Karen Myers’ is driven by her heart – and her ears!
Late in 2024, the Home Care Worker was honoured to receive the Uniting AgeWell Excellence Award for Home Care and Community Victoria with the spotlight shone on her kindness and professionalism.
The 63-year-old stresses the importance of listening to her customers - deep listening that allows her to fully respond to their needs to help them live life their way. “Excellence is not just about achieving results, but about caring for the clients we support,” Karen says. “I love what I do.”
Karen works with the Loddon Mallee North Home Care Swan Hill team who all know the importance of working in their local communities. They share a deep understanding of the people living in a region where the surrounds are both beautiful and harsh. An area where long distances, droughts, floods, fires, and biting cold certainly build up resilience – and a close-knit community. One that you never want to leave, as Karen, who has lived in in Swan Hill for 40 years, knows only too well.
“They breed them tough out here,” the grandmother-of-six laughs, “but even tough people sometimes need a little bit of assistance to continue independently at home as they age.”
International Women’s Day on 8 March is an opportunity for Uniting AgeWell to reaffirm its commitment to creating truly inclusive career pathways for all its employees. It’s also a chance to celebrate their journeys and the daily impact women make through their work.
Program Manager Alison Caldwell says, “The-close knit community we serve means our clients are our friends, our neighbours and our relatives. They are our people. We strive to deliver a quality of service that is meaningful to them.”
As part of its investment in staff, the Uniting AgeWell Scholarships Program was launched which saw 26 staff awarded in the first round in 2024. Comprehensive training for care workers across 2025 will enable workers in home care settings to hone their skills and learn new ones.
To find out more about a career in aged care, visit our careers page.
On International Women's Day and every day in many ways, women employed by Uniting AgeWell are making a difference to people’s lives.
This is an opportunity to recognise the impact of valued members of the Uniting AgeWell team and to re-affirm our commitment to providing truly inclusive career pathways.
