Young Grace Hodder found her vocation in the “caring professions” almost by accident.

The Blayney local only embarked on her career in aged care to pay her way through college.

Starting-off as a casual at local disability provider, LiveBetter, she is now, however, up for a “Rising Star” national award this weekend.

The Leading Age Services Australia Awards recognises those making better the lives of more than a million older Australians receiving home care or residential care services.

“The winner is announced Saturday, August 7, which is Aged Care Employee Day,” Grace’s supervisor, Ben Chiarella explained.

“There’s multiple categories, Grace’s nomination is for people who have been working in the industry less than three years and who have made a significant impact in the field,” the locally-based NSW Aged Care Manager for the group said.

Grace has achieved this, he says, by totally re-imagining how we provide respite support for the elderly and those with dementia in the Orange community.

“Grace has made a huge impact at our Centre-based respite care facility at ‘Anson Cottage’,” Ben said, adding: “keeping social connections is so important for the elderly… it has been found that, isolation and loneliness, have the same impact as smoking on the elderly, reducing their quality-of-life and life-expectancy.”

Ben explained that Grace re-designed the program, from the old service-delivery model of “what we provide” at Anson Cottage, to a results-based, “what we achieve,” framework.

“We have different programs every single day, but the new structure is an ‘outcomes-focussed’ model of care, improving our client’s cognition, memory, level of physical activity, and interaction.”

This means that, while the activities might appear to be pretty standard arts and crafts activities, each has a specific role to play in an area of particular-need.

“Our programs run five days a week, for instance, ‘Make it Monday’ involves arts and crafts, but it’s especially-targeted at memory. Such as, creating photo montages from where they went to school. This helps them reconnect with their past, which is a really good exercise,” Ben said.

“We also have ‘Work it Wednesdays’ where we have ‘chair yoga’ to aid mobility, and we also have a worker who’s a skilled musician. Some of our clients, say, may have played the guitar, so we organise a musical arrangement using percussion instruments and the like,” Ben said.

“We also have ‘Take Out Tuesdays’ where we go to art galleries, museums, which again all aid with reinforcing recall of important memories.”

Next project at the cottage is getting the clients to splash around the paints and palettes with outside murals to brighten-up the facility, he added.

Ben explained that Grace’s central role is to develop, create, and manage the programs at the Anson St facility.

“Grace is the leader of what is a wonderful little team. She has taken ownership of this project and developed programs that are both interesting and provide enjoyment to our clients,” Ben said.

“Grace has really changed the model of care that we provide, really reinvigorated the program.”

An enrolled nurse, Grace, however, had initially only taken-up the role with Live Better as a means of funding her studies.

“I started out on a three-month contract data work, it was admin work… other than that, I was going to go and look at IGA Blayney for some work,” she explained.

“I was then employed as a support officer, a maternity leave position, where I started the program,” she added.

 Although still only 21, she found an aptitude for organisation and conceptualisation that has allowed her confidence to grow into the position.

“You have to be on the ball, that’s for sure, and have all your information… but it’s a team-effort; I’m part of a great group of home-care workers who supported me in working-out this program,” Grace said.

Her role also includes being first contact for new clients, many of whom are only interacting with the group for the first time.

“This often involves, for many of these people, their first loss of independence and is the first time that they have come into care,” Ben said.

“Grace handles this sensitive role with compassion, empathy, and the ability to help customers with their first contact with us.”

With travel out for all of us at the moment, Grace will be having her “interview” as one of the 10 shortlisted candidates via Zoom on Saturday afternoon, something which doesn’t faze her.

 “I know what to expect, I’m not all that worried about it,” she added.

Ben said that Grace is just one of the thousands of aged care workers who help those most vulnerable in our community to live their best lives.

“Grace has continued to step-up with great maturity, she handles pressure well and has a wonderful way of connecting with our customers.

“She’s the future of the industry, we’re very lucky to have her… she has a real passion for what we do,” Ben concluded.