At Smartgroup, our mission is to make a positive and lasting contribution to the people and communities around us. We also like to support the organisations we work with, to offer positive recognition and valuable career development to talented employees through the Smartsalary Scholarship Program.
Smartsalary, a Smartgroup company and one of the largest providers of salary packaging services in Australia, has roughly 180,000 customers and has been committed to service excellence for over 20 years. With the Smartsalary Scholarship Program, we’re thrilled to offer much-needed help and support to those who need it the most.
A worthy cause: Epworth HealthCare
The biggest not-for-profit private hospital group in Victoria, Epworth HealthCare has been providing excellent treatment and care for more than 100 years. With over 7,000 members of staff, who treated more than 200,000 patients in 2020/21 alone, Epworth HealthCare is a pillar of the community. Smartsalary is delighted to be able to provide salary packaging services to Epworth staff, and excited to extend this additional opportunity through the scholarship.
Executive Director of Epworth Medical Foundation, Scott Bulger, says: “The Epworth Scholarship Program provides us with a significant way of investing in and giving back to our employees and in turn ensures we are able to deliver the very best care possible to our patients. This program would simply not be possible without your support and we are truly grateful.”
Introducing Claire Henry
Claire Henry, a Nursing Unit Manager at Epworth HealthCare is a 2021 recipient of the Smartsalary scholarship. With the help of the scholarship, she’s now studying a Master of Health Administration at La Trobe University.
A married mother of three, Claire grew up in Ballarat, before moving to Melbourne to pursue her passion of nursing.
“I wanted to work in a professional industry where I could make a difference and have the opportunity to work in many different dynamic roles,” Claire explains.
Deeply rewarding work
Though currently on maternity leave and caring for her four-month-old baby, Claire is the Nurse Unit Manager of a 38-bed general surgical and urology ward at Epworth Freemasons. It’s a critical job, where Claire is responsible for managing and supervising her team of about 40 staff.
It’s deeply rewarding with so many opportunities to support staff and provide exceptional care and make a real, positive difference in their patients’ lives.
A helping hand with professional development
For Claire, it’s vital that she can support her staff to be the best people and nurses that they can be. And one of the ways she’s able to do that is through her own professional development.
Her studies will allow her to run her ward more effectively, improving the level of care that patients receive. She’ll be able to support her nurses better than ever and she’ll be able to act as a role model for her staff.
“I aspire to encourage others to continue on their professional journey and by continuing my own studies I hope to motivate others to see what options are there for them as well.”
Hopeful for the future
All of us here at Smartgroup are thrilled to work with the great people at Epworth and to provide support where we can. We couldn’t be happier and prouder to provide the Smartsalary Scholarship to Claire Henry, and we’re confident of the many benefits that will follow for her, her staff, and most importantly, the patients who need some extra love and care now more than ever.
We can’t wait to see how Claire’s professional journey continues to unfold.