Nancy Carganilla is made of tough stuff.
But when the staff clubbed together before Christmas to buy her a ukulele with the inscription “with love from Condare Court”, the lump in her throat would not go away.
“It’s a very special gift,” says the Uniting AgeWell Residential Services Manager (RSM) for Condare Court and Noble Park communities. “It’s personal and heartfelt. I’ll treasure this ukulele all my life.”
It not just the gift that is special. Nancy is too. A rare combination of resilience, a big heart and the courage to grab every opportunity and take on every challenge that comes her way.
Like setting up the Ukulele Band, after listening to Condare Court Chaplain Alisha Fung playing stirring beautiful music on her instrument. In usual Nancy-style, it was all systems-go, and before long, eight ukuleles had been bought and a handful of staff, including herself, were being taught how to play by Alisha during lunch hours. Other staff have joined in with other instruments from their countries of origin – the more the merrier. The band was soon up and running, and they regularly play for residents during church services and even at the Christmas concert, happily singing through masks and face shields.
“It was a team building exercise,” Nancy explains. “It brought us closer, the residents enjoy it and it provided a sense of fun during the lockdown.”
And fun was sorely needed. During the latest lockdown Nancy frequently left work around midnight, returning long before dawn to ensure things were running smoothly and the residents were safe and comfortable.
She abandoned her corporate outfit, donned nurses’ scrubs and full PPE, and just got on with it. Emptying bins, serving tea, helping residents, dealing with queries, changing sheets…
That’s how Nancy rolls. She leads by example.
“The work needed to be done,” she explains. “There’s no point in sitting in my office directing the flow of work if there aren’t enough staff to do it. You just have to get on with things to make them happen.”
And it is this practical hands-on approach that has been the hallmark of her operating style.
“I refuse to micro-manage,” she says bluntly. “I tell everyone that they need to sow their own soil. Staff know I trust them, they know my door is always open if they have a problem. We are a team, and we each have a valuable part to play. The one thing I stress is that we need to pull together, to be team players.”
And she has hands-on global experience of doing just this.
A global perspective
Nancy was born in the Philippines and obtained her nursing degree there. She quickly realised the world was her oyster and when an opportunity arose to work in an aged care facility in Saudi Arabia for three years, she took it. Next up was a move to New Zealand, where two of her three children were born. Then 21 years ago she and her husband moved to Melbourne.
Nancy is fiercely proud that her children have been raised as dinky-di Aussies with the freedom to be whatever they want to be. “I tell them, it doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a woman. You are a special person – make the most of yourself.”
Which is exactly what Nancy did. She nursed at Monash Health aged care facilities before joining Uniting AgeWell nine years ago. And from the get-go, it felt like she was coming home.
“It is a very inclusive environment,” she says. “I am from a foreign background, English is not my first language, and from day one I felt fully supported and encouraged to grow.”
Meeting challenges
Nancy has guts. Lots of it. And when opportunities came her way, she had the courage to get out of her comfort zone and embrace them.
And Nancy says much of it is due to Uniting AgeWell Operations Director Ian Blair, who recognised her potential.
“He’s a great mentor,” she says. “I can’t speak highly enough of him. He has always told me ‘Nancy, you can do this, you’ve got this!’”
Nancy started her UA journey filling in Ian’s previous role in Noble Park as Manager of Integrated Services. Then the opportunity to become a Residential Services Manager (RSM) came up at Noble Park. Under Ian’s mentorship, Nancy took on the role and flourished, with Ian only a phone-call away when she needed guidance and advice.
“I knew you could do it,” Ian told her. “Now you can do two sites!” Nancy laughs at how she first baulked at this decision, but once again she rose to the challenge and is now RSM at both Noble Park and Condare Court communities.
Nancy is determined to give back to the organisation – to support and mentor others the way she herself has been supported.
And her advice for all those starting out in aged care?
“When opportunity comes, take it. Get out of your comfort zone and grab at it with both hands. Don’t be afraid to take on new challenges.”
International Women's Day 2022
While the success and impact of our work relies on all our people thriving, on International Women’s Day we reflect on the opportunity we have to create career pathways for the women we employ, and to celebrate their journeys and the daily impact they each make through their work.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #breakthebias. Linked to a day that has historically championed women’s rights, we are invited to consider the intersectionality of bias and how, in order to consider ourselves beyond bias, means that equality of opportunity exists for all who identify as women.
Consider a career at Uniting AgeWell
At Uniting AgeWell we believe that every person has the right to age with dignity, to have genuine opportunities to make old age a meaningful part of life, and to have real options in their later years.
As a leading not-for-profit provider of aged care services in Victoria and Tasmania, our 3,000 staff are committed to exceeding standards in the provision of quality aged care and strive to make a difference every day.
We offer a range of career opportunities with roles across health care, administration, hotel services, maintenance and more.
