Home Grown Talent
Kerrie Scanlon
Residential Site Manager
Wintringham
Kerrie commenced working at Wintringham in July 2000. Wintringham is a non-profit welfare company that provides safe, secure, affordable, long term accommodation and high quality aged care services to some 800 frail elderly men and women who are homeless or living in marginalised accommodation.
From early beginnings working and managing in retail services, Kerriecompleted a certificate as a Patient Services Assistant in 1996. She commenced working in aged carefacilities and hospitals around Melbourneassistingwith catering and cleaning services.
Although aspiring to train as a nurse, the demands of being a single mum led her to choose full time work as a personal care attendant (PCA). During the PCA course, lecturers often made mention ofa local welfare company called Wintringham. Kerrie was inspired to go and visit Wintringham’s Williamstown residential care facility.She was so moved by this visit that it embarked her on an amazing career path at Wintringham.
Commencingas casual PCAworker atWilliamstown, Kerrie was soon appointed as an afternoon shift supervisor and then as a residential care coordinator. Supported by the company, shecompleted a Cert IV in Aged Care and a palliative care course which paved the way for Kerrie to become an actingmanager and eventually appointed as facility manager in March 2003.
Her training continued as shecompleted an Aged Care Assessors courseand Policy Development course in 2006.These courses provided her with the skills required to enable her to audit aged care systems, processes and the 44 aged care standards that regulate residential aged care services to ensurethe continuityof high quality care.This also led her toparticipate in the ACFI Project (testing a new Commonwealth funding tool for residential aged care sites). Working with consultants, she was involved in running trials across the Wintringham sites to maximise the effectiveness of the ACFI funding system when it commences in March 2008.
In 2004, Kerrie completed a Level 3 Certificate in Food Safety Supervision and participated in the implementation of a cook-chill meal delivery system into the Williamstown facility from the new commercial kitchen built at Wintringham’s Ron Conn Nursing Home in AvondaleHeights.In 2006, Kerrie completed a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessmentand an Advanced Diploma in Business Management in April 2007. Finally, in February 2007 she reached her long awaited goal andcommenced training as Division 2 Nurse which she will complete in November 2008.
Kerrie’s enjoyment and commitment to her work is reflection of her vibrant personality. She is a strong advocate forthe clients andresidents of Wintringham relating to their many stories of destitutelives, of hardship and degradation. She is extremely adept at multi-tasking and together with strong communication skills holds a position of high regard among staff and service users alike.
By far her biggest vocational achievement to date occurred in October 2007 when Kerrie was appointed Manager of the soon to be built Wintringham Eunice Seddon facility in Dandenong.This is a unique and innovative project with Wintringham working together with Wallara(anorganisation providing disability services to communities in the south and south-east of Melbourne).
Wintringham and Wallara will co-habit the old Wallara Potter Street site in Dandenong in a purpose-built mixed high and low care facility housing 60 Wintringham residentsand 13 Wallara residents in support accommodation.This will enable the large population of older homeless people, or those at risk of becoming homeless, in the Dandenongregion to access residential aged care as well as providingsupport to elderly parents of Wallara clients.
A heritage listed home will remain as a central feature of thenew facility and will serve to accommodate to2 people.This exciting project provides such innovative features as; providing emergency accommodation to homeless residents,providingtemporary accommodation to the families of palliative clients where they can privately share their relative’sfinal days, and assist the elderlyparents of disabled children to maintain a family unit together.
Kerrie is absorbed in her new role coordinating and advising the design and development of the Eunice Seddon service and is excitedly awaiting the turning of first sod to commence building works at the Dandenong site.