How to use your Home Care Package to live at home for longer
The more you use your home care package, the more likely you are to stay at home for longer, according to a report released by Macquarie University.
“It’s the best of both worlds. More home care hours increase your chance of living in your own home for longer”.
The report states that the more you use your home care, this may increase the time you live at home. Having a home care provider like St Louis Home Care with coordinated support ensures you have the choice for services to meet your lifestyle to live both safely and independently within your budget.
Sometimes people chose not to use services thinking they can save their funding for big items or have excess funds in case something goes wrong, or in their words “let’s save my home care package funding for a rainy day”. While thinking this is careful planning unfortunately if there is a change in health or well-being, nothing is worse than finding out this would have been avoided if they had chosen services over saving their funding in case they need it.
Joan 67 years old, has a Level 3 package and has recently chosen to include the physiotherapy and exercise program at home that was included in her ACAT assessment. This has improved the way she gets off her chair and her bed. Joan no longer wants the chairs and equipment she was trying to accumulate her funding for. Joan’s friends had told her she should reduce her services to save her home care funding to get a new chair in her lounge as they have. In Joan’s words, “I’m glad I listened to the coordinator about maintaining movement and strength through exercise as being able to move and get out of any chair keeps me active.”
People stop doing the things they love because it becomes difficult or overwhelming.
Coordinating your home care package to include services and support identified by your age care assessment team (ACAT) is essential to meet your home care goals and living at home for longer.
Tom 79 years old, has had a home care package for 3 years since his wife went into residential care, “If it wasn’t for my home care package and the encouragement and support from the coordinator and the care workers at St Louis Home Care I probably would not cook or eat my healthy meals. I really enjoy the outings to buy my groceries at the supermarket and the time we prepare meals together for the week, and the company of the team of care workers, without their support I would not do it. I have always enjoyed cooking I stopped because I could not get to the supermarket anymore and I did not like to cook on my own.”
Home care support makes a difference - providing support with meal preparation, domestic duties, and taking people to their healthcare appointments, the most important part is having a team of home care support workers for conversation, social connections, and one on one support. Many clients say, “My homecare support, keeps me active and confident in the community.”
Community and Social Connections support older people to be healthier and happier.
If there are changes in your health or well-being and you need additional services, you may need to register with my aged care to be reassessed by the aged care assessment team (ACAT). Home Care allows older people to remain socially active and involved in their community, so if you have recently had a change in health or lifestyle or maybe decided not to drive or have a licence you may need to get a reassessment with my aged care.
John 90 years old, recently decided to stop driving and had changes in his health, with his loved ones’ support he called my aged care and asked to be reassessed and can now include transport and a care worker to join him to go to the supermarket to do grocery shopping and to support him to get to events in the community he has always attended. John says, “I didn’t realise how much I would enjoy getting things done with the company of my care worker, I am more confident, independent, and feel safe”.
Home care enables elderly Australians to age gracefully and happily.
More Australians prefer to stay at home as they age. There has been an increase in home care packages allocated to support older people to live safely and independently in the community.
St Louis Home Care is a family business started in South Australia in 1946, our motto is “Let our family help take care of yours” - a culture we have held strong over the decades with many South Australian families coming back over the generations for aged care they can trust. Our values of respect, dignity, fairness, and choice underpin everything we do.
The St Louis Home Care Team can talk to you about your existing home care package or help you with your home care package. Please call the Client Engagement Team in Adelaide on (08) 8332 0950 or our Victor Harbor Home Care Team on (08) 08 8552 1481, for further information.
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