A desire to meaningfully help people led Liza Hellstrom to leave her long career in the travel industry to train in a field where she could really make a difference – caring.

Liza Hellstrom, now a Senior Support Worker at Capecare, studied a Certificate III before joining Capecare and hasn’t looked back in the four-and-a-half years since.

“When you get home from a day’s work, you just feel you’ve done something really good,” she says.

Liza’s day-to-day involves roles in and out of Capecare in Busselton. As well as training staff and signing up new home care clients, she visits home care clients in the community to assist with their personal care. Every day is different, and she says she loves being able to get on the road and help her clients with essential tasks.

“I might assist them with showers, help them get dressed and ready for the day, and meal preparation. We help people with making breakfast or if we visit clients in the afternoon we might make a meal for them to have later on at night and we also do medication prompts.

“We do welfare checks – going to client’s houses and making sure they’re okay. We might be the only person they see that day or week. And if we see any change or any decline in their health, we will report that back to our nursing team. We also provide social support which might mean taking people shopping, or staying in the client’s home and just having a cup of tea and a chat, whatever the client wants to do.”

When Liza gets up in the morning, she looks forward to going to work. She loves how rewarding the job is and says it’s a privilege to spend time with people who have such interesting life stories.

Liza says if you like helping people, then definitely look into working in aged care. She said clients are so grateful, and it feels as though you’re really doing something for the community.

Capecare is the largest regional independent aged care provider in Western Australia and Liza said they have been a supportive employer.

“I feel really valued as an employee. They really care about you,” she says. “Capecare are really supportive, always coming to check on us and ask how we’re going. It’s a really good company to work for.”

Originally from Sweden, Liza moved to Australia 20 years ago and has resided in Busselton for four and a half years and couldn’t think of a better place to live.

“It’s so close to all the wineries and lovely beaches. And then we’ve got our foreshore. If you take a client for a drive, you can go down to the beach, and if it’s not too hot, grab a coffee or an ice cream.”

Capecare supports people like Liza to start a career in caring or nursing. The organisation partners with South Regional TAFE to provide a fully supported 9-month traineeship program for students studying a Certificate III Individual Support (Ageing), who will then become part of their Care team for its residential facilities in Busselton and Dunsborough, and its home services community. Your course fees will be covered, and you’ll be paid while you study and doing your practical training at Capecare. If you’re studying to be a Registered or Enrolled Nurse, Capecare also offers practical paid experience in Caring or Support Worker roles while you complete your training.

Opportunities are also available for unskilled Carer Support Workers, Carers, Domestic Assistants and Lifestyle Assistants.

Contact hr@capecare.com.au call 9750 2000 and speak to our recruitment officer, or visit Capecare.com.au to find out more.

Liza Hellstrom, Senior Support Worker