Meet Kathy, Care Coordinator at Snug Village

Kathy is a long-term team member at CHT, with over 20 years of experience. Starting as a carer when Snug Village had only 28 beds, she has witnessed incredible growth in both the facilities and the care provided. Today, she plays a key role in supporting our new staff and caring for residents, while bringing her own unique touch to the facility.

"I help with visiting specialists coming in; we've got podiatrists, the dietician once a month, an optometrist and physios here too."

Kathy is also known for bringing a little bit of her farm life into the village, much to the delight of the residents.

"I'm an animal lover and have a small farm. I like to bring in my animals. I bought a sheep, her name is Ruby, to Snug. She made it to the TV on the ABC. She's a hand-reared triplet - when they're hand-reared they're like dogs, you can leave them around. She was a little confused about the windows, but otherwise, she was fine visiting for three hours.

She is 10 this year and she's a big sheep; we had to use my husband's Ute to bring her in. My daughter has horses, so we came in here with the miniature pony once – it walked through the facility. I've bought all sorts of animals, ducks and chickens - the only thing I haven't bought is pigs."

These animal visits are not just for fun – they play a key role in the holistic care that CHT provides.

"Because we're in Snug we have a lot of people who have lived in the country. There are a lot of the residents who are ex-farmers and they haven't seen farm animals in a long time. It's nice for them to have some of the farm back and to chat about it."

Kathy's love for people shines through in every aspect of her work.

"Over the years you grow attachments with residents and gain friends that you didn't know before you worked here. I really like being helpful to our residents, and our staff - especially our new staff. I try to put a good match of people in our wings, the more experienced with the least, the younger staff with staff who have been here longer so they can learn together. It's always busy, and I have new opportunities nearly every day to do different things."