Romeo Pascual is a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) Medicator at Heritage Epping. He loves his job – in fact he seems to have a calling for aged care. His long experience in industry, as well as in life, is well suited to the clinical care of residents.

A soft spot for aged care

Romeo, 64, has a lifelong philosophy of genuine, empathic care for the elderly. It’s a calling that comes from his Filipino culture where the elderly are traditionally looked after by family. It is no surprise that he loves his job as a PCA Medicator – caring for Heritage Epping residents, interacting with colleagues, and ensuring a high level of quality control in clinical care.

Migrant success, a demanding role

Romeo is a great example of immigrant success. He came to Australia in 1990 from the Philippines where he was a machinist at the (then) massive Subic Bay US naval base near Manila. In Melbourne he worked in fashion with his partner for many years before studying for aged care in 2014.

Having worked in aged care for 16 years, when our Heritage Epping home opened, Romeo was encouraged to apply for (and won) the PCA Medicator role. It’s a demanding, technical job working as a clinician to guide the Registered Nurse. The precision of Romeo’s trade background helps him in quality control.

“Every day is memorable at Heritage Epping. I always talk to residents in a calm, supportive manner.”

Calm and supportive

One the things Romeo appreciates most about working at the Heritage Epping is the support of management. “It’s a good facility,” he says. “A modern facility where it’s easy to work with residents.” He has found it easy to adapt to the home. And his knowledge of Spanish, Italian and Greek is a definite plus in communications given the many European residents living in the home.

Romeo finds his role most rewarding when receiving positive feedback from residents. “Every day is memorable at Heritage Epping,” he says. “I always talk to residents in a calm, supportive manner.” He makes a point of saying that he never gives residents negative advice, and that residents always give back. “One of the residents is like my mother – I always confide in her, and she always gives me good advice.”

Pride and happiness

In talking to Romeo, the pride and contentment in his job really shine through. His advice to others in considering aged care as a career is that it requires genuine empathy, patience and understanding: “You must love the resident and have empathy for them. That’s the most important thing.”

High quality care

As PCA Medicator, Romeo Pascual’s experience and empathic nature mean that he delivers the highest quality care to residents.

Heritage Epping Residence Manager Julio Castillo places emphasis on a person-centred care approach: “Our kind, compassionate and experienced team discuss and create with you and your medical practitioners a tailored care plan that includes goal setting, care planning and evaluation, and decision making.

Learn more about Julio Castillo