Virus fight close to home for aged care staff in free apartments

Aged care workers in Melbourne’s east are making a ‘huge sacrifice’ in a bid to shield residents and their own families from the latest Covid outbreak.

High-risk aged care workers are being put up in rent-free apartments to help shield local nursing homes from the virus.

Staff across Ryman Healthcare’s Wheelers Hill and Brandon Park aged care homes have moved into fully furnished retirement living apartments to protect their vulnerable families or roommates at home.

The aged care homes offered the free accommodation to anyone living with workers at other aged care facilities or staff working in hospitals and emergency departments.

Aileen Malang, a worker at Ryman’s Nellie Melba home in Wheelers Hill, moved into her apartment on Friday.

She said the scheme was “extremely important” in protecting the home’s elderly residents from the same fate as the more than 800 aged care residents who died from the virus last year.

“It affected a lot of elderly people last year, and we don’t want that to happen to our residents,” she said.

“They are very fragile and at high risk of getting the infection.

“We have been looking after our residents for a while now and we care about them.”

Ryman Healthcare Australia chief executive Cameron Holland commended the sacrifice workers such as Ms Malang had made for both the safety of their love ones and residents.

“It’s a huge commitment for these people to make,” Mr Holland said.

“Seeing what they do day in, day out, it doesn’t surprise me at all that they’re prepared

to go to these lengths but we’re still incredibly proud of them for the sacrifice they’re making.

Mr Holland said staff and resident safety was top priority.

“Keeping our staff safe is absolutely central to keeping our residents safe so it just

makes sense to do whatever we can to minimise the risk of them bringing the virus to

Work.”