiar routines they enjoyed at home. For resident Stephen, this means spending time outside, maintaining his hobbies and contributing to the running of the household.

Why does Yaralla Place feel like home to you?

It feels like one big happy family here, and with so much to do, I keep very busy. The staff encourage and support me to go out for meals and to the theatre with my relatives which I always enjoy.

What else do you like to do?

I like to do crosswords, 3D models and paint rocks to place around the gardens. I love being outside soaking up the sun, and when I see my colourful rocks brightening the outdoor spaces for everyone, I feel proud that I’m making a contribution to this community.

How do the staff support you?

One example is when they sourced a portable table for me so I can do my craft and rock painting in different areas of Yaralla, and even outside.

How have you built your own rewarding routine?

It’s important to me that I continue doing the daily tasks I’ve always done. I could opt for daily

housekeeping, but I choose to make my own bed each morning and iron my own clothes. I also do regular online orders from Woolworths and keep my favourite ice cream and cheese in my own room fridge.

At PresCare Maryborough, we love supporting residents to find purpose and meaning in their daily lives. 

To find out more about our two welcoming communities, please contact our friendly team by calling (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.com.au

At Groundwater’s secure dementia unit, residents have their own special Memory Boxes.

Our Lifestyle Team fills these boxes with carefully chosen items and activities based on what each resident finds interesting and engaging. The contents of the boxes are added to and changed over time, and residents can open them whenever they like.

Resident Joy has always loved flowers and she was delighted to open her Memory Box and

find it filled with a variety of different flowers that she could arrange and display in her room.

She becomes absorbed in this calming activity and is very proud of the arrangements she makes.

At PresCare Maryborough, we love supporting residents living with dementia to find engaging and calming activities they enjoy.

To find out more about our two welcoming communities, please contact our friendly team by calling (07) 4120 5800 or emailing infoMB@prescare.com.au