“They offered me two weeks’ work – and it turned into 30 years,” laughs Josie Hall.
The Lifestyle Assistant at Kings Meadows Community recalls how she’d been working in the bakery down the road, when her shifts were reduced under new management. “Someone in the kitchen at Kings Meadows was off with a wrist injury, so they asked me to step in and help out, and I’m still here!”
Josie went from working in the kitchen to being a cleaner, then studying and becoming a Personal Care Worker before joining the Lifestyle Team as an assistant. Recently she started manning the reception desk one day a week. “I’m kind of the new kid on the block when it comes to our Lifestyle Team though,” Josie laughs. “My colleague and great friend, Maureen, has been here for 50 years!”
Now, aged 67, Josie has no intention of retiring anytime soon, though she will probably reduce her shifts a little. “Kings Meadows is a second home to me,” she explains. “I love the job, it keeps me mentally and physically fit. I know if I retired I’d just come back as a volunteer anyway.”
Looking back on the last three decades at the community is an eye-opener. Josie says so much has changed. Not just with the services but with the new development.
In days gone by, she recalls using a mop, bucket and broom for the cleaning, with the vacuum machine strapped to her back to do the stairs. Food was taken around on trolleys, instead of being served in bain maries. Residents ate in a large dining hall instead of the current smaller, more intimate dining rooms. Even the menus have changed to now include culturally diverse cuisine, with Chinese stir fry and sweet and sour dishes always popular.
“I remember there was a big red telephone box in the foyer that was always very well used by the residents,” she explains. “Now they’re all zooming on their ipads!”
Josie thinks the biggest changes are in lifestyle. “We do all these activities to ensure emotional wellbeing,” she says. “Exercises, bingo, arts and crafts, pampering sessions, trivia, concerts, bus outings – you name it, we do it!”
Even the concept of therapy pets is new. “Back in the day there were one or two cats living at the home, and they’d dart in and out between the trolleys, generally being a bit of a nuisance. The whole concept of therapy pets only came in much later, and the residents love it.”
Josie says the way death is regarded has also been transformed. “In the old days, someone would pass away and the undertaker would discreetly remove the body through the backdoor. Now we’re holding really wonderful Guard of Honour ceremonies, where the residents and staff give the on a rousing send-off as they are taken out through the front door to the hearse.”
She hated the COVID-19 lockdowns, where residents struggled as they were unable to read her lips through the face mask. “I remember doing everything I could to make them smile,” she recalls. “I still do.”
But not everything changes. “I love the comfort and familiarity of having been here for so long,” says Josie. “I always ask staff and residents how they are going, it feels like we are a big family here.”
Josie felt the sense of family keenly in the incredible support offered to her when she was away for three months with breast cancer. “It’s hard to put in words how much it means to have colleagues encouraging you every step of the way.”
The grandmother-of-eight is now completely cancer free and she and her husband, Michael, who has retired to a farm that he and his brothers run, love travelling. They go overseas every two years – their last trip was Japan!
Josie, who grew up on a farm, is very grateful that she never ended up pursuing her dream of becoming a wool classer. “I always think that entering aged care was one of those things that was just meant to be.”
Read more about Service milestones to celebrate