In this profile, we meet Donna Hanley (Clinical Leader and Registered Nurse), Amber Scott (Enrolled Nurse), and Jennifer Hewitt (Registered Nurse). The team’s role is to assist home care clients with their clinical needs such as wound care, health assessments, chronic disease management, pain management and medication support in consultation with other allied health professionals. The clinical team collaborates with each client’s care coordinator and home carers to provide holistic support tailored to the individual’s needs and wishes.

“At Home Care, I’ve seen how capable people are of staying at home longer than we often expect with the assistance of home care and nursing services. It’s beautiful to witness and enriching to be part of their experience.”

Donna Hanley

Q: How long have you worked with St Agnes’ Catholic Parish?

D: I’ve been with the Parish for about 29 years. I started out working at the old Lourdes Nursing Home in Clifton Drive in the kitchen and the laundry.

I moved into Home Care in 2018 after working at Emmaus. My husband passed away in 2017, and with three boys at home—then aged 10, 14, and 16—I needed a more stable routine. Working in Home Care gave me that flexibility: I could be home for dinner, take them to sport, and be present for them.

J: I moved from the Gold Coast and joined the Parish in May 2024. Before that, I worked in community care with Anglicare and have had a long, diverse nursing career. I’m hospital-trained—Prince Henry and Prince of Wales—and have worked across acute care, community care, GP practices and aged care consultancy. But my passion has always been working with older people.

At this stage of my career, I’m looking for meaningful one-on-one connections, which is exactly what home care offers. We are invited into someone’s home, often during a vulnerable time in their life, and we get to walk alongside them.

A: I’ve been working with St Agnes’ for five years. During COVID I was living in Queensland working as a travel nurse and was offered a contract with St Agnes’ in Port Macquarie. I said ‘yes’ and a few hours later, we were heading south. I’d never even been to New South Wales before! The next morning, I started work at St Agnes’ Home.

After about six months, I was offered a full-time position as an Enrolled Nurse (EN). During my time in residential aged care, I also worked at Maryknoll, Mount Carmel, and Emmaus Home.

My decision to move from residential aged care to home care about three years ago was bought about by changes to nursing roles in aged care. I have been with the Home Care team ever since and am currently studying part-time to become a Registered Nurse (RN). I love St Agnes’ and tell people all the time—I’m so glad I came here.

Q. What does the clinical team do and why do you enjoy being part of it?

D: We monitor the person’s health condition and work out ways to help them remain healthy and stay in their home. Our team is called in for wound management, doing assessments such as continence and nutrition assessments, and medical follow-ups.

J: It is great working with Donna and Amber. We communicate well as a team. We each bring our own experience to our role, which means we have a diverse range of knowledge to help us in any given situation. We stay up to date with each client’s situation so we can provide continuity of care for that person.

A: I love our team. Donna, who leads our team, has such vast experience in aged care. Jen is amazing too—she’s got a strong background in nursing. They have both been wonderful mentors to me through my transition from EN to RN, which I will complete in two years.

Q: What inspired you to pursue nursing?

D: When I was pregnant with my third child, the Educator at the time encouraged me to complete my Certificate III in Individual Support because she thought I would be good working in a care role. I did that and found I enjoyed helping the RNs with doing wound dressings.

I wanted to do some more study, so I decided to do my Registered Nursing qualification. It took me five years and I continued to work as a carer while I studied.

Looking back, I am so proud of my family and how we coped with it all. One of my favourite photos is of me with my three boys at my graduation.

J: I grew up in an extended family of nurses – my mother was a nurse, my godmother was a nurse, Aunty Joan and Aunty Kathy were nurses, and then there was my mother’s close friend and birthday twin, Aunt Marcia (they were born on the same day, same year and started nursing around the same time).

I nearly didn’t get there, though. I got sick of school, so I left and went into retail for four and a half years but then I just had this call again and thought, I’ve got to do it. So, I started nursing at the age of 22 and I’ve absolutely loved it!

A: After having my children, it was time to get back into the workforce. We lived in a semi-rural area, and just down the road was a large residential aged care home, so I started there in hospitality—working in the kitchen and doing cleaning. But over time, I realised, I really love caring for older people. That connection sparked something in me and that’s when I decided to become a nurse.

Q: What do you love most about your work?

D: Every day is different. I like helping the clients to stay in their home. Within my clinical role, wound care is my favourite thing. The skin of older people is fragile, and some wounds can be difficult to heal. There’s a lot of care and satisfaction in being able to heal such wounds and in being on that journey with the person in trying to heal it.

J: I love the interactions I have with our clients. It’s lovely to work in an area where you feel the work you do makes a difference.

The person receiving clinical may not be able to interact with the community because of poor mobility (or poor access from their home) so we often bring the world to them. I love supporting people to achieve goals that maybe they didn’t even know they had.

A: I genuinely enjoy working with older people. I think you have to be honest with yourself—you either like working with them or you don’t. And if you don’t, you’re probably in the wrong job.

Q: What’s the hardest part of the job?

D: For me it is seeing couples separated; when they realise, they can no longer stay at home together; and one can no longer care for the other. I wish that there was more opportunity for couples to go into residential care together.

J: I think it is the grief, or the anticipation of the grief to come, that some clients experience in the latter stages of their life. It can be difficult, especially when we’ve developed a close relationship as part of their journey.

A: When people are lonely. Sometimes they’ll say things like, “I see you more than my own family,” and that really hits me emotionally—more than they probably realise.

I listen and give what I can during each interaction, because sometimes you’re the only person they see all week.

Q: Do you have any interests outside of work?

D: I walk most mornings with my dog and go to the gym a couple of mornings a week. I do lots of walks. I recently did The Bloody Long Walk, a 35-kilometre trek, in Newcastle and have participated in the Beach to Brother the last four years. I also love watching my boys play rugby league and, in Summer, going for swims.

J: I’m a walker, too. I usually walk to work, via the break wall and then home again. I recently acquired a vintage (circa 1999) pop-top camper van that I can’t wait to do some road trips in to places like Dubbo Zoo, Lightning Ridge or Coober Pedy. I also enjoy cooking and pottering in the potted garden on the balcony of my unit.

A: Studying takes up most of my free time. As I mentioned I am almost finished my Registered Nurse qualification, but I am also studying a Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs at TAFE, which covers PTSD, trauma, sexual assault, and homelessness. I guess I’m a bit of a sucker for punishment with all the study, but I just want to learn more—especially about how past experiences can shape someone’s health in older age.

Q: Do you have a philosophy on ageing?

D: Look after yourself and enjoy life. The occasional margarita works wonders!

J: Be kind to yourself. Keep active. Eat well. I think that’s important because that provides fuel and energy for our bodies. And exercise, maintain your fitness and physicality. If we’ve got good bones, good stature, good muscles, we’re going to minimise risks further down the down that ageing line. And smile, it costs nothing.

A: Just go and have fun. Try new adventures—even if it’s something small on the weekend. It doesn’t have to impress anyone else, and it doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars. It just has to be meaningful to you.