About Julia
Care matters. People matter. I help my clients to be visible to their clients; to stand out as respected, trusted, and compassionate partners in care. I do what I do because people should never be invisible. No matter their age or abilities, people who need care services should be valued, cherished and never taken for granted.
How it all began
My career began in the 1980s, one of the few female managers in an old-school Electricity Authority. Then, at the ripe old age of 30, I took a momentous leap into the unknown and started my own Accounting/Business Consultancy. This set me on an incredible journey, helping businesses to become viable and efficient, to deliver exceptional customer service, to renew and innovate. Little did I know this fledgling start would lead full circle to where I am now, helping care organisations to strive toward excellence in customer service and care.
The life changing moment
Raising a family, running a business, building a house and lecturing at nights… I thought my life was busy. Then something extraordinary happened. Two important women in my life were diagnosed with cancer. This was my first experience caring for someone who was going to die, both women passed away within two years of each other. Both were young, both were my mothers. It was confronting. I had never held anyone’s’ hand as they passed until then and these experiences profoundly changed me. I moved from someone who feared death to realising it is a privilege and honour to be there in that moment someone takes their last breath just as it is when a baby takes their first. Supporting family, navigating the practicalities, coming to terms with loss led me to think why is this happening? The experience set me on a journey to find a career where I could make a real difference. Then I found it – aged care – and I found my happy place, my industry, my home, my perfect alignment.
Walking the talk
I’d been working in aged care for a number of years when my Dad was diagnosed with dementia. He moved into supported accommodation, a wonderful outcome which enabled him to live his life the way he always had with care and support as needed. Dad spent the last while in an aged care dementia home. The heartfelt and quality care my Dad received was exceptional. We were treated like family which made me so proud of the industry I work in and love.
I’ve been the daughter of an aged care client. I’ve worked in, managed and advised aged care organisations. Bottom line – I’ve seen the industry from both sides, walking in the shoes of my clients and their clients as well. I’ve lived it so I understand it.
What the years in aged care taught me
The care world has always been turbulent and 2020 has added a whole new set of challenges. What matters is that people receiving care services still have a voice. They can choose with their feet if they feel they are not being cared for, looked after and safe. The reality is unless your organisation can deliver efficiency, effectiveness and compliance alongside exceptional customer service, it won’t exist in the future. Fail to deliver and your clients will leave. They won’t even tell you they are going; they just won’t be there anymore. Care providers can and should always strive to do better. Our industry should operate and produce a culture of excellence which is trusted and valued by our clients and their families.
I believe this in my bones and it is what drives me every single day.
Julia