Archives: News & Events

St Basil’s NSW/ACT Board of Directors recently decided that one of its vacant properties, situated at 252 Johnston St. Annandale, is surplus to its operating requirements and should be sold. Funds realised from the sale will be directed towards the refurbishment of its existing aged care facilities to enhance its customers’ experience.

With St Basil’s currently operating five aged care homes across Sydney, Independent Living units, Day Care Centres, and offering Care at Home in NSW and ACT, the proceeds from the sale of the Annandale property will be used to provide its residents and clients with an enhanced experience through the restoration of its facilities, as well as to support the expansion of services that enable St Basil’s to reach more ageing Australians in need.

Following proposals from various real estate companies, Ray White Commercial was selected to manage the sale of 252 Johnston St Annadale NSW, formerly known as Sister Dorothea Village and most recently as St Basil’s Annadale.

A well situated property, with tremendous potential for redevelopment subject to council approval, featuring views out to the Sydney CBD and beyond, 252 Johnston Street Annadale will be offered for sale in [June 2023] through a public auction held by Ray White Commercial property division.

The property listing can be found at www.raywhitecommercialnsw.com

More information about St Basil’s can be found at www.stbasils.org.au or by calling 1300 367 551.

On Monday 15th May, to commemorate the Battle of Crete, several dignitaries were invited to St Basil’s Randwick hosted by His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, Chairman of St. Basil’s James Jordan, Board member & Acting CEO of St. Basil’s Peter Kaliaropoulos, Father John Kapetas, Father Milton and our Executive Management Team.

A Commander joined by Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Yiannis Mallikourtis, Lieutenant General and Chief of Staff of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Georgios Kiriakou, Naval Captain Stylianos Mitsiotis, Colonel Ioannis Fasianos, and Military Attache to the Greek Embassy made an official visit to St. Basil’s Randwick.

On International Nurses Day, 12^th May, the world comes together to celebrate the Nursing profession, and at St Basil’s we are doing the same.

Together we will reflect on their achievements, their expertise, and the resilience that they have shown through the challenges of recent years. I am extremely proud to have each of our Nurses as part of the St Basil’s family. As an organisation we will continue to strive to give them, and all our people, a great place to work with staff wellbeing programs and opportunities to help develop their career as a respected and professional Nurse.

Their contribution to the health of residents through clinical care and with compassion is invaluable and greatly appreciated. I want them to take the chance to celebrate with their colleagues at the events that have been set up at each of our facilities to recognise their efforts. We will celebrate the life-changing work that they do every day.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Team, we thank all Nurses for dedicating their days and nights to helping others in need. Their impact on the lives of residents is immeasurable.

Happy International Nurses Day!

– James Jordan, Chairman, St Basil’s NSW/ACT

Dear Residents, Representatives, Clients, Families and Trade Partners,

We are reaching out to you in light of a recent announcement by Wesley Mission about the closure of its aged care facilities which, understandably, may create some concerns about St Basil’s and other aged care facilities.

Whilst the aged care industry continues to undergo vital transformation following the Royal Commission into Aged Care, the Board and Management of St Basil’s have no intention of closing any of our aged care homes. Preparatory work is well under way by St Basil’s to implement the most recent aged care reforms (by July 2023) to deliver the increased level of care that is expected.

Based on our operating capabilities, St Basil’s contacted Wesley Mission immediately once we heard the news, and offered to assist them relocating some of their residents to our nursing homes and informed them of vacant roles that may be of interest to their employees.

St Basil’s homes are all accredited by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. We will apply for re-accreditation for each of the homes when it is due, as we have done several times since the homes opened. This is the normal process for all aged care facilities.

At St Basil’s we remain confident about our operations and our people’s abilities to care and support our residents now and in the future.

Yours sincerely,

James Jordan

Chairman of the Board of Directors, St Basil’s NSW/ACT

Leading up to Easter at St Basil’s Kensington residents were treated to a live musical duo on Wednesday 5th April.

Residents were entertained by the duo before they each enjoyed their chosen meal freshly prepared lunch by Chef Joanne and her team, well-known for their delicious traditional foods and extensive menu options.

Easter decorations and activities were created together by residents and the St Basil’s Leisure and Lifestyle Team.

With Easter being the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and one of the most significant occasions on the religious calendar, the residents of St Basil’s Lakemba received a heartfelt visit from members of the Charity Committee of the Pontian Society Sydney, Panagia Soumela who delivered thoughtfully crafted Easter gifts.

Prepared by their members in the days prior to their visit, over twenty members of the Panagia Soumela came together to bake hundreds of fresh koulourakia (Greek Easter biscuits) that formed part of the gifts delivered to residents.

With St Basils’ Chief Financial Officer Tanuja Bissa leading the tour around the Lakemba home, each resident was presented with a gift to enjoy for Easter.

“Seeing residents happy and appreciative of their gift was heart-warming,” explains Ms Bissa.

“Having Hellene Flame, Jessie Kilazoglou and several other members of the Pontian Society bring joy to the home on this special occasion is wonderful to see and testament to the work they do for the community.”

The visitors and staff spent much of the day roaming the aged care home to speak with residents and hand them their gifts.

Hellene Flame, leading member of the Charity Committee of the Pontian Society Sydney, Panagia Soumela, explains that since the inception of the Charity Committee arm of the organisation 12 months ago the committee has raised money for several of their chosen charities including fundraising to provide wheelchairs for children in hospital. They have also been successful in receiving local government grants that enable them to conduct their community work.

“I admire all of the staff at St Basil’s for the critical work they do in caring for the residents here,” ads Ms Flame.

“My colleagues and I would like to thank residents for welcoming us into their home in the lead up to Easter.”

The Pontian Society Sydney, Panagia Soumela has made St Basil’s Homes NSW/ACT one of their chosen charities to support by providing gifts and entertainment to residents on special occasions throughout the year such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter and Christmas.

To support the Pontian Society Sydney join their group on the Facebook platform.

Learn more about St Basil’s Homes or Book a Tour now

As part of an annual audit process, this month the NSW Government Food Authority visited St Basil’s Lakemba to audit our food and catering program.

Our resident catering team at Lakemba led by Chef Krisneel (pictured) achieved the highest audit rating being an ‘A’.

During the audit the audit officer checked that:

-there is a food safety program

-all food handling operations have been analysed to identify any critical food safety hazards and procedures put in place to control those hazards

-there are descriptions of all products handled by the business

-there are work instructions and procedures

-there are monitoring forms and they are up-to-date

-the business has designated supervisors and workers responsible for specific jobs

-there is a good manufacturing process which includes hygiene, chemical storage, pest control, training, product recall, internal review and customer complaint handling procedures

-the food business is complying with their food safety program and any relevant legislative requirements

-food handlers have satisfactorily completed the required training to ensure safe food production and to promote a safe food culture within the business

The team at Lakemba are always looking at ways to make improvements to resident meals and their dining experience.

Every month Chef Krisneel and General Manager Celina Chen host a Food Forum for residents and their families to taste food and provide feedback on the meals and the dining experience.

Learn more about St Basil’s Lakemba now

The Board of Directors of St Basil’s Homes confirms that Mr Spiro Stavis has resigned as our Chief Executive Officer, with effect from Thursday 23 March 2023.

Spiro commenced work with St Basil’s in 2016, initially as Director of Property. He subsequently served as Acting CEO and as permanent CEO.

During this period St Basil’s faced many challenges, including the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spiro worked with the Board, senior executive and staff to meet those challenges.

The Board acknowledges with thanks Spiro’s service as our CEO but also agrees with Spiro that the time has come for a change. We will shortly begin the process to recruit a new permanent CEO.

Pending that appointment, the Board has put in place interim management arrangements.

The roles and responsibilities of the CEO will be allocated among members of St Basil’s Senior Executive. Director Peter Kaliaropoulos has been appointed by the Board as advisor and mentor to the Senior Executive members who will take on these additional responsibilities. As Board Chairman, I will provide support for Mr Kaliaropoulos.

St Basil’s has faced challenging times and those challenges continue. However, the Board is confident that Mr Stavis’ decision to relinquish his current role is the correct one. The appointment of a new CEO, who will bring fresh insights to St Basil’s, will equip us to face the challenges that the current aged care environment presents and will allow St Basil’s to prosper and to grow.

Should you have any queries, our Senior Executives are available with their details found below.

Tanuja Bissa, Chief Financial Officer E. tbissa@stbasils.org.au M. 0420 384 415

Diana Gutkovich, Director of Care, Quality and Risk: E. dgutkovich@stbasils.org.au M. 0449 700 021

Chrisoula Theocharous, Director of People, Learning and Culture: E. ctheocharous@stbasils.org.au M. 0435 781 235

Yours faithfully,

James Jordan

Chairman, Board of Directors

St Basil’s NSW/ACT

Dear Resident and Family,

As part of our continuous quality improvement program St Basil’s Kensington will be implementing a new medication management system – BESTmed. This exciting new system will commence in the coming weeks and months.

The BESTmed System was developed after extensive consultation with key stakeholders including Aged Care Consultants, Doctors, Registered Nurses, Care Staff and Pharmacy Staff. The system was designed after reviewing many other medication systems and receiving feedback about existing systems and suggestions for improvement.

The system offers many benefits including:

• Electronic Charting (BESTdoctor)
• Electronic Administration & Ordering (BESTdose)
• Simplicity
• Minimal Manual Handling of Medication
• Time Saving for Nursing Staff
• Time Saving for Doctors
• Flexibility
• A System That is User Friendly

The BESTmed System offers a complete Medication Management System for Residential Care Facilities offering consistency and peace of mind. There will be no cost to residents and their families for this new system, standard prescription costs will apply.

If you have any questions regarding this new system, please do not hesitate to contact your friendly facility team.

Warm Regards,

St Basil’s Management