A great opportunity for Kayla

Since stepping up to a Service Coordinator role, our Deniliquin-based staff member Kayla May has enjoyed playing a greater role in improving quality of life for her customers.

Kayla’s career path

“I started in this disability home in 2015. I was a casual Support Worker. Back in my 20s, I started working in community aged care and supporting young people with complex disabilities.

“I found I enjoyed looking after people. I used to enjoy the stories from the oldies. You’d have a cup of tea with them and hear their stories. It would make them happy.

When I moved to the disability home, I enjoyed building relationships with the customers. I would do eight hour shifts instead of visiting a person for one hour. It was more rewarding for me. I’ve now got relationships with the customers and their families, and there’s something special about that.

“Since becoming the Service Coordinator, I’m enjoying a closer connection with the allied health practitioners who visit our house. I have also built a really good connection with our Support Coordinator. I like to know the ins and outs of my customers’ plans so I can have a say about what funding they might need. If someone needs a holiday, or new equipment, I’ll let the support coordinator know and talk about what we need to do to make it happen.”

Internship program

“In 2022, I had the opportunity to participate in the Northcott Innovation (NI) Supported Living Lab Internship program. I liked the idea of getting workers together without managers to solve some of the complex issues we have. I also liked being given the opportunity to participate from Deniliquin, which is a very long way from head office.

I really enjoyed getting to know other support workers. Working out in Deni, we don’t have that connection with other staff. It was really good to know that we’re not alone, that others have issues, and that some might even have worse issues than we do.

I was very nervous, but also excited when my idea was chosen by NI to be presented to the Northcott Board. I’m working with NI to develop my project further. It is a really good feeling to know I’m actually making a difference.”

Kayla’s innovative idea

The challenge

Customer support plans are often complex. Bringing new support workers up to speed on each customer’s unique support needs and preferences is time consuming. How can Northcott improve this for customers and staff? 

The solution

InstaSupport – short, informative videos that demonstrate how customers prefer to be supported – as per their support plans. At the start of their shift, new support workers view the videos to quickly learn about each customer’s individual needs and preferences.

Working in disability

If disability is what you want to do, Northcott is a great place to work, When I started working here [at Northcott’s disability home in Deniliquin]. I never thought I’d be a Service Coordinator 8 years later. It was never in the plan. When it was suggested that I should step up, that’s just what I did.

Kayla

“A big aspect I focus on in this house is keeping the skills our customers have. For example, we have one customer who can do her own washing. That means a lot to her. Seeing the smile on her face when she accomplishes that, it’s rewarding.

“Working in disability is not as scary as you think. It can be complex at times, it can be difficult at times, but you have all the support you need. It’s actually really rewarding. It is a great job.”

Northcott Innovation Individual Supports