Sr Naw Susiciana ISR has celebrated 20 years with the Scalabrini community. PHOTO: Catholic Weekly/Supplied.
Scalabrini Communities, which runs six aged care homes in Sydney, has an unusual accolade in the sector: its staff retention is extraordinarily high, The Catholic Weekly reports.
Just 10 staff members have provided 227 continuous years of service to Sydney’s sick and vulnerable seniors, with more commemorating their 15- and 10-year milestones with the company.
They include Sr Jade Resabal ISR and Sr Naw Susiciana ISR, each celebrating their 20th year with Scalabrini Communities.
“I chose the religious life because I want to do something for people, especially to help those who cannot help themselves, and our elderly people are among those in need,” she told The Catholic Weekly.
At The Village by Scalabrini in Drummoyne, Sr Susiciana provides palliative care and enjoys listening to her patients’ life stories and spending time with them.
She takes inspiration from Mother Teresa, also known as St Teresa of Kolkata, who taught it was best to “do small things with great love.”
Sr Susiciana’s vocation informs her service as she believes religious life is “dedicated to prayer and serving others.”
Her approach to care also centres the dignity of each person, which requires her to be “compassionate, inclusive, and focussed on the whole person,” caring for their spirit, body, and emotional wellbeing.
“It also involves providing a peaceful presence, managing pain, facilitating spiritual reconciliation, and praying with the dying to help them trust in God until the end,” she said.
“Every person is created in God’s image and possessing dignity. Respecting that can be compassionate, inclusive and focused on the whole person, spiritually, physically and emotionally, by affirming life as a segregate while accepting that as a transition to eternal life.”
The strength of Scalabrini Communities’ workforce loyalty becomes even more apparent when viewed against national trends.
According to the Aged Care Worker Survey 2024, only 43 per cent of aged care workers nationally have remained in the sector for more than 10 years, often across multiple employers.
By contrast, more than a quarter of Scalabrini Communities’ staff have chosen to stay with the same organisation for a decade or longer, highlighting an exceptional level of stability and commitment.
“These milestones are about far more than years of service,” said chief executive officer Richard de Haast.
“They represent trust, continuity and deep relationships built over time. When staff stay with the same organisation for 10, 20 or even 30 years, residents benefit from familiar faces, shared history and genuine connection.
“That continuity of care helps people feel safe, supported and truly at home.”
Long-term retention has become a hallmark of Scalabrini Communities’ organisational culture. The staff labour turnover rate is nine per cent against an industry average around 35 per cent.
Staff consistently cite a strong sense of purpose, shared values and supportive leadership as the reasons they choose to stay.
“Scalabrini is more than a workplace,” Mr de Haast said. “It is a community. People stay because they feel respected, supported and valued; and because they know the work they do every day truly matters.”
Sr Susiciana said some of the residents were in her care for up to a decade, with her biggest challenge caring for those with dementia.
“This kind of sickness changes people totally, they become another person where they’re affected by the dementia,” she said.
“That’s why we need to know our residents well in order to care for their needs.”
She said the secret to her long service was respect, passion and good management, as the staff members at Scalabrini Communities are well looked after.
“Working in an aged care centre is a difficult job but it’s rewarding,” she said.
This article by Tara Kennedy was published in The Catholic Weekly, the publication of the Archdiocese of Sydney.