Update on ECH Lifestyle team offering free haircuts for residents

Dear all,
Big thanks from ECH management team for the great supports of our Residents, families, staff and
Board of Management to make difficult times during the lockdown rewarding and meaningful for all.

Also big thanks to our Lifestyle team to work hard to find ways to support our residents continue
enjoying community linkage. Some ways are new and innovative to our residents and team with
generous supports from others to make things happen. This includes:

• Donation of ipads from ECH Board of management to enable teleconferences between
  residents and families/friends.
• Government supports of online (during lockdown) and face to face visits (when covidsafe to
  do so) by Chinese speaking volunteers under the BEFRIENDAS program.
• Government further provides ’The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) is an
  independent, free service to support older people and their family members during COVID19. Families can call OPAN on 1800 700 600 if they would like to talk with someone about
  the COVID-19 situation and its impact, or if worried about a loved one and need to talk to
  someone. Elder Rights Advocacy (ERA) is the Victorian OPAN member who will be providing
  direct individual support to older people and their families and can be contacted through
  1800 700 600

However, it has brought to our attention that we have difficulty finding volunteer hairdresser to
continue providing free haircuts for our residents as our volunteer is an aged care staff of another
Nursing Home, therefore cannot enter ECH due to Single workplace Employment arrangement and
the newly implemented mandatory Covid 19 Vaccination. All ECH staff are fully vaccinated, but we
need to respect other workplace might have slower roll outs. At the same time, we have some
residents chose not to be vaccinated, therefore having higher risk. As a result, most of our residents
have not had free haircuts for some times.

It is also understandable it is far too difficult for most of the families to take residents out for
professional haircuts and too risky as many other States start having new Covid 19 cases with highly
infectious Delta Strain.

In order to maintain highest Covidsafe environment at ECH, a member of our lifestyle team bravely
accept the challenge to do haircuts for residents. Please accept our apology in advance if the results
are not professional nor meeting high expectations. All residents / families will be contacted by our
Lifestyle team for consent and there will be a schedule and waiting time. Hopefully, this is short
team measure.

We also seek for additional volunteer from ECH staff (all fully vaccinated) / family members (if fully
vaccinated) to come forward if willing to join the program.
Please note all Covidsafe measures as of memo ‘20210624 ECH Update on Covid 19 precautions –
ease of restriction in VIC, but NSW alerts’ remains valid.

Please do not hesitate to contact our Lifestyle team for any further information.
Phone: 9328 4558
Email: [email protected].