Natasha Chadwick has been named the 2019 Telstra Business Woman of the Year.
The CEO of Queensland aged care facility, NewDirection Care Bellmere, was awarded the honour at an event in Sydney last Thursday, where she was up against the state winners from around the country having won the Queensland title earlier in the year.
Alex Badenoch Telstra Group’s Executive – Transformation & People said the way in which Natasha is challenging traditional mindsets has led to significant improvements in how we look after ageing Australians.
“Her tireless efforts to improve access to quality aged care for older Australians cannot be understated,” Ms Badenoch said.
“The rise in cases of dementia is a global crisis and one that touches many of us, whether in our own family or with someone we know. And Natasha has been pioneering a new approach for residents over the past seven years by creating a first-of-its-kind microtown™ residential community that brings together residents with a range of care needs and similar values and lifestyle preferences to live together.”
“Natasha developed her radical new take on aged care because she believed there was an opportunity to improve the traditional way of delivering care.”
The Microtown community model has been designed for those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, to give people back their freedom.
“This model allows residents to have control over their lives while residing in an environment that is both familiar and safe,” Ms Badenoch said.
“Residents in the community are treated as individuals, and are not bound to a set schedule of meals and care. The focus of microtown is all about establishing a sense of community.”
“Upon reflecting on our winner and this year’s theme of celebrating women who are ‘undoing business’, I feel whole-heartedly that this is exactly what Natasha has done.”
“She has been challenging traditional mindsets and turning them upside down, approached a whole industry with a view to improve it and demonstrated that you can actually change the way we provide aged care for the better.”
