Team member awarded for aged care STEM Program

Bolton Clarke Montclaire Lifestyle Co-Ordinator Julie has won national recognition this Aged Care Employee Day with a win for Individual Innovation in the Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) 2024 Excellence Awards.

Inspired by her own daughter’s high school STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studies, Julie introduced a STEM program for residents interested in continuing their learning in those areas.

The program is based on aspects of the Victorian Year 12 school curriculum and activities to date have included making bottle cannons, building a working model of a human heart, propogating seeds, visiting the Melbourne Anaesthetic Museum and chatting with an AI Robot.

“Our residents include pilots, engineers and doctors with PhDs who wanted to keep learning in their fields of interest,” Julie said.

“The STEM program offers an important alternative for residents who had not previously engaged with lifestyle activities, particularly some of the men from those scientific and professional backgrounds.

“Many of them are now active participants, particularly for topics involving engineering and agriculture.

“It’s also important to support other residents to engage and explore things that might be new to them. We all love to learn and we can do this no matter what age age we are.”

“I love learning and the experiments as well as the challenge to build and put things together,” resident Hadyn said. 

“I loved science at school, so it was a real surprise and pleasure to be doing this program here in aged care.”

To celebrate Aged Care Employee Day (7 August) the ACCPA 2024 Excellence Awards recognise excellence across Australia in residential aged care, home and community and care, retirement living and seniors housing.