Who uses Live in Care?
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The answer is: Older Australians who need enabling support and care, when they need assistance, anytime over a 24 hour period, in their own home. Seniors and Elders who use Live in Care want quality in home care and support to keep living well, their way, in the comfort and familiarity of their own home.
Daughterly Care has provided over 3.9+ million hours of Live in Care over the last 24 years, which means we are the experts in Live in Care
Recently Verlie, Jean – our High Care Case Manager and I sat down to reflect back over the last 24 years that Daughterly Care has provided over 3.9+ million hours of in home Live in Care services to discuss who had used our service.
Here is a brief summary of the type of people who have chosen Daughterly Care’s Live in Care to stay at home:
Loving Couples
Spouses and partners who remain strongly bonded together and whose happiness and quality of life is enhanced by living well with their love, together for all their days by utilising our Live in Care service.
Pioneering men and women of ultra-successful businesses, plus successful business owners, famous in their local community.
These pioneering men and women have worked hard for decades and created iconic Australian brand-name businesses.
These high achieving business owners have been clever, worked hard, saved well and invested wisely. They have provided the best products and services to their clients and they expect the same for themselves and their spouse, for all the days of their life.
After such a successful business life, there is no consideration of ending their life in a nursing home. Instead, they wish to keep living their successful good quality life; one that they remain in charge of. They wish to remain in the comfort of their own home. Often they continue to work part-time overseeing their business or investment companies.
Daughterly Care’s Live in Care service is the absolute gold star of aged care, when the flexibility of around the clock care is needed.
The good news is that Live in Care makes financial sense too.
Your home remains capital gains tax free as your primary residence and for most of our Live in Care clients, their homes have increased in value and are capital gains tax free. This is far more than the cost of Live in Care so they have maximised the inheritance for their family and lived a quality life in the comfort and familiarity of their beautiful home. Most importantly, they have retained control over their life right to the end.
(Remember self-funded Elders pay a $27,232.33 pa Income Tested Care Fee when they enter a nursing home and they get absolutely nothing extra for that, it is just a “tax” for being self-funded, whereas, they are eligible for a Government Subsidised Home Care Package, the cost of which is explained on this page of our website).
Elderly people with busy successful children
You’ve worked hard and had a successful career and your adult children have learnt from your good example. They are ‘chips off the old block’ who you are very proud of. They are loving and caring.
Unfortunately their career or business success robs them of sufficient time to provide all the ‘hands on care’ you need. In any case, you like calling your own shots and remaining independent of your children. You don’t want to be reliant on them or add to their heavy work load.
Being at home means your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren can visit anytime that suits you and them. It’s so much more comfortable for your family and friends to visit you in your home than a nursing home, where frankly, it often feels overwhelming seeing so many elderly people together.
Elders who value their independence
Our Live in aged care service gives you the control, choice and independence you have enjoyed your whole adult life.
Elders whose adult children live long distances away, such as intra-state, inter-state and overseas
Even when an Elder is frail or has a chronic ongoing condition such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Motor Neurone disease (MND) or a form of dementia, they still live their most safe, joyful and contented life in their own comfortable and familiar home. This is possible even when their children live long distances away.
In this circumstance we can provide a higher level of High Care Case Management whilst keeping children fully informed via Progress Notes and updates. We can assist to set up regular Facetime chats so that parents, children and grandchildren connect regularly.
Elders who immigrated to Australia and whose culture expects their children to look after them
It doesn’t have to be.
Increasingly, families are being creative and utilising Live in Care on a full time or part time basis to provide the core of highest quality care for their parents.
For example, we have provided Live in Carers Monday to Thursday and we deducted the Government Funded Home Care Package from our cost and then each of the 3 children provided 24 hours of care each week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This enabled their mother to stay in her beloved home and adult children to spend quality time with her every week and reduced the cost. Remember the Government provides Home Care Packages of up to $66,448.25 per annum, per person for in home care including for Live in Care.
In another post, 3 generations of the one family lived in a mansion in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Our Live in Carers’ focus was to provide high quality person-centred care for the grandmother, Nonna.
In the mornings, after the grandchildren had gone to school and the children had gone to work, Nonna and our Live in Carer rose for the day and we cared for her beautifully all day, at her pace.
Then each night the whole family cooked dinner and ate together. Nonna was in the heart of her noisy, loving family, eating beautiful home cooked Italian food the way she liked it. When Nonna was tired, she retired from her family with our Live in Carer who assisted her to bed.
It was a lovely life for an Italian grandmother because she was living in the heart of her family and Daughterly Care’s Live in Care service enabled her to retreat from their activity to meet her needs. Nonna was loved, hugged and talked to by her family every day, without her care needs taking over her daughter and grandchildrens’ lives.
Elders with no adult children or grandchildren to advocate or care for them
Remain at home with quality care from experienced professional Live in Carers you can rely on and relate to, thus providing the best quality of life possible for all your days.
When we know that you don’t have children in your corner advocating for you – our Live in Carers and High Care Case Managers work with your Enduring Guardian and Enduring Power of Attorney and advocate for you. We can assist you:
- to secure your Government funding;
- attend your ACAT Assessment;
- document your preferred in home Care Plan so that you stay in charge of your life, for all your days.
With no children or grandchildren to assist you in your older age, it is critical you put formal systems in place to stay in control of your life as you age. You don’t want strangers making decisions for you.
It is absolutely critical you:
- make your care wishes known through an Advance Care Plan;
- nominate someone you trust to represent you when you cannot make decisions for yourself. An Enduring Guardian is needed to make care and accommodation decisions and an Enduring Power of Attorney is needed to manage your money. (Daughterly Care cannot do this because we have a conflict of interest).
As you age, consider putting a small service in place like 2 hours once a week. Have a list ready of the more difficult tasks we can do with you or for you, including driving you to errands or dropping you at a friend’s home.
With an established relationship with Daughterly Care, if a health crisis happens like a fall, instead of going to hospital we can drive you to your doctor to ascertain the best treatment plan. Our private 24hr Registered Nurse can dress your wounds.
If you are hospitalised we can visit and provide extra care and advocate for you. We will do everything in our power to get you home and ensure you are well cared for with quality and experienced Live in Carers and private 24 hour Registered Nurses.
It’s a good idea to do your research prior to needing in home care. That way you can make life easier for your Enduring Guardian by noting in your Advance Care Plan who you would like to be cared by.
For example, you might write guidance for your Enduring Guardian like “my strong preference is to stay at home and in the event that I need 24 hour care, please ask Daughterly Care for a quote for their Live in Care service as this is more cost effective than 24 hour care, where you have 3 shifts per 24 hours.
Our contact details are www.daughterlycare.com.au or ring 02 9970 7333.
Elders with estranged children
Elders in this situation can eliminate their fear by putting systems in place to protect their rights and wishes, such as:
- appointing an Enduring Guardian and an Enduring Power of Attorney;
- completing an Advance Care Plan; and
- choosing the right in-home care company to provide your care, in advance of needing support. (Daughterly Care is Sydney’s best in home care provider, so seniors often choose us. We have “not-yet-clients” who we have visited and they have explained their wishes and signed our Terms of Business. The minute they need us, they just call us and we start the services where and when they need us;
- whether it be extra care in the hospital;
- 2 hours of services at home;
- overnight care; or
- Live in Care to help them rebuild strength and confidence. (We reduce our services as our clients’ health improves).
Live in Care in your final years will ensure you live where you feel most comfortable and happy and that you are well cared for, whatever your family situation.