At-Home Aged Care Blogs

Privileged to help our seniors stay independent at home

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 01:00:00 +0000

VMCH Case Manager Belinda Smith spends a lot of time on the road, visiting seniors to help manage their Home Care Packages. Belinda sees first-hand the incredible importance of being able to stay living at home as you age and feels privileged to help seniors do just that.

Belinda has been working for VMCH for three years now – however she initially worked for the organisation back in 2000 as part of the Carer Services team supporting family carers looking after an ageing loved one.

Why did you choose to work for VMCH?

I know their values, beliefs and ultimately their want for good client outcomes align with mine. Being able to support people in their later years is an honour and I try to ensure I am always working for the good of the clients each day.

What do you love most about your job?

I love that I get to go out and meet people in their own homes and hear all about their life journey. Lives change and evolve so quickly these days and hearing about people’s experiences can shape who you are as a person. I believe that I am privileged to be able to share in people’s lives and learn from a group of people who have so much to give.

What is the biggest change you’ve seen while you’ve been working for VMCH?

The biggest change I’ve seen is the merger. When I previously worked for VMCH it was known as Villa Maria Society. The biggest difference I have seen is how much VMCH has grown in time and the amount of people throughout many communities across Victoria, that it supports. It is truly a pleasure to work for such a caring and professional organisation.

What does it mean to you, to work for VMCH?

To help and support people of any faith is an honour and I feel blessed to be doing a job that I love, with a company that truly cares about all the people it works with, including the people who work for it. I also love working from Star of the Sea Retirement Village in Torquay. Working from within the retirement community better enables me to spread the word about Home Care Packages and help people to access services at a much earlier stage. I love that we are a multipurpose organisation, providing at home aged care, retirement living, and residential aged care and it is an organisation that I am proud to work for.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I have two primary school-aged children so outside of work I like to spend time with them and my husband. The kids usually have a jam-packed week with extra-curricular activities so often we watching them play sport (while being that loud, embarrassing parent) or just spending quiet time at home with a family movie or game night!

We love getting to know our HCP clients

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Chrissy Reardon has been working with VMCH for three and a half years, as the Administration Officer for Home Care Packages, in the Shepparton office. While her main role is to answer the phones, meet and greet clients and staff and help with queries, she also works with the clients one day a week, to get to know them and learn what their needs are, which she loves. Having the experience of her mum receiving home care, Chrissy hopes her experience with her mum will help her to make a client and family feel at ease when they call.

What is the biggest change you’ve seen from when you started to now?

It was a big change for us when we moved into our new office in Shepparton, to a more central location. There have been staff changes and promotions along the way, but l feel we are lucky in the regional areas, as we all tend to work together well.

What does it mean to you to work at VMCH?

I enjoy working with our home care clients (oh and our staff too!) My mum had a Home Care Package with us, and I loved seeing what a difference it made for her. Having some of the services that we provided for her helped her to stay at home and be a bit more independent. She is now living in a lovely aged care residence in Moama, but l know my family was very happy when she was receiving home care. In these uncertain times, l feel lucky to be able to work for an organisation that is very aware and committed to our wellbeing. Things like working from home, and often looking out for our mental health and care has been wonderful. It has been great to feel so cared for.

What do you like to do outside of work?

My partner and myself love watching our local footy (which isn’t much happening now). He also has seven beautiful grandbabies, so we get to spend time with them which is always entertaining. We also like to jump in his ute and do day trips around our wonderful region.

How Michele found her calling helping others

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 01:36:54 +0000

Michele always knew she had a way with people.

After relocating to Australia from South Africa, Michele decided to make a change from her previous work in HR and payroll. She decided to complete a Certificate III in Individual Support.

“I kind of always knew I wanted to do something more fulfilling,” she said.

“It seemed that whatever I did, I would always run into mature aged people, and I would help them. Even at the shopping centre. I have always felt an affinity towards that.

“When I decided to study, my family said it was definitely a gift that I have, working and conversing with older people. I thought I’d give it a go and I haven’t looked back.”

It was this natural ability that has propelled Michele into a new career as a Community Support Assistant (CSA) with VMCH.

Michele works from the VMCH Regional office in Bendigo. She spends her days travelling to visit her at-home aged care and disability services clients that she provides home care for. When asked what she does for each client, she says simply, “everything.”

“I provide care mainly for mature aged clients with varying disabilities. I have clients who are blind, one who is an amputee, one who has partial paralysis. From cleaning to personal care, or running errands, I do whatever my client needs me to do.”

Michele has also found that she provides a service above and beyond doing odd jobs, including being an active listener, and providing support when needed.

“I do sometimes have to be in the role of a listener a lot. Obviously, I can’t give advice, but I can listen.

“Often mature-aged clients, they just want to talk to somebody, so sometimes I have paused my cleaning, and just listen. It’s very important because they want to feel valued.”

Michele clearly loves her job, with her passion and enthusiasm obvious. She says while it can be a challenging job sometimes, she loves knowing that she is going to see her clients that day and that whatever she does for them is going to make a difference to their lives.

She speaks about her client who is partially paralyzed, who she assisted with showering.

“It’s easy to want to rush something like personal care. Especially with a client who has specific health issues that you need to be aware of. I was aware that he was sensitive, and I made sure that I was gentle because he really needed to be taken care of.

“At the end of the shower, he thanked me for being so careful with him. It was very sweet, even though at the time it was scary because it’s a very personal thing. But instead, it affirmed that I am doing things right.

“Giving them the best quality of life that they can have, is huge. When I finish at the end of the day, and I have done the best job that I can do, I have such a feeling of euphoria. It’s indescribable, it’s wonderful, and something I’ve never had in a job.”

While Michele says there are certain aspects of her job which are difficult, including a lack of patience and understanding from the public around people with disability, and the pain of a client passing away, she says it is a job which is incredibly satisfying.

“There is no better feeling than helping someone to live a quality life, it’s just wonderful. I am just so grateful for the opportunity to work for VMCH, I have been so blessed, and I am so grateful to be in this position.”