Rand Aid’s Elphin Lodge retirement village has a new cottage sister, Catherine Dube (49), who took over from Sr Helena Bezuidenhout on her retirement.
Sr Catherine has vast experience working in aged care, having worked for Helping Hands Live-in-Care in the United Kingdom. On returning to South Africa, she was the charge sister at Nazareth House in Yeoville.
“I used to drive past the Elphin Lodge complex but had never seen beyond its walls. When I first entered the property, I was awestruck; the gardens are refreshing and the resident so happy. The village is incredibly organised and very professional,” she says.
“My core functions are to meet the primary medical needs of the residents, including health awareness, monitoring vital signs and giving medical advice.”
Sr Catherine, who joined the Elphin Lodge family on September 1, 2020, says she specialised in the care of elders when in the United Kingdom, where she worked for around four years. Before that, she did general nursing.
She holds a diploma in nursing from United Bulawayo Hospitals and has completed introductory courses in dementia and caring for elders.
“The elderly stole my heart as I found them to be welcoming, appreciative and a fountain of knowledge. My mum is 93 and is also my inspiration. Whenever I am with elders, I feel like I am at home with my parents and will always go the extra mile for them,” she says.
Sr Catherine lives in Edenvale and when not at work, enjoys socialising and listening to music. She has four children, all of whom live in Germany – her eldest son is 27, her twin daughters are 23 and she has a 10-year-old ‘laat lammetjie’, who lives with her mom.
“We wish St Catherine a long and happy working life in the village,” says Elphin Lodge manager Helen Petrie.
Elphin Lodge’s Sr Catherine Dube.
