It has been five months since the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced COVID-19 a global health crisis, and as teams around the world race to be the first to release a viable vaccine, the discussion of when we can expect one has increased exponentially.  Before we get into the who, where and when of it all, it’s important to understand the how. Usually, a new vaccine will undergo years of tests and trials before it is rolled out into...

  Clashes between Newmarch House management and various government departments about who had the authority to make decisions and resolve disputes inhibited the aged care facility’s ability to cope with the outbreak, the Royal Commission has heard. “Over the course of the outbreak, there has been a frustrating level of dysfunction in the collaboration between Newmarch House/Anglicare management and the numerous government departments, agencies and hospital employees at both Federal and state level,” said Grant Millard, the CEO of...

Oscar Wilde is credited with the saying “people know the price of everything but the value of nothing. These days almost everything is measured/valued based on its economic cost or benefit. Some would say said that applying such considerations to a contribution to another person’s well-being because of love, compassion, familial responsibility is unworthy and irrelevant. However, it is important. Important because as a country which still hopefully values the belief in a fair go for everyone and a recognition...

A friend is sending me documents needed to make me the executor of his will. He does not expect to die from this pandemic but he has enough weaknesses in his body to be fairly sure he would not survive the virus if it gets to him. He is not as old as I am but he is not young either. He is clear-sighted enough to know what he must do now: stay at home. He is also clear-sighted enough...

Marianne Schwartz, who is 98 and survived the holocaust, has become the oldest Victorian to have beaten the deadly COVID-19 virus. Infected with COVID-19 in July, she was in Cabrini Hospital for over a month before being released earlier this week, in time to celebrate her 98th birthday three days later. She was on and off oxygen in hospital, and contracted pneumonia, an experience she described on 7’s Sunrise as “terrible, it was absolutely terrible”. When asked why she thinks...

I think we can all agree that it’s important to find things to help lift our spirits and today we have just the thing for you. For the last two years, the residents at Spiritwood Assisted Living in Washington State, USA have been recreating iconic movie moments and compiling them in a calendar to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association.  Someone there clearly has a very well stocked wig collection, and we can’t stop smiling at these ingenious recreations...

Australians must change the “ecosystem” of care to incorporate dementia to a greater degree, even if it means we have to do it ourselves, an aged care workforce expert has urged. Professor John Pollaers OAM, former chair of the Australian Workforce Taskforce, said Australians who want to see improvements to the way we care for the older members of our community, including those who are living with dementia, must take some responsibility themselves for the way care is delivered. He...

Maintaining a routine is extremely important for anyone living with dementia. The coronavirus pandemic has inevitably disrupted those routines, regardless of whether the person living with dementia is in a residential facility or at home. Typically, those living with dementia have trouble with processing new rules, information and creating new memories. This proves challenging in normal circumstances, let alone in times like these. We've detailed some of things aged care workers, family and friends can do to help alleviate potential struggles...

Many people are under the misconception that dementia is simply one specific condition - however, this is not true. Dementia is a broad term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses that affect the brain and cause a progressive decline in a person’s functioning. Symptoms can include memory problems, issues with thinking and communication. There are many kinds of dementia, the most commonly known being Alzheimer’s disease. One of the lesser knows kinds of Dementia with...

The federal government has announced that aged care workers can now access free counselling services from Converge International. Converge International will deliver up to five free counselling sessions per person. Services include employee and manager support, career guidance, financial counselling and family support. These services are available for a three month period to 10 November 2020. Phone 1800 697 327 (free call) or visit www.convergeinternational.com.au to book an appointment. Make sure you state that you are from the "VIC Residential Aged Care Workforce" when booking. Further...

It has been five months since the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced COVID-19 a global health crisis, and as teams around the world race to be the first to release a viable vaccine, the discussion of when we can expect one has increased exponentially.  Before we get into the who, where and when of it all, it’s important to understand the how. Usually, a new vaccine will undergo years of tests and trials before it is rolled out into...

An opinion piece by Gareth Mahon, co-founder and CEO of The CareSide In spite of what many people believe, Millennials have not had an easy road. This tech-savvy generation, born between 1981 and 1996, was witness to the global spread of the internet, the invention of social media, and the adoption of smartphones. Millennials have had to learn to adapt to a rapidly changing world more than any generation before them. They have seen and done a lot in their...