August 31 2026
A year on the road: Calvary CEO completes visits to all 100 sites
When Damien Bruce became Calvary's CEO a year ago, he set himself a simple but ambitious goal: to visit every one of Calvary's 100 sites and offices within his first 12 months. Last week, he reached that milestone.
For Damien, the visits were never about ticking locations off a list.
They were about spending time with the people who deliver care every day; understanding their achievements, their challenges, and making sure their experiences shape how Calvary is led.
"Every one of our communities has a unique set of people, a unique history and its own stories – and, to some extent, its own challenges," he says.
"When you go and listen in lots of different parts of Calvary, you start to understand which challenges need a national solution, those best addressed from a regional perspective, and others solved by and for the site."
Listening first
Damien arrived at Calvary with plenty of reports and briefings, but there was one thing they couldn't tell him: what mattered most to the people delivering care to Calvary's patients, residents and clients.
"Problems to be fixed and opportunities that could be pursued are often clear on paper," he says. "But until you've spoken to the people working in our services, it's difficult to know how to prioritise them."
Across his visits, common themes emerged. Ageing facilities and equipment, technology that made everyday work harder, and a need for more face-to-face education and training.
Hearing these issues raised again and again helped Damien and the executive team understand where attention was needed most.
"We need to make sure that what we're doing is helping people, not making things harder," he says. Some issues are already being addressed; others, like improving Wi-Fi infrastructure, will take longer.
"That can be frustrating. You hear how important these things are, and you want to do as much as you can as quickly as you can."
Places that stayed with him
Among the many communities he visited, Mulakunya Flexible Aged Care Service on the Tiwi Islands stands out.
The service supports around 20 older First Nations people, with more than 30 people connected through the broader community, offering a model of care quite different from many of Calvary's other services.
"It's innovative, and it's something we don't talk about nearly enough," Damien says.
He also recalls an early visit to Launceston, where clinicians spoke about the importance of maintaining private hospital services in the city.
"The message that stayed with me was how important those services are to the community. When you immerse yourself in these places, you appreciate their importance in a different way."
The people behind the stories
At each site, Damien made a point of sitting down with staff to hear their stories — some who've been with Calvary for 40 or 50 years, moving through different roles and training along the way.
"The journeys are incredibly rich," he says. This was especially evident in regional communities, where colleagues have often worked alongside one another in different capacities over the years, building a strong sense of team.
Coming to the role with more experience in health than aged care, Damien says he was particularly struck by the resilience of home care teams and their commitment through significant challenges.
"Frankly, I've been pretty humbled by everywhere I've been and everyone I've met."
What connects Calvary
Travelling across such a geographically diverse organisation, one thing became clear to Damien: what unites Calvary is its mission.
"The connective tissue of Calvary is our mission," he says.
In hospitals, aged care homes, home care services and offices alike, the phrase Being for others came up again and again.
"It resonates because it's very simple. It says we're going to put the needs of the individual and the care needs of vulnerable people at the heart of everything we do."
While Calvary's services operate differently depending on the community they serve, Damien says the values underpinning them remain consistent. "That alignment around our values is fundamentally important."
A habit of reflection
After each visit, Damien handwrote a note of thanks to the people he'd met, writing close to 100 notes over the year. For him, the ritual was about more than courtesy.
"The handwritten notes were a bit of a forcing device for me," he says. "It's one thing to say the words thank you. It's another to stop, reflect on what people do every day, and genuinely appreciate the impact they have on others."
The road ahead
Reaching every Calvary site doesn't mark the end of Damien's travels. He plans to keep visiting and returning to places he's already been to continue listening and to check that Calvary's responses have had the intended impact.
He's also encouraged the executive team to hold meetings within Calvary's services, to experience firsthand the realities facing staff and communities.
Looking back on his first year, Damien is clear-eyed about what lies ahead.
"We are a unique organisation that should – and will – change the way care is provided in Australia."
