For 35 years, clients and their families have entrusted Everglow to provide safe and quality care that is personalised, dignified, and focused on maintaining individual autonomy and community connection.
The association began as a pilot program in Townsville in 1998 to provide community-based services to older people from Cultural and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds. In 2015, the organisation was renamed to Everglow Community Care and services were extended to the broader community.
Today, Everglow operates from Townsville, Ingham, and Ayr, with over 1000 clients and over 100 staff, and Chief Executive Officer Huda Ammar says their commitment to individual and community wellness remains as strong as ever.
“We are guided by our values of responsibility, accountability, transparency, teamwork, dignity, respect and choice,” she says.
“We have a diverse workforce, many of whom are bilingual, and we all believe that older people deserve quality services tailored to their needs, culture, beliefs, values, and lifestyle choices.
“Survey results confirm that our clients and their families feel that Everglow staff are helpful, treat them with respect, help them to maintain their independence, and enable them to live the best life they can.”
Huda’s tenure as CEO coincided with the Australian Government’s once in a generation reform of aged care in response to the final report delivered by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
“Last year we underwent a number of significant changes in the industry and also within Everglow,” she says.
“We conducted an organisation restructure and reviewed our strategic plan, through which we identified exciting new opportunities for workforce strategies, financial management and clinical care governance.
“The new plan keeps the essence of our purpose and vision of improving the lives of the people we serve. It also now has a clearer focus on Everglow’s values and includes foundation principles of the Aged Care Code of Conduct introduced by the Commonwealth Government on 1 December 2022.
“We were already working in alignment with the Code’s guiding principles that set minimum standards of behaviour which require care to be provided in a manner that ensures consumers receive safe, respectful and quality care, but our strategic plan formalises that and means we are well placed to adapt and respond to future changes we expect to see in the aged care sector in coming years.”
The organisation also identified the need for larger, more inviting, and workable premises with space for activities and future growth.
“As part of Everglow’s service offering, we have a range of wellness and social activities focused on strengthening our clients’ skills and abilities while enhancing community connections,” says Huda.
“It’s also important to us to ensure our workplaces are conducive to a happy, cohesive, and productive team environment.
“We relocated all Townsville operations together in Hugh Street, moved into a new office space on Young Street in Ayr, and purchased our own building in Ingham as a commitment to the community in Hinchinbrook.
“This gives us stability and confidence that our central locations can meet our current and future needs, with extra space for client activities.”
Huda says that thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Board, executive team, and staff to successfully navigate some of the biggest changes in the organisation’s history, they are well placed for ongoing success.
“I think the foundations we have laid last year put us in really good stead for growth and continuous improvement to our service offering for our clients,” she says.
“It also makes us an employer of choice in the aged care sector so we can continue to attract skilled, empathetic staff who share our vision to work in partnership with our clients to provide safe and quality care that is personalised, dignified, respectful and focused on maintaining individual autonomy and community connection.
“There is strength in diversity and community, and we are proud to play a role in enhancing the quality of life and maintain the dignity for the people we serve.”
For more information phone 07 4725 1822 or visit the website overglow.org.au
Image credits: Images supplied
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