Meet the Team

Our Promise to You

Simblija Care Home promises a beautiful, elegant and safe environment which also provides the highest standards of good quality care. We believe in sharing this journey with our residents. We are partners in care and our residents’ dignity and autonomy are at the forefront of everything that we do.

We feel privileged to be entrusted with the care of our residents and to be part of their lives and their families’. Trust is the basis of everything that we do and we promise to repay that trust with the best possible service and care.

Charmaine Attard - General Manager

Ms. Charmaine Attard was appointed Director of Care for Hilltop Gardens and Simblija Care Home in April 2015 and later as General Manager in October 2017. Ms. Attard is a nurse by profession with more than 15 years’ experience under her belt. After graduating with a Degree in Nursing from the University of Malta, Ms. Attard worked as a staff nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital. She went on to work as a nurse, within the private sector, for several years and in the meantime read a Master in Nursing with the University of Manchester. Mrs Attard also possesses a post grad certificate in Business and Administration by the University of Leicester.

Having experienced being on the shop floor and garnering years of hands-on experience, Ms. Attard was promoted to various managerial positions which ranged from Home Manager at Casa Arkati to Operations Manager at Care Malta where, she was responsible for six facilities for the elderly.

For the last six years and just before joining AX Holdings, Ms. Attard served as Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Mater Dei Hospital and Karen Grech Rehabilitation Hospital. During these years she had more than 2000 staff members within her remit. Ms Attard is also an assistant lecturer within the Department of Nursing within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Malta where she has lectured for over ten years.

Mrs Attard’s most significant quality and, most certainly what landed her the role of Director of Care with AX Holdings, is her passion for nursing and her belief that clients should always be at the centre of all decisions.

Having worked with AX Holdings in the past, Ms. Attard is convinced that both Hilltop Gardens and Simblija Care Home will offer the highest of standards in care and quality systems. Her aim is to create a client-centric environment, where dedicated professionals will provide a myriad of services for the residents living here which will allow them to live comfortably and with dignity.

Marco Vella - Head of Physio

Marco has an Honours Degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Malta. He has worked with various entities within the Private sector, which has helped him to enrich his knowledge on all the different aspects of Physiotherapy. He also had the opportunity to work with patients suffering from lower back injuries in a Danish medical institution.

Given his inclination towards sports from a tender age, Marco has developed a special interest in Sports Medicine & sports injury rehabilitation and to date has supported various sports clubs and national squads in their activities, both locally and in international competitions.

His recent experiences with a number of well-known NGOs have given him invaluable experience in the field of Neurological Physiotherapy and Disabilities. Despite being very challenging areas to work in, Marco finds that they are very rewarding as he feels that his input can serve to facilitate the patient’s ability to face his/her daily challenges.

Marco strongly believes in team work and gives his all in every challenge he undertakes. What with the energy, enthusiasm and vision that he applies to the job, he will surely be an asset towards strengthening our team of healthcare professionals at Hilltop Gardens.

Tara Zammit

Tara is London-born but grew up in Malta. Tara later returned to London where she pursued her passion of musical theatre and drama and achieved a First Class BA Hons degree in Musical Theatre reading at Arts Educational where Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is president.

Her portfolio includes working alongside X Factor UK winner Leon Jackson in his music video and appearing to national audiences on Good Morning TV breakfast show as a backing singer for David Hasselhoff. Tara has also starred in a number of stage shows across the UK including pantomime as Tiger Lilly in Peter Pan, Chess, Fosse, Mansfield Park. Upon returning to Malta in 2012 she continued her love for the arts on a part-time basis becoming a teacher with Stagecoach.

Tara changed direction and started a career in the medical sector by completing a Diploma in Practice Management, working at Freedom health clinic, one of the most well-known, most reputable clinics on Harley Street. In 2012 Tara decided it was time to return to her Maltese roots where she worked for St James and later Persona Med-Aesthetic. Tara joined the Hilltop Gardens team in November 2015 relishing this fantastic ground-breaking new project.

Malcolm Cuschieri - Financial Controller

Malcolm is ACCA accredited and has completed his studies in 2018. He became an associate member of the Malta Institute of Accountants and a member of the Associations of Chartered Certified Accountant within the last months. His vast experience in different industries has aided him through his journey of achieving the ACCA accreditation. He started off within the hospitality industry, then changed his route completely by entering into the telecommunications sector reverting back to hospitality in 2016, where he occupied his first role within AX Group.

Each position he occupied so far was different from the rest and each role imposed its own challenges and responsibilities. This has helped him gain a clear understanding of what an effective accounting department should be made of. Working his way up from an accounts clerk to a financial controller at such a young age has been a great career achievement for Cuschieri.

Being a team player and an avid achiever best outline his major strengths as he pledges to remain humble with his colleagues. His attitude coupled with his relentless hard work has not gone unnoticed and thus in 2017 he was offered the position of Financial Controller at Hilltop Gardens. It was a totally different sector to work in, but his vast experience in various industries has proven quite useful. Malcolm is always looking to take on new challenges and execute the projects he sets his mind to.

In his early 20s Malcolm had taken on yet another challenge of entering into another different sector – construction. All whilst he was still reading for his ACCA accreditation, taking on new challenges of new job roles in new industries, he has successfully completed his first successful project as a land developer. His strong mindset and persistence has proven to be a great asset to bring to his role as Financial Controller. He works closely with a great team of like-minded individuals who are the backbone of Hilltop Gardens & Simblija Care Home and have successfully made it what it is today : an avant-garde and revolutionary project.

Amy Aquilina - Executive Housekeeper

Amy first joined Simblija Care Home as a domestic assistant since the opening back in 2015 and worked her way up. It was her first experience working in a care home as she had worked in the hospitality sector ever since she completed her studies. In fact, her first job with AX Group was between 2007 and 2009 as a domestic assistant at The Palace Hotel in Sliema.

In 2016 Amy was promoted as a Housekeeping Supervisor and was tasked to supervise work activities of cleaning personnel to ensure the premises are clean, orderly, and attractive. Her strong work ethic has eventually led her to lead the Housekeeping team as an Executive Housekeeper. Through her role as an Executive Housekeeper, Amy prepares the weekly job schedule for her members of staff, oversee the cleaning activities, hand customer queries and complaints as well as inform her team on the new and revised policies and procedures passed on from the management.

In 2018, Amy decided to start a Housekeeping Operations course at the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS). Now that she passed all the exams she is determined to take on the Housekeeping Management diploma in the upcoming months.

Lawrence Zammit - Head of Security

Lawrence joined Simblija Care Home in 2015 as a security officer and in 2018 he was promoted to Head of Security. As Head of Security, he is responsible for the security operations and is tasked to oversee security efforts across the company as well as implement security initiatives and standards.

Lawrence has served in the Malta Police Force between 1987 and 2012. Throughout the 25 years of service, Lawrence has served in different departments within the force including a 12 year spell at the Fire and Rescue Department. After his tenure, he embarked on a two year security mission overseas where he was involved in heading the security operations and training of new security personnel.

Dorianne D'Anastasi - Accounts Officer

Dorianne started her career as a front desk administrator in the hospitality industry and after 3 years she was promoted to head of department for 9 years.

Looking for a new venture, she joined AX Group back in 2015 where she practically grew up with the company as Simblija Care Home had just opened. She started working as head of reception, giving a helping hand in the events and F&B department and aided in the administration of the physiotherapy and aquatic centre.

Dorianne has always shown initiative and strives to be better everyday. She has a diploma in accounts and was entrusted with the position of Billing and Accounts officer within the accounts department.

She is currently furthering her studies in accounts and intends to obtain a degree in accounts.

Anthony Micallef - Purchasing Manager

Anthony started off his career within the hospitality industry where he occupied various roles within the Food & Beverage Department. This led him to take on a sales role within one of Malta’s leading companies in catering and retail supplies.

After a spell in sales, Anthony had the opportunity to join AX Group in 2014 as a Purchasing Manager and Assistant Restaurant Manager at Tal-Kaptan Restaurants. Following the opening of Simblija Care Home, Anthony joined the dynamic team as Purchasing Manager for both Simblija Care Home and Hilltop Gardens.

Being an active team player, it was easy for Anthony to become part of the great team at Hilltop.

Anthony is an avid football fan; He has played with various football clubs on the island, mainly as a goal keeper. In the past year, Anthony has started his training as a goalkeeper coach, he is very much into Music, Movies and Traveling.

Jean Pierre Gatt - Head of Maintenance

Jean-Pierre Gatt joined AX Care in 2018. His role is to ensure that all equipment and facilities maintain high standards of quality to the comfort and health & safety of staff and residents at Hilltop Gardens and Simblija Care Home.

Jean Pierre has 15 years experience working in the field of facility and project management both locally and abroad. Prior to joining Simblija, Jean Pierre was responsible for planning and overseeing the implementation of electrical projects on a national level. His experience in both private and public sector enabled a diversification of knowledge ranging from building and maintaining heavy industrial plants to troubleshooting mechanical and electrical faults on both domestic and electro-mechanical industrial equipment. Jean-Pierre lectures and prepares junior electricians to obtain their wireman licence.

Jean- Pierre studied Applied Mechanics and Electrical Engineering and furthered his training in Business Management at the University of Malta. He obtained an Executive Masters Degree in Business and Administration from the same university. His areas of interest and expertise include domestic and industrial electrical fault finding, water system management and health and safety.

Jean Pierre is keen on health and well being. He enjoys a good work out at the gym and intense strength training. Jean Pierre occasionally participates in local races.

Rebecca Borg Darmanin - Human Resources Manager

Rebecca joined AX Care Hilltop Gardens in November 2017, as an HR Executive and recently promoted to HR Manager.

Prior to joining AX Care, Rebecca gained experience in human resources working in the financial services and telecommunications industries.

Throughout her 10-year career she has acquired considerable experience covering the full spectrum of human resources, including payroll, staffing, recruitment, policy development, implementation and monitoring of work practices, organizing and delivering of training, induction processes and monitoring work procedures.

At Hilltop Gardens, Rebecca handles all human resources matters, mainly dealing with employee well-being, issues and concerns. She contributes to the organization’s culture, staffing and development. Rebecca is also responsible to prepare the monthly payroll for the employees. She also works in parallel with the General Manager and the Heads of Department to handle the needs of the staff by developing programs that meet the needs of employees for meaningful work, growth, challenge, communication, and effective leadership.

Simon Gouder - Physiotherapist

Simon Gouder is a qualified physiotherapist with a B.Sc (Hons) degree from the University of Malta. Since graduating in 2014, Simon has worked in various sectors within the public and private Health Sector. His experience ranges from orthopaedics to neurology, as well as musculoskeletal.

In 2010, he graduated with an M.Sc Degree from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle and is now working in the Hand Therapy Service and undergoing accreditation from The British Association of Hand Therapy (BAHT). Simon also assists in the running of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programme at Mater Dei Hospital.

In order to stay up to date with the latest methods and findings, throughout his career, Simon has attended various courses and conferences both in Malta and overseas. He has also undergone a training experience at Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione (ISMETT).

Simon will be joining The Hilltop Retirement Gardens physiotherapy team, bringing with him a wealth of experience and knowledge which will surely contribute to the overall well being of residents and patients.

Matthew Schembri - Podiatrist

Matthew Schembri graduated from the University of Malta with an Honours Degree in Podiatry in 2014. Since graduating he has worked in most of the health centres on the island, where he has had exposure to a number of conditions and disabilities. Matthew believes that many complications may be easily prevented by simple lifestyle changes and by fully utilizing a patient oriented multidisciplinary team.

Matthew has always been interested in biomechanics, which is the mechanical understanding of the human body. A number of conditions can be treated with a good knowledge of biomechanics, including: diabetic ulcers, and musculoskeletal conditions such as plantar fasciitis, Morton’s neuromas, arthritis etc.

Matthew has represented Malta in sprint kayaking for a number of years. This sports background has instilled a number of qualities in Matthew such as discipline, determination, motivation and team work. Matthew is hardworking and always does his best in anything he sets his mind to.

With the right advice and lifestyle changes the residents of Hilltop Gardens Retirement Village can benefit from a healthier and more independent life.

David Meilak - Podiatrist

David Meilak graduated as a podiatrist from the University of Malta in 2009. For the past six years he has been serving in Malta’s main hospital, Mater Dei, where he was engaged as a senior diabetic podiatrist, where his role included the treatment of high risk diabetic clients. With regards to the Association of Podiatrists of Malta, David has given his contribution as association secretary, and is presently vice president of the podiatry association.

David describes his work with clients with diabetes as being very intense, offering very personalized podiatry care to clients that in some cases already have a lot to handle due to their diabetic condition and restraints, and other clients that are burdened with medical complications that include problems in circulation, the nervous system, and ulceration (diabetic wounds).

Besides his special interest in diabetic podiatry, David’s caseload also includes:

Vascular (circulatory) assessment of the lower limbs by Doppler ultrasound, high risk foot assessment, foot skin conditions and infections, lower limb biomechanical assessments, orthotic (insoles) prescription – design and manufacture, Ingrowing toenails treatment and surgery, hard skin and callous removal, and foot problems in older adults.

David’s work also includes hands on training for final year podiatry students, and he takes part in various TV programmes where he enjoys promoting foot health to TV viewers.

Presently David has been appointed to a new role at Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital where he aims to expand his expertise in diabetic and vascular (circulation) podiatry to the hospital’s clients.

David also enjoys other activities besides working as a podiatrist, where he enjoys sailing around the Maltese Islands, or simply listening to different types of music.

David is proud to be given the opportunity to offer personalized podiatry service to clients in the beautiful surroundings of Hilltop Gardens.

Laura Schembri - Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist

Laura originally came from a health and fitness background, gaining her first certificate in teaching exercise to music in 1990. She continued her studies within the fitness industry for several years before she decided to look deeper into injury prevention and enrolled in the physiotherapy course at the University of Malta, graduating with a BSc (Hons) in 2000. Her under-graduate dissertation was a practical study looking at the effects of stabilising exercises versus manual therapy on chronic back pain.

After graduating she was keen to carry on developing her knowledge and went on to take up post-graduate studies in Modified Pilates for Physiotherapists in which she is now considered to be an expert, especially in relation to correcting muscle dysfunction and relieving back pain. She has developed her skills as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist and uses many different techniques to treat pain and rehabilitate her patients to optimise their potential outcomes. She also conducts courses for the internationally acclaimed Australian Pilates and Physiotherapy Institute and has lectured at conferences in Malta and the UK. She has recently graduated with an MSc in Sports Physiotherapy at the University of Bath after conducting further research on exercise therapy.

Her priority in her working life is to empower her clients towards leading the best life possible and remaining active.

Sarah Jane Zrinzo – Pilates Tutor

CDE Modern Dance and Classical Ballet (Imperial), FDI Tap Dance. (I.S.T.D, London). Level 3 (REPS) Certified and Registered with Body Control Pilates Association.

Sarah Jane made her professional debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in ‘La Traviata’, directed by Sir Richard Eyre in 2009 and subsequently danced in the production for the next 5 years, including a season touring and performing in Japan.

Her other professional performing experiences include; London Eye 4D, spanish dancer for Stella Mann’s DVD, female vocals for Philip Bloom’s ‘Embryo – A Concept Album’ and as Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street at The Radlett Theatre.

In 2013 she completed her Body Control Level 3 Pilates qualification and has recently attended the Pilates for Dancers course at the APPI, London. Her Pilates teaching experience in London includes; Gymbox, 37 Degrees, and the London Studio Centre.

Her earlier training started in Malta, at the Tanya Bayona Princess Poutiatine Academy of Ballet. At 17, she won a scholarship to the London Studio Centre where she went on to study at The Margaret Howard Theatre College. She took up a 3 year teacher training and performance Diploma, graduating with distinction and was awarded her CDE in Imperial ballet, Modern Dance and FDI in Tap Dance.

Sarah Jane has taught many genres of dance at various schools in London and Malta. Some of which include; The Rona Hart School of Dance, The Chelsea Ballet School, Montessori, Lucy Lovick Dance School and The Margaret Howard theatre college. Locally, she has taught for BGB school of Dance, Stagecoach & Energize Summer Club.

Since moving back to Malta, Sarah Jane has become part of the Teaching Faculty at The Dance Conservatoire.

Anna Catania - Counsellor

Anna Catania started her career in the Health Sector graduating with an honours degree in Nursing in 1995. She worked in various settings including Zammit Clapp Rehabilitation Hospital, Mater Dei Hospital and Capua Palace Hospital Sliema where she was in charge of the Health Screening and Outpatients Services.

She then furthered her studies by obtaining a Masters in Counselling degree with distinction from the University of Malta. She works with clients facing various life challenges including difficulties with anxiety, depression, career, relationships and self-esteem. She understands the importance of processing thoughts and emotions where there are issues of bereavement, trauma and loss. She has also worked in school settings and is trained to help children and adolescents deal with difficulties they face within and outside their familial environment.

She has a particular interest in working with clients who are dealing with chronic illness and cancer and believes that during illness the psychological and emotional needs of all the family need to be addressed. On this subject, she has presented in various conferences and workshops both in Malta and abroad. In fact her Master’s Research, which was the subject of a poster presentation at the 16th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology in Lisbon, focused on the experience of men when their partners have undergone breast surgery and oncological treatment after cancer.

Anna Catania is a member of the Malta Association for the Counselling Profession and strives to work within the frame work of that profession. She brings with her a vast experience from the health sector which strengthens her counselling work and expertise.

Jean Pirotta - Podologist

In 1997 Jean Pirotta graduated from The University of Malta with a Diploma in Podiatry. He pursued his studies further at The University of Brighton graduating with a Bachelor Degree with Honours in the year 2000.

More recently Jean has also completed a course in vascular disease of the lower limb focusing mainly on the prevention of ulceration – the main cause of amputation. Jean also works in a biochemical lab, and for the past six years he has also served as a clinical educator at the University of Malta.

Jean now joins the Hilltop Gardens’ team of medical and care professionals as a podologist. Bringing with him 18 years of multidisciplinary experience and an exceptional work ethic, Jean is determined to provide the highest levels of lower limb and foot care for residents.

Claire Dimech - Physiotherapist

Claire Dimech is a state registered physiotherapist. She qualified in 2007 with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Physiotherapy. She always had the well-being of the older person at heart. After working in various physiotherapy sectors within the public service, she decided to pursue her studies in Geriatrics and Gerontology.

In 2013 she obtained her M. Ger. from the University of Malta, whereby she researched falls prevention in older adults.

Throughout her clinical experience Claire has worked with older adults suffering from different conditions; musculoskeletal, neurological cases, general mobility and falls prevention and also in different settings; acute, long term and rehabilitation.

Claire keeps updated through different courses, she also attended an exchange program in Brussels where she got exposure to different work practices. In 2014 she started her second Master in Clinical Biomechanics where she shall be researching the difference in biomechanics between faller and non-fallers.