10 minutes with… ACH Group CEO Linda Feldt

You’ve been involved with ACH Group for some time – what keeps you there?

The short answer is ACH Group is an organisation with a deep community connection and purpose that aligns with my own personal values.

I want to be involved with an organisation I truly believe in, and alongside inspiring colleagues who come to work each day genuinely wanting to support older people to live good lives. I find that extremely rewarding.

I’ve had various leadership roles since I joined ACH Group back in 2015 across finance, operations and now as CEO. Each role has brought with it challenges and opportunities that have contributed to my own learning and professional development.

Ultimately, I have genuine love for the organisation and our achievements. I know we make a real difference in people’s lives, and I am proud to be part of that.

You’ve managed to move up the corporate ladder through various leadership roles. For our readers, what is your advice in showing decision-makers that you’re the right fit for the next rung up?

I have never said ‘no’ to a new opportunity, even if what lay ahead seemed scary, a stretch or I didn’t really know 100 per cent what I was walking into. It’s important to back yourself and show that your leadership skills are transferrable no matter what role you’re looking to take on.

At all points in my career, I’ve focussed on creating and fostering strong relationships with my peers and key stakeholders. Leaders need to be able to inspire their teams and set clear priorities, deliverables as well as expectations around accountability and responsibility. I’ve found these to be key steps in developing high-calibre future leaders within your team, that you can rely upon. It’s not just how you perform as an individual, but how you develop the team around you.

What would you say is ACH Group’s most important project at the moment?

One of the biggest challenges facing us and other providers in our sector is the new Aged Care Act which is due to come into effect on November 1.

Preparing for the transition to this new rights-based framework for aged care is a key priority for our team as it will significantly impact how services are delivered and accessed.

Internally, amongst other important initiatives, we are also currently embedding our new digital program. This will boost operational efficiency and enable us to deliver better outcomes and experiences for our customers and workforce now and into the future.

What role do you see ACH Group playing as our population ages?

As the population ages, expectations around aged care also change.

This is something that impacts not just ACH Group, but our entire sector and the broader community. We therefore see a role for us as an adaptive service provider as well as a contributor and leader within our industry.

ACH Group is building new assets and delivering new service models to better meet these evolving expectations. A prime example of this is our Healthia residential aged care home in Elizabeth South. Modelled on “small home, care connected community, Healthia provides an experience for residents, where they determine their daily routine, supported by 24/7 care from qualified staff. We see this model of care and built form aligning to what the community is expecting from their aged care and becoming more in demand as the population ages.

What challenges does the sector face right now?

The transition to the new Aged Care Act has the sector’s close attention, particularly as crucial details are still unclear. This presents a challenge for aged care providers as without the detail, it’s very difficult to ensure our workforce is properly prepared and there is appropriate time to communicate the changes effectively to residents and customers.

Given the upcoming changes, particularly around home care packages, business models will also need to be adapted. For these reasons, we are hoping for some further clarity sooner rather than later.

This is all taking place as the sector continues to face challenges in recruiting the workers we need to meet the increasing demand for our services and this will only become more of a pressing issue in the future.

What opportunities are there for ACH Group to be a leader in challenges facing the sector?

ACH Group is keen to share our learning and successes with the sector and community to inspire different thinking about aged care services.

We regularly share our insights and elevate resident and customer voices to the aged care industry’s national peak body Ageing Australia as well as through our own relationships with key stakeholders and decision and policy makers.

At the same time, we want to continue to challenge the misguided stereotypes that are often associated with older people and their value to the community. Through advocacy and education, we want to break down the ingrained ageism in our society and contribute to the conversation around longevity and its impact on the individual and community.

How important are external partnerships for a group like ACH Group?

They are extremely important, especially for fostering innovation and achieving best practice.

Healthia, our newest residential aged care home, showcases our external partnerships at work. It features a co-located, student-led GP and allied health clinic providing clinical exposure and formal career pathways for students in aged care. The initiative is supported by partnerships with the University of South Australia and the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, enabling a rehabilitation model that supports community care in a home-like setting.

Our preferred supplier relationships are also extremely important to us both to ensure quality of products and services as well as financial sustainability.

As younger generations join the cohort that ACH focuses on, what changes do you make to your services?

Boomers have started to move into aged care, they bring with them higher expectations including around autonomy and transparency.

One area that is changing rapidly as a result is digital.

Everything from customer portals and apps, online scheduling of services and payments, access to digital health records, telehealth and wearable health monitoring devices are all now expected by customers.

This has been a significant and ongoing focus for ACH Group to ensure we continue to provide the level of customer experience, service and care that meets the expectation of our customers.

How do you future-proof or prepare ACH for the unexpected?

There can be many ways to future-proof an organisation – from risk management and workplace planning to forward-looking strategies and financial sustainability.

Similarly, investing in innovation including digital solutions.

At ACH Group we do all this.

However, the value in simply talking to your customers cannot be overstated.

Our customers and their families, provide a unique, on the ground insight into what may lie ahead and areas for improvement. It’s invaluable intel that allows for co-creation of products, assets and services that will really make a difference in people’s lives and promote community connection.

What role does technology play in aged care?

AI will shape the future of our industry.

It will enable our workforce to spend less time on admin tasks and more on delivering care, which is so important given the forecast increase in demand on services.

It will also enable greater self-service capability for customers and ensure future sustainability for the sector.

Those providers that don’t embrace and invest in technology will be overlooked by the current and future customer who has high expectations around digital access.

Having a robust digital strategy and platforms in place is therefore critical.

ACH Group has invested significantly in technology including in a new digital platform called Ecliptix which enables us to continuously deliver improvements for our customers and workforce into the future.