On International Women’s Day, thank the women working in aged care
Australia’s aged care sector – like many around the world – has long been dominated by women.
Of the estimated 370,000 aged care workers throughout Australia, about 82% are women, working in care and administration roles as well as executive leadership teams and boards.
Whiddon, which owns and operates 19 residential aged care homes across New South Wales and Southern Queensland, has an 86% female workforce.
And at Whiddon Easton Park residential aged care home set on 21ha in Glenfield, 36km southwest of Sydney CBD, there are now four generations of women with an incredible bond.
For 84-year-old Whiddon Easton Park resident, Mary Riordan, family is everything. Two generations of her family, including daughter Theresa Riordan (53) and granddaughters Kayleigh (23) and Carling Nicholson (18), are team members at Easton Park.
The fourth generation of the family, Mary’s first and only great-granddaughter Sophia, is also a regular and much welcomed visitor. Despite their over 82-year age gap, 15-month-old Sophia and Mary share a special relationship, grounded in time spent visiting with her mum, Kayleigh, a member of Whiddon’s customer service team.
Mary’s transition into residential aged care one year ago has only strengthened the already close bond shared by the four generations of women. Having held an Assistant in Nursing (AIN) role at Whiddon Easton Park since 2006, Theresa’s first-hand understanding of the positive impact of Whiddon’s relationship-based care philosophy made the family’s decision easy.
“Knowing the level of quality care provided and how wonderful the team is here, is what really drove our family’s decision to turn to Whiddon for Mum’s care,” said Theresa.
Australia’s aged care sector would be a very different place if it were not for the women who make it what it is – so today on International Women’s Day, why not say thank you to the women that you know who work in aged care?
