Fronditha Care has issued a message of thanks to its 110 nurses on its staff on International Nurses’ Day (12 May).

“This year International Nurses Day comes with special significance.

COVID-19 has rightfully shone a light to the important work of nurses across the healthcare system, said Fronditha Care in a statement.

“We at Fronditha Care have close to 110 nurses on our staff (15% of our workforce), who play a huge role in the organisation.”

The organisation’s nursing staff had ensured that infection controls were being followed and had  helped to ensure that residents remained connected to their families.

“They’re juggling the need to be strict with preventative measures but also compassionate to the needs of the residents, said Fronditha Care in its statement.

“Over the course of the pandemic, more than 481 healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 in Australia. They are the front-line soldiers to this pandemic war.”

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Meanwhile, Fronditha Care said that it will be delivering digital literacy training to 30 Greek volunteers aged over 50. The training will be provided through the federal government’s Be Connected Programme.

A spokesperson for Fronditha said that once Covid-19 restrictions allowed it, there would be three weekly digital literacy training sessions that will be held for groups of 10 volunteers over an eight-week period.

“We have received an extension until 30 September to deliver the program. As soon as restrictions are lifted, we will be able to plan the next lot of lessons,” the spokesperson said.

A recent survey of 60 Fronditha volunteers found that while many had their own tablets at home most lacked the skills in key digital literacy topics.

“The training will enable our Greek volunteers to provide similar training to socially isolated Greek elderly. This was something that we could give back to volunteers as they give so much to us. It would add new skills and experiences to their life and prevent them from becoming socially isolated,” the spokesperson said.

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Some of the benefits of becoming more proficient with digital device use included feeling safe and confident to go online and enable them to access essential technologies such as medical alarms, bank and shop online and stay connected to family and friends locally and overseas.

Having confidence to use the technology would also enable them to stay abreast of community events through social media, embark on virtual tours of Greece and other parts of the world, watch church liturgies taking place anywhere in the world and enabling them to stay relevant and hold conversations with peers and family members.