How to help seniors thrive through their twilight years in their own home

This article is advertiser content from Home Care Assistance Newcastle.

Heading into the twilight years of your life offers the invaluable opportunity to reflect on a life well-lived, full of laughter, family, hard work, triumph and love.

Despite the practical challenges of ageing, people can still live well and maintain their independence. This is the driving passion of local couple Kerrie and Mark Burns, who own Home Care Assistance Newcastle. 

Kerrie and Mark started Home Care Assistance after watching their parents and grandparents struggle with aged care and nursing homes. Moving to nursing homes came with tension, tears and despair that they felt their family never fully recovered from. Kerrie and Mark knew that there must be a better way to support people to live happily and safely in the place that they wanted to be, their own home.

In the past, the delivery of aged care services has come from the government or large organisations. People were told what services they need and when – a blanket approach to assisting older adults. But every person is different, and what suits one person does not necessarily suit another. 

Home Care Assistance Newcastle’s approach is different to this traditional, impersonal service. Kerrie and Mark believe in a personalised approach based on listening to seniors and truly understanding their individual needs. They believe in evolving home care services as personal circumstances change. 

They believe seniors should be free to stay in their home, surrounded by the tokens of a life well-lived, for as long as they choose. Home Care Assistance’s specialised team know relatively minor, unobtrusive adjustments can help seniors continue to cook, shower, perform housework and move around the home with ease. 

But Mark says Home Care Assistance goes further than just basic requirements of home care. He believes every person, no matter what their age, has the right to live the life they choose to live and to live it well.  Their Balanced Care Method addresses people’s needs and puts the right services in place.

“To live well people need more than just someone to help them in the shower or shopping,” he says.

“While they need basic support, to thrive people need support to maintain a healthy diet, physical activity (walking or stretching), cognitive activity, social engagement and a purpose, meaning in their life that comes from being respected and enabled.”

Seniors should be free to stay in their home, surrounded by the tokens of a life well-lived, for as long as they choose.

Kerrie says it really comes down to having respect for the person and their wishes. Too often seniors are told what they want or need, and lose their voice in the decision-making process about their life.  

“We take the time to really listen and understand our client’s preferences, wishes and dreams,” Kerrie said.

As needs change, Kerrie and Mark understand it can be hard for partners and extended families to know what to do. They’ve seen the relief of sharing the care of a loved one and how the quality of life for everyone involved has improved. It’s less time spent on the tricky things and more time spent enjoying time with our loved ones.

Home Care Assistance is a government-approved provider of home care packages. Government support is also often available to assist in the cost, but the process of accessing support can be intimidating.  The team at Home Care Assistance can help you every step of the process. There are low case management fees, no exit fees and no lock in contracts. It’s a much more cost-affordable approach than the expensive displacement of residential care. For full-pensioners, the cost of accessing a home care package is often zero.

It’s easy to find out more. Just book in a free, no obligation in-home assessment with Kerrie and Mark and the team at Home Care Assistance. You’ll also receive a complimentary copy of Home Care Assistance’s guide to living a happy and long life called Happy to 102. 

Call the friendly team at Home Care Assistance Newcastle on (02) 4089 3000 or visit www.homecareassistancenewcastle.com.au 

This article is advertiser content from Home Care Assistance Newcastle