There’s a delicious irony in that Sue Gervasoni, Uniting AgeWell’s General Manager of Quality and Risk, stumbled into the aged care industry quite by accident.
After school, she completed three nursing qualifications in quick succession and ended up working in and later managing the ICU unit at Ballarat Health Services. She moved up the ranks to an executive role which included responsibility for overseeing clinical governance for the health service - and operational responsibility for the organisation’s aged care services.
Sue developed an affinity for aged care, and with an MBA under her belt, became deputy CEO of a rural health service, before joining Uniting AgeWell three-and-a-half years ago.
Sue’s unexpected and very lucky entrance into aged care, meant that this talented leader was able to work with the senior management team and staff to support Uniting AgeWell’s response to the very challenging COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was tricky as early on there was no guide or rule book on what to do,” Sue says, “but we identified the risks to all our residential and home-based customers and staff and put strategies in place for protection against COVID-19,” Sue says.
“The very positive result that Uniting AgeWell experienced was a credit to the coordinated organisaton-wide response along with the strong clinical governance systems which were already in place.”
Huge responsibility
So, what does her job entail?
Sue ensures that Uniting AgeWell has robust clinical governance systems in place which support the delivery of safe, effective high quality care and services to our residents and clients. And not only in place, but to ensure they comply with all standards and regulations. “Part of this is always looking at ways to continuously improve what we do,” Sue explains.
“Pivotal to all this happening is to be constantly vigilant for any flags that could indicate a problem developing and to ensure that actions are taken to address this immediately,” Sue says. “The overall experience and outcomes for our residents and clients is where our focus and attention needs to be which is why we listen so closely to our customer stories and feedback as an opportunity to continuously improve.
It’s an awesome responsibility, but underpinning it all is Sue’s passion for aged care and her quest to make a difference.
“It is a privilege to care for older people, and I always try to influence change which will improve the quality of their lives,” Sue says.
Life lessons
Sue’s Mum was primarily a single parent and growing up Sue learned that with determination and resilience, women can achieve anything.
So with this in mind, Sue managed to complete her MBA studying part-time whilst working full-time managing an intensive care unit and raising her two daughters at her Ballarat home where she and her school principal husband still live.
As far as advice or lessons learnt, Sue believes that being true to yourself is vital.
“You will come across difficult and challenging situations in your career where an easier option is to turn away but coming with leadership is the need to be brave and do what is right even when this may seem incredibly daunting.”
Sue also believes that women need to be prepared to take risks and step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves. “Don’t allow self-doubt to sabotage opportunities presented to you along the way.”
Staying healthy
Sue believes in the healing power that exercise has on both physical and mental health, and has previously played a lot of tennis, badminton and basketball and now enjoys the gym and works out with friends.
She loves reading, travel, and cooking for friends and family accompanied by a good wine.
And yes, the risk management button is difficult to turn off at home.
“I don’t let it rule my life, but I certainly have my risk management hat on at times in everyday life, like making sure smoke alarms have a new battery routinely and having access to a spare key near every deadlock,” Sue laughs.
#ChoosetoChallenge #IWD2021