Ron Sullivan
On behalf of the board of Ozcare, it is my great pleasure to present our annual report for 2017.
The theme of this year’s report is 'doing things with heart', and it never ceases to amaze me how big of an effect we can have on another person in a very short space of time. Small acts of kindness and always putting forward the best version of ourselves can have a profound impact on others, and make a big difference to the lives of those we care for.
The clients featured in this report are shining examples of how the exceptional care and support we provide can serve to bring out the best in others, in some cases helping people to turn their lives around.
I am proud to chair an organisation that recognises the accomplishments of its employees, and celebrates their successes. The shared triumphs at Ozcare drive motivation and help to foster a strong culture of kind and caring behaviour, and accountability.
This year has held a number of significant events for our organisation.
In September 2016, St Vincent de Paul became the sole member of Ozcare. We acknowledged this relationship through our new guiding principles which reflect the mission of the Society, and by recognising our origins as A Special Work of St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland.
We continue to enjoy a strong working relationship with the Society and will continue to align with the mission and vision of St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland to work towards greater harmonisation.
In May this year, we were sad to farewell Father Keith Turnbull, Vincentian Father and Founding Chairman of Ozcare who passed away at the age of 88.
Father Keith held the position of founding chairman and director of Ozcare for 14 years. He was well known for his service to the Gold Coast community, particularly in the establishment of aged care and respite services, and his service to the Catholic Church.
Father Keith received an Order of Australia award for his significant contribution and in honour of Father Keith’s work, Ozcare renamed Ozanam Villa Labrador as Keith Turnbull Place in 2009.
Father Keith was an absolute visionary. He will be remembered as someone who always put the needs of others before his own, something we all aspire to at Ozcare.
We’ve had another successful year at Ozcare and our astute investment in the expansion of our services has us placed in a solid position for the future.
Earlier this year we opened our new extension at Ozanam Villa Clontarf and our multi-million dollar aged care development in Hervey Bay had its grand opening in October. Similar developments are underway in Toowoomba and Mackay.
Ozcare is proud to be an approved National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider and we look forward to growing our disability services as NDIS continues to roll out around Queensland.
We are planning a renewed focus in our social inclusion services on outcomes measurement. Focusing on outcomes ensures we are supporting clients to achieve their goals, and working collaboratively with them to put measures in place so they can move on with their life.
In addition to focusing on the growth and performance of our staff and services, it is also critical that we continue to stay at the forefront of technology advancements to enhance the delivery of care and support for our clients.
We started 2017 by bidding farewell to outgoing board member, Bishop Brian V. Finnigan. Bishop Brian retired as Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane and also retired from our board of directors.
I feel very privileged to have worked with Bishop Brian and I wish to extend my thanks and appreciation for his wisdom and spiritual guidance to Ozcare over his six year term. Bishop Brian contributed to our Ozcare calendar each year with his annual blessing and has kindly agreed to continue to feature in our yearly calendar.
In January we welcomed Kathy Sadler to our board of directors. Kathy came to us with a wealth of experience in aged care and disability services. Previously board member and chair of Mercy Community Services, Kathy is a qualified lawyer who holds an MBA from the University of Queensland.
I would like thank my fellow directors for their valued contribution this year and their dedication to the good governance of Ozcare. Your wisdom and guidance is critical in ensuring Ozcare continues to grow and deliver outstanding service to the Queensland community.
Central to the success of Ozcare is the people who work for this organisation. Our employees do a fabulous job supporting people in the community to live well.
Their dedication to make a difference is something to be marvelled at.
From cleaning someone’s home to a standard that’s good enough for their own mum or providing expert clinical care, to helping someone who has lost their way find purpose and meaning, the jobs at Ozcare are as varied as the clients we serve but they are all approached with the same attitude and that is one of care.
On behalf of the board of Ozcare, I extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to every employee for the wonderful job you do. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable work of our volunteers, which greatly benefits our clients and assists our staff.
To the leadership team; thank you for another great year. The future of Ozcare is in good hands with you at the helm.
Tony Godfrey
This year has been another year of change with the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and portability of home care packages following on from last year’s introduction of consumer directed care. This has led to a large number of new entrants to the industry and competitors spending large amounts on advertising.
I am proud to say that Ozcare has remained resilient during this period of change. The strength of our brand, the spirit of our people and our foresight to prepare for these challenges, and adapt and change as necessary, has meant we have retained our strong position in the market.
Ozcare exists to care and support those in need in the Queensland community. We are driven by our purpose and values, which are embodied by the 3,000 staff that work for this organisation. Each and every staff member that is employed by Ozcare works here because they truly care.
Their ability to recognise the unique needs of each client, respect their personal wishes and adhere to the business constraints placed upon them while they go about their work is no easy task.
It is this high level of professional, person centred care that helps to differentiate us from our competitors and sees Ozcare highly regarded in the community.
The introduction of our new branch structure in community care, and the key leadership role of branch managers, will enable us to achieve more aligned and efficient operations and see all of our services working closer together.
Investment in our leaders to cultivate behaviours and attributes that support organisational goals and desired culture will be key in moving forward. At Ozcare, we want to lead by example and nurture a warm, inclusive culture that goes the extra mile to deliver exceptional care.
The expectations of aged care consumers are shifting. Many of the people currently in our care came through the war and great depression and have modest demands. The next generation to need aged care will be the baby boomers. They are starting to reach their 70’s and have heightened expectations of quality of life and care.
We are preparing for this generational shift and we will meet these elevated expectations of care through the adoption of technology in our services and forward planning.
This year has seen the culmination of the roll out of our mobility solutions in operations, with our aged care facilities now all using PeoplePoint Clinical. Capitalising on technology in our services enables more efficient and accurate documentation, and the reduction in paperwork allows for more time to be spent on direct care.
The implementation of a new rostering system in our aged care facilities has seen demand based rosters that encourage staff to work across different wings and shifts in an effort to standardise our workforce policy and operate more proficiently without compromising on the care we deliver.
By far the biggest investment this year has been the construction of our impressive new 154 bed aged care facility in Hervey Bay. The talk of Wide Bay for a number of months, this highly anticipated facility sets a new benchmark for aged care.
We understand that privacy is a desirable feature for residents moving into an aged care facility. This will be of even greater importance to baby boomers. It is for this reason that we made the decision to exclusively offer single ensuited rooms with private balconies in our new facility at Hervey Bay and future developments planned for Toowoomba and Mackay.
Furthermore, we have implemented a construction schedule over the next couple of years to convert double rooms with shared ensuites in our existing facilities to single rooms with private ensuites.
It is our intention that future Ozcare developments include residential aged care and independent living units to allow for integrated aged care. Ensuring our aged care facilities are co-located with retirement villages will allow Ozcare to offer the full spectrum of aged care options to support clients as they move along the care continuum.
This year we set our strategic direction for the next five years with approval from the board.
Our vision is for Ozcare to be the leading service provider of integrated aged care services in Australia.
We will achieve our vision through the implementation of a range of planned initiatives to attain our strategic goals of:
It is an exciting time at Ozcare and I look forward to guiding the organisation into the next chapter as we work to achieve our goals and realise our vision.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people around me that work hard to ensure that Ozcare is successful.
Thank you to the board, and Chairman Ron Sullivan, for your continued support and sound advice.
Thank you to my leadership team. I truly believe we are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with, and your expertise, commitment and passion for Ozcare is what propels our organisation forward.
To our employees and volunteers, thank you for your dedication, hard work and commitment to both Ozcare and our clients.
We look forward to a bright future working together to deliver exceptional care.
