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 Montesin - General Manager

Ms. Charmaine Montesin 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.

Anthony Brincat - Head of Care

Mr. Anthony Brincat graduated with a 1^st Class Honours Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Malta in 2012. Shortly after graduation he ventured abroad to further his education and gain international experience.

Anthony completed post graduate studies in key specialist areas which include acute medicine, skin integrity and wound care with the University College Dublin Ireland and University of Toronto, Canada, and completed his leadership training with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Anthony has had the opportunity to work in state-of-the-art JCI and Magnet international facilities in both Ireland and the Middle East and he is currently completing a top up master’s degree in skin integrity with the University of Hertfordshire, UK due to his keen interest in skin integrity within the geriatric population.

Anthony’s experience to date has equipped him with the knowledge to provide care to a diverse population of cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, lead teams, facilitate quality improvement, promote sustainable change, and promote good health care.

As a professional Anthony values the importance of human interaction and compassion. As a leader within AX Care he aspires to continue to build upon the companies’ vision and core values to ensure the highest of standards in care in a client centric environment.

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 - Sales & Marketing Manager

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 Zarb - Purchasing Manager

Anthony started off his career in storekeeping and purchasing. Soon after he moved in an Elderly Care environment for a long spell of 10 years as a Security Officer and later as Senior Receptionist.

He had the opportunity to join AX Care in the Purchasing Department two years ago and occupied the role of a Purchasing Assistant. Later Anthony was promoted to Purchasing Manager and till this day he enjoys meeting new people on a day-to-day basis. He is grateful for forging a healthy business relationship with both suppliers and other members of the AX Care team.

Anthony is an avid football and water polo fan and he is also very much into music, travelling and reading.

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.

Luana Caruana - Human Resources Manager

Luana started off as an administrator with an advertising company whilst reading for a Bachelor’s degree in Youth Work studies at the University of Malta in 2010. In 2014, she joined a local radio station as Administrator for four years and went on to read for a Master’s Degree in HR Management with the University of Chester.

In September 2018, she had the opportunity to join a local retail company as an HR Executive. It was just the right time to put her knowledge acquired into practice. In the meantime, she successfully completed her Master’s thesis and eventually graduated from the University of Chester in November 2019.

Having 10 years experience in Admin paved way to a basic understanding of Human Resources management sustained with the knowledge and skills acquired whilst reading for her Bachelor’s degree in Youth Work studies. Luana started working as a Human Resources Executive at AX Care as of January 2020 and is now the HR Manager.

She is hard-working, ambitious and loves to learn. An environmentalist, animal lover and book lover.