WA Manager of the Year awarded

WA Manager of the Year awardedAndrea Fitzpatrick, manager of Murdoch Village in Perth, has taken out the Western Australia Manager of the Year award for 2016. After a lengthy career in the care sector, Andrea has been manager at Murdoch Village (operated by St Ives) since early 2015, taking on a formidable task of managing a community of 520 residents, 20 staff and several contractors and service providers. Andrea’s efficient management has ensured a freeze of residents’ common service fees for the new financial year, a significant reduction in staff turnover and uplift in positive team culture, culminating in the Murdoch Village team winning St Ives’ ‘Team of the Quarter’ award last year. In her time as village manager, Andrea has successfully overseen a number of important initiatives, including an upgrade to the gate security system, a $170,000 village painting project and a kitchen refurbishment, which requires a kitchen shutdown of 6-8 weeks and the provision of meals from commercial contractors during the refurbishment period. Andrea has kept up a high level of communication on all of these works with residents, and empowered residents to take ownership of village activities, such as the performances by the village choir. “In the 14 months since her appointment, Andrea has turned the village into what I now consider to be a happy environment,” former Murdoch residents association president Graeme Hickmott said. “Andrea’s personality and work ethic have been wholly responsible for this turnaround. “Her desire to confront problems as they arise and to do something about them, and then to effectively communicate directly with the people involved has been a highlight of her management style.” Congratulations again to Andrea for her terrific work – she now joins the other state winners in the running for the national Manager of the Year award, to be presented by award sponsor Programmed Property Services at the National Retirement Living Summit on 28 November in Melbourne.