Monday is often the least loved day of the week – but not for Feros Care's Local Area Coordinator, Cathrina Shiel. She believes her journey has led her to Australia, and to Feros Care, in order to have a positive influence on the lives of NDIS participants. Her role helps others stay independent, which is why she is so passionate about it.

A scar on her thumb proved much more than a memento for Feros Care’s Cathrina Shiel, who let it spark a trail towards a career she loves.

Placing her on a path from Galway, Ireland to Australia and becoming a customer service liaison at Feros Care’s Tweed Heads Office, Cathrina’s scar sustained after a childhood fall proved prophetic.

“I was five or six at the time and my aunty just got tarmac around her house and good ol’ Trina was running and fell and ended up with a scar that looks like Australia on her thumb,” Cathrina said.

“It was pretty much a sign I needed to come to Australia, so I came out in 2012 and never left.”

While the Aussie dream was planned, the career-side was “unexpected”, but loving her life in the role, Cathrina wouldn’t have it any other way.

Beginning her career journey in aged care with an external company, Cathrina found her way to the Feros Care website where a video advertising a role led her to apply.

Feros Care's role in the community

As a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) partner in the community, Feros Care provides Local Area Coordination (LAC) services in the ACT, Townsville and Mackay, and the Barossa and Adelaide regions of South Australia and while not looking for a job at the time, Cathrina has now been part of the Feros Care family for just over six months.

Allowing her to connect with participants and non-participants of the NDIS to schedule Home Support Assessments, Cathrina’s role is vital in supporting people to remain living independently at home, which she said proved as rewarding as it was inspiring.

“We get in contact with participants of the NDIS to let them know their reviews are coming up, and whether or not they’re going to be participants or not, we’re still here to assist them,” she said.

“We book people in for an appointment over the phone, through our virtual team or in their own home. Even if they don’t meet the (NDIS) eligibility criteria, we’ll still assist them to get mainstream support and support within their community.”

Working in a fast-paced environment, Cathrina and others in her team aim to assist 50 callers a day, and make sure after every interaction, everything is “dotted and crossed” before taking another call.

Why work with Feros Care

Enjoying the holistic approach, Cathrina said while she missed Ireland and her family, she’d never suffered Monday-itis and with her life now firmly entrenched in Australia and with Feros Care, she’d heap praise on the role to anyone.

“I’d recommend the role to people,” she said.

“I had a conversation the other week about how some people complain about Sundays as they have to work on Monday, but to me, Monday is the best day of the week as I get to get up and go to work.

“I don’t have to drag myself out of bed, so it’s brilliant.”

Find out more about our role within the disability space by clicking here.

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