Page 39 - Joondalup Health Campus Annual Report 2017

It is a sad fact that Australia has the seventh lowest employment rate for people with disabilities among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
But JHC Human Resources Manager Colette Young says the hospital is doing its bit to turn this around and is a proud employer of people living with disability.
“We support a diverse workforce, embracing the opportunity to employ people with physical or intellectual disability,” she said.
One of those people is Christopher Bell, who will be receiving a loyalty award in 2017 for 10 years of service to the hospital.
Christopher was born with Down Syndrome but this has not stopped him from gaining employment and fulfilling his dreams.
At only 29 years of age he is a proud home owner and he couldn’t be happier with the direction his life is taking. After moving out of his family home a little over a year ago, Chris now lives just a hop, skip and a jump away from work at JHC and is enjoying the freedom of independent life.
While Chris keeps very busy with a host of different activities such as bowling, cooking, exhibiting his artwork and listening to music, maintaining a long-term stable job continues to be the anchor point of his success. As well as the income to fund his home and busy
lifestyle, Chris shares that, “work keeps me busy and gives me company”.
“They’re a really supportive group,” says Chris’ case worker from EDGE, Lauren Baptist. Chris has become increasingly independent under their guidance over his tenure. Where once Lauren was required to be onsite to support Chris two or three days a week, she now only checks in with Chris and the team once every two or three weeks.
JHC Purchasing and Supply Officer Reece Langford has now been working with Chris for over four years and is grateful for the support from EDGE. Reece said Lauren is always available to offer encouragement and suggestions on how to best supervise Chris, but at the end of the day he sees Chris as just one of the team.
“Chris helps to keep work morale high and we enjoy hearing about his week and sharing a laugh with him,” he said.
Chris too appreciates the workplace camaraderie and always feels very included. “They look after me a lot,” he says. He lights up as he goes on to recount the time he got to be a chef for a day. Knowing how much Chris loves to cook and of his ambition to run
the hospital kitchen, JHC Executive Chef John Creasey arranged a surprise for Chris when he arrived to work one morning and gave him his very own chef’s uniform and reign of the hospital kitchen for a day.
Inspired by this opportunity, Chris now tests recipes at home to share with John and aims to one day be working alongside him in the JHC kitchen.
According to Colette, the hospital offers a plethora of jobs suited to people with all sorts of skills.
“There are so many roles within a hospital, there really is something for everyone,” she says. “The planned expansion will also see the creation of many new jobs over the next five years and beyond.
“With more than 100,000 people in Western Australia currently unemployed, every new job created will help make a difference to a family. In April 2017, Western Australia had the highest unemployment rate in the country, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
“We hope the expansion will create new jobs for locals – both in the construction phase and thereafter when the new areas become operational.”
JOONDALUP HEALTH CAMPUS | ANNUAL REPORT 2016/17
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