Capecare Dunsborough has recently welcomed in an additional 20 residents to its aged care facility, reaching 50% capacity.

Dunsborough’s first aged care facility officially opened in October 2021 with a plan to settle in staff and residents in a staged basis.

Capecare CEO Joanne Penman said it was wonderful to reach full occupancy on the ground floor and she was confident Capecare could commence offering places on the upper level as soon as additional staff were available.

“We have residents ready to move in but need to increase our staffing numbers before this is possible,” she said.

“We are currently recruiting across both clinical care and support services roles including registered and enrolled nurses, carers, hospitality and a lifestyle coordinator.

“Flexible hours are possible for all positions, and we welcome anyone looking to return to the workforce, whether they be mums and dads of school aged kids or retirees looking to fill a few hours a week and give back to the community,” she said.

“As a new facility, Capecare Dunsborough provides staff with the latest in technology and appealing design, and residents appreciate the beautifully appointed home-like environment with large light-filled bedrooms, lounges, dining rooms and courtyards,” she said.

Most roles have shifts available in both Dunsborough and Busselton, or staff can select their preferred location.

Capecare offers many employment benefits including ongoing paid training and development, an employee assistance program, salary packaging, a respectful and positive working environment, career path opportunities and making a real difference in older people’s lives in a not-for-profit environment.

Jo said all ages were welcome to apply, with or without training, as traineeships and paid work experience available for Carer and hospitality roles.

“Volunteers also play an important role at Capecare and we are always looking for volunteers to join our care community. We are currently seeking volunteers to greet visitors and support residents with a range of activities from a shared interest to assisting with group activities. Hours and days are flexible, if you have a few hours to spare we would love to hear from you.”

To find out about how you can work or volunteer at Capecare email recruitment@capecare.com.au or visit this page.

Capecare carer Lily Meyer with Dunsborough resident Elizabeth Rapsey

For 12 years, Dunsborough local Sue has made the lives of Capecare residents brighter, providing professional hairdressing services, warm conversation, and plenty of laughs.

Sue has made the difficult decision to hang up her scissors on 36 years of hairdressing, leaving the door open for a new hairdresser to take over the salons located at Capecare Busselton and Dunsborough facilities.

“I’ve had such a rewarding time, doing two days a week at Capecare Busselton and one day at the fabulous new Dunsborough facility,” Sue said.

“There are many things I’m going to miss, including seeing residents’ faces light up when they see me, making them feel special and having lots of laughs with them.

“I’ve heard many interesting tales shared by residents and I’m sure I’ve been told things even their families don’t know about!” she said.

“But all good things must come to an end and it’s time to hang up my scissors.

“Thanks to the staff and residents who have made my job so much fun over the years.”

Thank you to you Sue for brightening up our day whenever you have been at work and for the happiness you’ve brought to our residents over 12 years.

To find out about how you can work or volunteer at Capecare and make a difference to the lives of local residents, contact recruitment@capecare.com.au or visit https://capecare.com.au/vacancies/

We had a most exciting arrival this week, welcoming six new Carers from Fiji to our staff. They will fill much-needed staffing gaps created by the general healthcare staff shortage which has been exacerbated by staff who are COVID close contacts isolating at home.

Capecare has been working with Brisbane-based organisation HealthX since mid-2021 to secure these staff members, the first group of Pacific Island workers HealthX has helped move to WA since the border reopening.

HealthX has worked with hundreds of healthcare and aged care services in regional and remote locations across Australia for more than 15 years to address long term workforce shortages.

The South Pacific carers are placed for three years (with annual visits home) and are currently living on-site at Capecare, so the program provides a reliable and consistent workforce to supplement local workers. For the Pacific Island workers, benefits lie in being able to further develop their skills and knowledge in aged care and will be able to utilise and transfer these skills when they return home, providing a benefit to their communities.

HealthX CEO Carollyne Palling said HealthX worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as an Approved Employer under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM). “This enables us to employ aged care workers from Pacific Island countries to work in regional and rural locations.

“HealthX worked with Capecare to identify its workforce needs and undertook labour market testing to confirm that positions could not be filled with local workers.

“We then submitted a recruitment plan to the PALM scheme team for approval and worked with the PALM Labour Sending Unit to identify, interview and employ suitable workers from the Pacific islands.”

HealthX assisted with visa applications for the workers and a staff member from HealthX travelled with the Fijian workers to Busselton to help them set up home and introduce them to their new community and workplace.

The aged care workers employed through the PALM scheme have completed an Australian standard Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing, Home and Community) which is delivered by the Australia Pacific Training Coalition.

Capecare CEO Joanne Penman said management and staff welcomed the new team members on their first day with a barbecue lunch.

“We are so thrilled to welcome Lita, Mani, Vara, Tama, Dee and Viki to our team and wanted to provide the chance for them to meet some of our team and enjoy an Aussie lunch before they commence work later this week.

“They will be an enormous asset to our organisation and knowing they will be here for three years will also provide our residents with consistent care.

“We will soon also welcome a second HealthX Registered Nurse to our team who is from Singapore, and will have a third join us by the end of this month.”

Capecare has a number of skilled and unskilled positions currently available, which can be viewed here, or email hr@capecare.com.au for more information.