Mavis Marshall is in residential aged care in Whittlesea now, but credits Uniting AgeWell for enabling her to live independently at home for so long.
The 86-year-old was first on a Short Term Restorative Care (STRC) package and then on a home care package through the not-for-profit aged care provider.
“Uniting AgeWell is marvellous,” says Mavis. “They’ve helped me along the way.”
Wind back the clock a few years, and Mavis, a mad-keen patch worker who was living in Epping at the time, went on the STRC program which keeps clients as well and as healthy as possible at home and out of hospital while they wait for their home care package.
Mavis was in significant pain from breaking her upper thigh bone in a fall so was delighted to go on to the STRC package.
She says while she received physiotherapy and occupational therapy which included pain and fatigue management strategies, it was the encouragement of her Uniting AgeWell care advisor and allied health professionals that saw her resume her lifelong hobby of patchwork quilting.
“They helped me become myself again! Thanks to their encouragement, I’ve got purpose back in my life!” Mavis said at the time. And this included creating beautiful patchwork quilts for her grandchildren.
“The program literally changed my life,” Mavis says. “I also got escorted shopping so I could get bits and pieces of material I needed for my patch working. It was wonderful!” Mavis says the program also allowed her to purchase a lift recliner chair which made it easier for her to get up, a light weight walker, exercise weights as well as sturdier rails for the bathroom.
After that, she went on a home care package through Uniting AgeWell where she received physiotherapy and other services to enable her to live independently and well at home.
Recently her needs became higher, and she moved into residential aged care.
But while her circumstances may change, one thing remains constant. Family has always been everything to Mavis. “I never wanted a career, I always wanted to have a big family, with lots of kids – and I did!” she laughs.
She married Ron when she was 19 and he was 21, and they moved to Reservoir and went on to have four sons. “We had a wonderful, busy life with the family. We were very happy,” Mavis says.
Mavis has always been able to create positives, even out of tragedy. One of their sons was killed in a mini-bike accident at the age of 18. “When you lose a child, it is like losing part of yourself,” Mavis says. “The grief is difficult to work through.”
So Mavis found comfort in helping others and became a Lifeline counsellor for a number of years. “I also did clinical pastoral work at a couple of hospitals. I love being able to listen to people’s stories and encourage them – just the way Uniting AgeWell has encouraged me over the past few months,” she says.
Ron retired as a storeman at the age of 55, and they enjoyed many happy healthy years together until he was diagnosed with brain cancer a few years ago. He passed away in 2020.
How the STRC program works
The aim of the STRC program, which was first announced in the 2015/16 Commonwealth Budget, is to keep clients as well and as healthy as possible at home and out of hospital while they wait for their home care package.
There are three main components to the STRC program and each program is designed specifically to meet the client’s goals:
• Therapy: multi-disciplinary teams provide assessment, education and treatment. These commonly include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, podiatry, dietetics, and nursing (continence, oedema, diabetes management)
• Other services: these may include personal and domestic care assistance, shopping, transport to medical appointments and gardening
• Assessment, and prescription of equipment and minor home modifications: such as shower chairs, grab rails, personal care and walking aids. These cater for both the physical and cognitive needs of the clients. Assistive technology includes provision of talking calendars, personal alarms with GPS tracking, tab timers and more.
Goal setting & 1:1 support
The program aims to meet the client’s goals to improve or maintain their functional activities and independence whilst living in their home. And the client advisor, in partnership with the client, develops meaningful, achievable and measurable short-term goals which are reviewed regularly with the client throughout the program
Julie Anderson, Uniting AgeWell Operations Manager says, “Clients tell us what goals they would like to achieve, and we work with them to achieve them,” Julie says. “Clients are empowered to identify what physical, emotional and cognitive needs they want addressed.”
“Because it is such an intensive program, our care advisors have a very involved day-to-day role with clients. They actively listen to what is important to the clients and talk to them often. Feedback from our clients is that they love knowing that we care and are happy to do things with them,” Julie says.
Julie says one of the huge strengths of the program is that Uniting AgeWell does all the facilitating and organising to make the services happen – and in the comfort of the client’s home.
Julie says the client is always the decision-maker. “Even when it comes to selecting equipment to improve independence and wellness, we give them advice and take them to medical supply showrooms where they can trial the equipment such as bathroom aids or hospital beds. At the end of the day it’s their decision, guided by the health professionals.”
The Commonwealth Government requires STRC providers to complete the Modified Barthel Index to assess clients at the starting and ending points of the program. This tool measures personal functioning and self-care tasks and is scored out of 100. Julie says another benefit of being on the program is that it helps a client define what they need from a home care package. “They know what works and can tweak their home care packages to offer more of the same,” she says.
“Whole of the person” help
Uniting AgeWell Occupational Therapist Jen Humphrey says the program caters for the “whole of the person” – and takes self-esteem, dignity and connectivity into account.
Jen conducts comprehensive home assessments in western metropolitan Melbourne to assess clients’ needs and takes great personal joy in working with them to offer solutions for not only physical wellness and safety but also for their social and emotional needs.
Jen said she was assessing a client for bathroom aids when the client mentioned she couldn’t walk any distance and missed being able to chat to her neighbours. So Jen arranged for the STRC program to provide a manual wheelchair for her – and now the client’s daughter is able to take her down the street to connect with her neighbours.
Jen says there is a range of equipment designed to be used by those with Parkinson’s disease – including special mugs to reduce hand tremor and easy-to-grip, weighted cutlery, and dining room chairs that rotate making it easier to get up.
“This means the person can join their family at meal times, and not have to worry about asking for assistance, or being embarrassed about spilling drink or food. It’s the little things that make such a big difference,” Jen says.
This also applies to those with cognitive impairment. “There is a wonderful personal alarm which has a built-in GPS, which means that families are able to locate where a loved one with dementia is if they wander and have a fall,” Jen explains. “This gives peace of mind to both the person with dementia and their family.”
In addition to the ever increasing range and accessible of assistive devises and equipment, client education and training in areas such as relaxation and energy conservation allow clients to enjoy life and maintain their independence.