Business View Magazine - June 2015

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Business View Australia - June 2015 81
sites we currently use are DPS on
line and we advertise in their Mag-
azine Aged. We also use aged care
online. We have a five star rating
as an aged care facility, mainly be-
cause of the size, the environment,
extensive gardens, and fresh Euro-
pean food cooked daily. Single room
ensuites, highly skilled, bilingual
staff are important aspects of our
offering. We have photographs on
these websites as well as a feature
magazine story about being cultural-
ly and linguistically diverse. We also
advertise on the Seniors Informa-
tion and the MyAgedCare website.
We have also got our own website,
a Facebook page, and a LinkedIn
presence. Finally, we collaborate with
the Serbian Church,” Brown says.
Continuous improvement is a big
focus at Pennwood and they regular-
ly conduct surveys to get the feed-
back they need to make sure they
are moving in the right direction. The
aged care recipients are given sur-
veys which include questions about
the lifestyle, independence, food
choices, staff customer service, and
quality standards. Education and
Staff Development programs keep
the staff up-to-date with their skills
and their training. Pennwood has a
strong focus on person centred care.
Brown says growth, profitabili-
ty, maintaining high standards,
keeping staff and care recipi-
ents healthy, engaged and fit
are the big goals she wants to
achieve in the next five years.
“Growth is going to be one of the
big things for us. We need to expand
to remain financially viable. We also
need to maintain the quality and care
but also the lifestyle that we’ve got for
the care recipients and the staff. And
keeping up the morale, we have social
workers who come and talk to resi-
dents and staff regarding any men-
tal health issues. Some of our staff
were refugees from war torn Serbia
so they are here to make a difference
for their community. Eastern Europe-
ans, in my opinion, have a wonderful
work ethic and are savvy with new
technology. These qualities along with
ongoing training, confidence build-
ing and support allows them to excel
in many areas” concludes Brown.
Preferred Vendors:
Active Watch
Birks Chemist
SA Linen
HEALTHCARE