Residents are predominantly from a Hellenic background however from time to time non-Greek residents do reside at St Nicholas.
St Nicholas is under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Church of St George and residents maintain strong spiritual links with the Church and the Greater Greek Community which are both located nearby. An audio-visual link exists to the St George Church to enable residents to continue actively participating in spiritual life.
St Nicholas has strong links with the Greek community. Residents continue to participate in a variety of community activities and the community participates in life at St Nicholas. Religious and culturally significant events are celebrated at St Nicholas and the leaders of the Greek community participate in many of these celebrations.
The Board of Management of St Nicholas Nursing Home & Hostel actively embraces the commitment of excellence in culturally appropriate care and service provision to residents. Residents and their extended families vigorously participate in decision making at St Nicholas.
The non-nursing staff of St Nicholas Nursing Home and Hostel are predominantly of Greek background and speak both Greek and English. Nursing personnel consist of some Greek speaking staff however are predominantly of Australian or other backgrounds. Staff are selected on their sensitivity to the culture and ability to uphold the Greek values of elders as worthy, productive and respected members of the community.
St Nicholas provides a culturally appropriate service to residents. Care, diet, Diversional therapy and human resource management encompass the need to meet resident’s cultural and linguistic needs. Staff are required to learn a basic level of Greek language so that resident needs can be met with greater safety and dignity. The staff development program considers cultural and language education.
Extended families are encouraged to continue caring for their relative and do so with varying levels of involvement.
Our Mission:
Is to provide the highest standard of culturally appropriate care based on love and respect while assisting individual residents maintain their emotional, spiritual and physical potential.
Our Philosophy:
Is to promote the spiritual, physical, mental and social well-being of persons from Hellenic and other backgrounds by supporting their individual, cultural and community identity. Also to enhance quality of life by maximising and preserving independence within the individual’s capabilities.
This is to be achieved by supporting the individual and their extended family and by ensuring a safe and home-like environment in which individuality and dignity can be maintained.
We respect each person’s cultural, religious and political beliefs and freedom of speech. We offer our residents the right of choice to enable control over their lives to promote dignity and quality of life.
Our home offers this through an approach based on empathy, respect, communication and care.
