Year in Review
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Celebrating 104 years
Our oldest volunteer Alf celebrated his 104th birthday at BaptistCare’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge, where he continues to be an active and much-loved resident of the home in Sydney’s Macquarie Park. “One of the main things people do say about me is that I am ‘an inspiration’,” said Alf. “That’s a big word to be handling all the time.
ACT based Yarra Rossa development underway
Development of Yarra Rossa, our newest retirement living community located in Red Hill, ACT, got underway in October 2019. Yarra Rossa is built on the historic site of our former Morling Lodge; the first aged care home in Canberra.
New community housing on the Central Coast
BaptistCare Bouddi Place was officially opened in December 2019, with a visit from Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, Gareth Ward, and Member for Terrigal, Adam Crouch. This much-needed housing for seniors and single-parents is part of our partnership with the NSW Government Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF).
Sharing experiences of CALD women
In early December we released the findings from HopeStreet Women’s Services first research report on Sydney’s sex industry, providing insights into the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women working in the city’s lower-end brothels. BaptistCare HopeStreet Women’s Services manager Jess Davidson appeared on ABC’s The Drum to discuss the findings, and provide conversation around this important topic.
CRCC goes out with a roar
In February 2020 our Carer Respite and Carelink Centre (CRCC) team took 56 Young Carers and their families to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, to experience the Roar and Snore program. The overnight outing was the last for the CRCC, who we sadly farewell after 23 years, due to the program being moved to the Federal Government’s new Carer Gateway where it will be operated by another organisation.
Not all superheroes wear capes
BaptistCare Dorothy Henderson in Macquarie Park became the first home in Australia to experience a COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. For 60 days we worked closely with the local Public Health Unit, the State and Federal governments, and health agencies. With our staff at the home all required to self-isolate, we put out a call for help, and over 100 of our staff from across NSW and the ACT, many trained in aged care, put up their hand and said: “I’ll help.”
Rapid response grants for Hunter and Inner City
Between March and May 2020 our BaptistCare HopeStreet teams in the Hunter and Sydney’s Inner City each received grants from the City of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the City of Sydney respectively, to respond to challenges posed by COVID-19 and support individuals and families with practical help during the health and economic crisis that was unfolding.
Outbreak declared over
After 60 days, the COVID-19 outbreak at BaptistCare Dorothy Henderson in Macquarie Park was declared over. It was heartbreaking that six of our residents passed away from COVID-19, and their memories will be treasured by BaptistCare. We are thankful that 15 residents and staff did recover. Our unique experience with this outbreak led to us to make a voluntary submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety later in the year.
We want our people to Flourish
In June 2020, we launched our new self-care program for our employees, volunteers, and their families, called Flourish. In these challenging times with both a health and economic crisis being experienced across Australia, we expected many of our employees would be finding things difficult. The program builds on our existing Employee Assistance Program and provides confidential and free services to improve physical and mental wellbeing.
