Three CareMalta employees – Edel Borg Mizzi, Renata Zahra and Yasmine Seguna – have successfully completed the Higher Diploma in Gerontology and Geriatrics (HDGG) from the University of Malta.

Ms Borg Mizzi and Ms Zahra are lead care assistants at Zejtun home and Villa Messina respectively, while Ms Seguna is active ageing coordinator at Casa Arkati.

The HDGG, conducted by the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, is equivalent to a National Qualifications Framework Level 5 and targets candidates who wish to expand their knowledge in the social, psychological, economic and biological processes of ageing and later life.

The Higher Diploma provides students with transferable skills which will either aid them in entering ageing-related occupations or advance in their careers in the field of ageing. It provides a broadly based, multi-disciplinary perspective on ageing, later life and older persons, while also disseminating knowledge and skills related to clinical and practical interventions with older adults. It will also sensitise the students to the application of gerontological and geriatric research findings to practice.

It is especially meant for those already working with older persons and in the field of ageing, those who wish to work with older persons, and others who wish to commence their studies in the field of gerontology and geriatrics.

In many ways, the Higher Diploma is a logical, perhaps essential response to the demographic trends currently being faced all over the world, including Malta: both the ageing of the population and the growth in life expectancy.

Ms Borg Mizzi has been employed with CareMalta since 2003. Her first role was that of a care assistant at Casa Arkati. After seven years, she worked as a senior care assistant at Roseville and later as lead care assistant at Zejtun home and Roseville. Ms Borg Mizzi, who has followed a number of courses offered by CareMalta and other institutions, has been in her current role since 2012.

Ms Zahra came to Malta as an Erasmus nursing student 11 years ago. In 2012, she joined CareMalta as a care assistant at Zammit Clapp Hospital Residential Home and was promoted to lead care assistant at Villa Messina in 2017. She is responsible for all care-related activities, ensuring that residents enjoy personal independence and quality care based on a person-centred approach.

Ms Seguna has been working for CareMalta since 2013, her first role being that of a care assistant and phlebotomist at the Zejtun home. Through further training, she was able to continue developing her career, until she was promoted to active ageing coordinator.

CareMalta’s management team praised Ms Borg Mizzi, Ms Zahra and Ms Seguna for their hard work and perseverance. The three women took part in the 24/7 lockdown initiative by the company, which kicked off on March 16 and ended on May 24.