Anglican not-for-profit aged care provider, Benetas, joins the choir of voices in Australia calling for the Australian Government to end the Home Care Package waitlist in its upcoming federal budget. As commented earlier this month following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s hearings on Home Care Packages, Benetas CEO Sandra Hills OAM said that the existing waitlist for essential services for older Australians is untenable. “The latest official data shows there are 103,000 older Australians who...

In South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, plans are underway to build a new, state-of-the-art aged care facility that blends the latest in dementia-care research with community-centred design. Clayton Church Homes has unveiled plans for a 60-bed home, Summerhill, to be located on a hilltop site in the town of Uraidla. CHS is a not-for-profit provider aligned with the Uniting Church. It delivers aged care services in the Adelaide Hills, with two residential aged care facilities and six retirement villages. It’s very...

  The unions representing aged care workers have released a proposal to fix Australia’s struggling aged care system. Supporting the proposal, the Queensland Nursing and Midwifery Union has provided a link that enables you to send a letter directly to the PM calling for more staff and better training in aged care. The proposal comes following reports that Queensland aged care providers had laid off staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government had taken no action. The QNMU says...

Meet the Young @ Heart Chorus, the singing group that has collaborated with the likes of David Byrne from Talking Heads. The thing that’s especially cool about them? They are all over the age of 75.  Founded nearly 40 years ago in Massachusetts, the group has been the subject of an award winning documentary and has travelled the world performing from New Zealand to New England to Europe. And now, with touring off the agenda, in the first week...

Anglican not-for-profit aged care provider, Benetas, joins the choir of voices in Australia calling for the Australian Government to end the Home Care Package waitlist in its upcoming federal budget. As commented earlier this month following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s hearings on Home Care Packages, Benetas CEO Sandra Hills OAM said that the existing waitlist for essential services for older Australians is untenable. “The latest official data shows there are 103,000 older Australians who...

After libraries were forced to close in the fallout of coronavirus restrictions, some in Melbourne’s north-east have taken it upon themselves to continue to offer community support and resources to some of the most isolated members of their community.  “One of the key things about libraries is we never close. We're open to the community,” said Jane Cowell, CEO of Yarra Plenty Regional Library “So to be told that we had to close, literally we had to close...

Every seven seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with dementia. A typical case that I often see in my practice is as follows: A 76-year-old woman has a two-year history of progressive worsening of short-term memory and cognitive decline. She can’t recall the names of her grandchildren and is devastated by her deteriorating abilities. However, this is not the first time in her life that she has had feelings of loss and despair. Over the past 30 years, she has...

  Why do you keep talking to me? What do you want? I don’t understand what you are saying. This is what can go through the mind of a person living with dementia as they try to navigate their confusing and often frustrating new world Almost half a million Australians live with dementia – and that number is projected to more than double within 40 years. Almost 1.5 million people are involved in the care of Australians with dementia...

If I get dementia, I want my friends and family to embrace my reality. If I think my spouse is still alive or if I think we're visiting my parents for dinner, let me believe those things. I'll be much happier for it. If I get dementia, I don't want to be treated like a child. Talk to me like the adult that I am. If I get dementia, I still want to enjoy the things that I've always enjoyed...

Vicki Cain dreamed of being a nurse from the age of four. She would often accompany her grandfather, the local surgeon in Ballina, on his rounds, and it was from that point she decided working in aged care as a nurse was the career for her. So, after leaving school at 16, Ms Cain got a job at the local aged care facility. “I walked out of there the first day feeling like I was on fire,” she told...

In South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, plans are underway to build a new, state-of-the-art aged care facility that blends the latest in dementia-care research with community-centred design. Clayton Church Homes has unveiled plans for a 60-bed home, Summerhill, to be located on a hilltop site in the town of Uraidla. CHS is a not-for-profit provider aligned with the Uniting Church. It delivers aged care services in the Adelaide Hills, with two residential aged care facilities and six retirement villages. It’s very...

This article is sponsored content The role of technology in aged care continues to evolve as new pressures on the industry surface. An efficient, well-connected healthcare system is integral for older people living at home or in residential facilities, as well as their families and aged care workers. This year, Adelaide-based healthtech company Lumary, enhanced functionality in its end-to-end healthcare platform, Lumary Care Management (Lumary CM). The software is specifically designed for Home Care Package (HCP) providers, covering complexities of compliance...