Toowoomba aged care stalwart Judy Bannerman celebrates special milestone at Salem Aged Care
The services manager at Salem Aged Care in Toowoomba is celebrating a special milestone soon.
Community News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Community News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
JUDY Bannerman has dedicated nearly two decades to Salem Aged Care facility in South Toowoomba, but that was not necessarily the case when she dropped her resume in back in 2001.
“Initially when I popped my application in, they said that I would never get a job here because no one ever left,” the services manager said, reflecting on her 20th year at the centre.
“As I went down the stairs at the front, the office girl ran after me asking if I’d like to have an interview because someone had just resigned.”
The stroke of good luck became her lifelong passion, with Mrs Bannerman moving her way up the ranks to now manager more than 140 residents and nearly 180 staff.
She said the most rewarding aspect of the job was developing incredible relationships with Salem’s inhabitants, who all had unique needs and wants.
“It’s the people that bring that diversity — there are no two days that are exactly the same,” Mrs Bannerman said.
“The relationships that we experience, if we stay in that environment long enough, they turn into friendships.
“It would take me another 20 years to recall all the memorable residents and stories – some funny, some sad, some very rewarding.”
While aged care has changed dramatically in the past 20 years, Mrs Bannerman said Salem’s warm and welcoming approach had not.
“I was made to feel like I wanted to work there — it was that feeling that you were important to them,” she said.
