Boosting the workforce

Resthaven has welcomed international nurses to its workforce, with five nurses recently making the lifechanging move from their home countries to Australia as part of Resthaven’s international sponsorship of skilled overseas workers.

The nurses have recently completed a seven-day intensive onboarding process to learn Resthaven’s practices, as well as find out information about nursing in the Australian context, critical incidents and emergency responses.

Santhy Plamkoottathil Pappen, Swapna George and Eseosa Olu-tobi Matiminu, have joined Resthaven Mount Gambier.

Santhy, who moved from the United Kingdom said that she felt confident moving across the world to work for Resthaven.

“I trust Resthaven,” Santhy said. “I felt comfortable moving here for work as healthcare is similar in Australia as in Britain. My kids really want to explore Australia, and Australia is known for work/life balance – so I thought ‘why not’.”

For Swapna, who has moved to Australia from Ireland, her children’s interests were also an important part of her decision.

“I think they will have a better life here in Australia,” Swapna said. “Plus, I wanted to try something new, and I was attracted to the warm weather.”

Eseosa, who was born in Africa, has moved here from the United States.

“I wanted to experience nursing in another country,” Eseosa said. “I want to learn more about the Australian culture and First Nations People. The Mount Gambier landscape reminds me of my village in Africa.”

Resthaven is a richly diverse community, founded on the principles of inclusion and unity, embracing and respecting each person’s beliefs, culture, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, lifestyle, life experiences, and values.

More than 3000 people are employed by Resthaven across South Australia, with employees coming from 93 different countries and 55 per cent of Resthaven staff are born overseas.