Choosing to Challenge

When Sue Wood was a kid she used to ride her bicycle to visit her great-grandmother and later her grandmother at Uniting AgeWell Strathdon Community.

She loved the site and had a rapport with older people. So when Sue started her career as a student nurse there nearly 30 years ago, she thought the wheel had come full circle.

She had no idea that one day she’d not only manage Strathdon Community but that she would be appointed to her current role where she oversees the workforce planning and funding teams for all residential age care facilities across Victoria.

Yet despite her meteoric rise through the ranks of Uniting AgeWell, Sue’s focus remains firmly on making a difference. Not only to the quality of life of our residents but also to staff and to the wider organisation itself. Read more.

Judy had a mid-career change that’s proved to be one of the most rewarding things she’s done.

She worked in a senior role at Australia Post, as a financial counsellor and in community services before switching to aged care.

Her career has taken her to the top and bottom of Australia - from Katherine and Darwin to Melbourne. She went to the Northern Territory to learn more about the culture of our First Nation People, and passes on these learnings to her team to ensure they are able to respond to the needs of their Indigenous home care clients appropriately

Judy is relishing her role where she gets to use her wealth of skills accumulated over the years as well as act with heart to help older people live their best lives. Read more.

Uniting AgeWell Lifestyle Manager Sharon Levey firmly believes that when life gets tough, you can either become a victim or grow stronger. And Sharon is strong.

As the oldest of four kids she left school at the age of 15 to train as a hair dresser to help her single Mum support the family. Earning a BSc degree while juggling work, raising her children and working relentless hours as a single Mum herself.

She followed her heart and joined the aged care industry and now oversees the lifestyle teams across Uniting AgeWell’s 20 residential facilities.

“I believe that the lifestyle teams are the heart and soul of every residential home, they help bring the joy and purpose to the residents’ days,” she says. Read more.

It has been a baptism of fire for Sue Gervasoni, General Manager of Quality and Risk, who took up her role three and a half years ago and expertly guided the organisation through the horror 2020 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

She has three nursing qualifications and an MBA, and has a passion for aged care which, ironically, she stumbled into quite by accident. Read more.

Ros Baker started her career in aged care as a “tea lady” and now manages a team of around 75 staff delivering the cleaning, laundry and kitchen services at three Uniting AgeWell residential facilities in Tasmania.

Ros completed two diplomas – in commercial catering and in cooking – at the age of 58, and now, aged 70, has no plans of retiring anytime soon. Read more.