Thirty years of care at Hilltop

Pierina A’Court has spent three decades caring for residents at Juniper Hilltop, marking the milestone with a morning tea attended by colleagues past and present. She shared what those thirty years have looked like, and what has kept her there the whole way through.

“I started in 1996, so it’s been a while,” the multiskilled care said.

“We used to do the caring, the nursing, the wound cares, continence care, whatever needed doing. We used to do the cooking as well.”

For Pierina, it’s the people who have made Hilltop feel like home. “The place feels very home like, friendly. The staff are lovely. You get a real bond with the residents. It’s like having an external family.”

She hasn’t moved from Juniper Hilltop in thirty years. “Who knew that would happen? I’ll be here until the end, whenever that is,” she said.

A few familiar faces shared the journey with her, including Colleen, who retired last year after also celebrating 30 years at Juniper, and Sharon, a Domestic Cleaner at Hilltop, who has also been there for many years, both of whom joined in on Pierina’s celebrations.

Throughout her time at Hilltop, Pierina became something of a mentor to staff, including Emmanuel, who started out as a carer under her guidance before going on to become a Personal Care & Activities Assistant. “Whenever people want to know something, they still come to me. They call me Mama around here.”

She strongly encourages people to consider a role in aged care.

“Do it, it’s very rewarding. You bring things into their life and they bring things into yours.”

She speaks fondly of hearing Hilltop resident’s pasts and looking over the old photos on the wall, and of watching them turn their rooms into their home. “Some of them, in their old photos, look just like movie stars. There was a real glamour to how photos were taken back then compared to now.”

The milestones that stand out most to her over her career are residents’ birthdays and the effort the whole team goes to in making them feel special.

“There have been so many wonderful moments, it’s hard to pick one,” she said. “But I love seeing the effort everyone goes to for a birthday, the team really go out of their way to make it special for them.”