Ji started with the RCH Food Services team in a casual capacity and has recently secured a well-deserved permanent position. She has demonstrated an impressive ability to pivot into different roles, which is invaluable in a dynamic environment where situations can change rapidly throughout the day.

While her primary focus has been working in the chef team, Ji has also cross-trained into an foodservices assistant role and has done fantastic work across both of those teams. She has also displayed strong attention to detail and a commitment to providing a high level of service to the patients in her care, especially when working in the diet kitchen.

Ji brings a very optimistic and professional attitude to work, which helps to set an example of positive behaviour and supports great teamwork. Always flexible and happy to help, Ji is a generous team player who works confidently across all roles.

“I didn’t expect to win so this was a nice surprise,” Ji says of her Award. “I’m really thankful to the people I work with and the patients who motivate me every day. It’s a big team but we are so tight knit that we are always able to help each other out – everyone knows what their role is, and they are all kind so I’m very happy to work with them.

“I have a background as a chef but I have also been delivering the food to patients, then I trained in the diet kitchen and main kitchen, and I’m also making sandwiches. I like being able to work across  multiple roles and I’ll keep doing my best with care and kindness.”

Christie started work at Monash Health as a casual foodservices assistant and immediately showed a strong commitment to her role and exceptional customer service. As a result she then moved into a permanent part time role with Clayton Food Services. Christie has demonstrated strong leadership qualities and is now our fulltime Food Services Supervisor. Her ability to influence others through her lived experience of working her way up into the supervisor role has led to her being a well respected leader not only within the Monash Health Clayton Food Services team but within the entire foodservices program across Monash Health.

Christie consistently leads by example, inspiring team members and her peers through clear and supportive communication and a can-do attitude. Despite having no managerial experience, she recently accepted the challenge of relieving the Food Services Manager with minimal notice. Christie was able to quickly and efficiently move into the manager role, leading with enthusiasm and professionalism while still nurturing and supporting the Food Services team during a challenging time of change. She has led the team to achieve great things, including ensuring all foodservices KPIs are exceeding target.

Empowering others to maximise their potential is a key to Christie’s success. Christie recently encouraged a number of FSAs to become a Smart Move Champion. They were trained to teach the rest of their team important manual handling techniques to ensure safety. The team embraced this training so well that looking out for each other is now embedded in their everyday practice. Since this program was introduced there have been no manual handling injuries in the kitchen.

“I was originally meant to be here only for my gap year – work, travel and then move on – but I found I loved it so I stayed,” Christie tells us. “Come October it will be 14 or 15 years! I’ve had previous management moved on and bumped into them elsewhere and they say ‘I remember you as the girl from casual and now you’re a supervisor’ – it’s nice to be recognised for that achievement.

“I’m very shocked to have the Award, to be honest I was shocked just to be nominated. I knew of the Awards and that other staff had been nominated or won but it never crossed my mind it would happen to me. I was on a high for two weeks! It seems it has been spread around through word of mouth across Monash Health which makes you feel really good, as if you’ve really accomplished something. Even though you get paid to work, to be recognised for what you do is really amazing.”

Tyson started at RCH in a casual FSA role two years ago. His passion for patient-centric customer service and dedication to his team have resulted in him securing a well-deserved fulltime position.

Tyson shows exemplary dedication to the patients in his care as well as their parents, ensuring that feedback and questions are followed up appropriately. This contributes to RCH’s culture of patient-centric care, ensuring some of Australia's most vulnerable children receive the best possible service.

One example was when a longterm patient asked if they could visit the kitchen to see where their meals come from, a request Tyson promptly passed on to the leadership team. While it was not possible to facilitate a kitchen tour for this patient due to their condition, this highlights that for Tyson, there is no ask too big or too small when it comes to patients.

Since assuming his role as departmental Workplace Health and Safety Representative, Tyson has identified multiple opportunities for improvement and provided valuable feedback on potential hazards before they could result in injuries. One of these was the handling of new organic waste bins which were becoming challenging for the kitchenhand team due to weight. Tyson suggested a process for ensuring the bins are not too heavy for the team to transport and spearheaded its implementation.

Earlier this year Tyson self-nominated to complete a Leadership STEP course with RCH, demonstrating his high motivation to continually develop his skills and stay relevant in his work.

“I was happy just to be nominated and very surprised to win,” Tyson says of his Award. “I’d like particularly to thank our Executive Chef Andrei Kononov, who put a lot of effort into putting together my nomination. He is great to work with and always open to feedback, which as Workplace Health and Safety Representative I bring to him from my team members and the workers. Having that open line of communication makes for a great working environment – it’s a really good atmosphere here, which allows us to focus on our core values of cooperation and honesty.

“I also want to say that the Award doesn’t just reflect on me – there’s a whole team of us and we’re all working diligently to do the best for our patients.”

Our fabulous supporters, members and guests present on the night!

Cultura Geelong Aged care has significantly reduced carbon emissions and saved money by implementing energy efficient measures including switching to ozone laundry disinfection systems and adopting sustainable practices. Cultura achieved savings of $26,000, a 50 tonne reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and 622,000 litres of water saved per year by implementing EnviroSaver ozone laundry disinfection.

Cultura Geelong is now run 60 per cent on environment friendly power generated by solar panels across the entire site rooftop, with significant reduction in electricity cost of $3000 per month. All food waste is reprocessed in a environmentally friendly composter, diverting 80 tones of landfill waste during 2024-25.

The kitchen is now 100 per cent electric and contributes significantly to reduced carbon emissions reductions, with all ceilings lights replaced by energy saving LEDs. All appliances have been upgraded with improved Energy Star ratings for better efficiency. Plastic has been completely banned within the site, replaced by environmentally friendly and biodegradable resources including for straws, cups and containers.

“Sustainability is one of our core values, so it gives us a lot of joy and pride to have been recognised with this Award,” says Hotel Services Manager Nagmani Mishra.

“This is an Award for the whole team – everyone in the kitchen, everyone in the foodservices team who helps transfer all our food waste into compost, everyone in the maintenance team, all the staff who have been given the training to save electricity where we can. It’s a full-on team effort embracing all 140 staff working here.”