For Home Care client Suzie, weekly help with grocery shopping, cleaning and decluttering means she is receiving the support she needs to stay in her own home and remain independent.
Suzie has been a Catholic Healthcare Home Care client for five years and is on a Level 2 Home Care Package, providing up to three hours a week of light housekeeping plus access to allied health and clinical services. Catholic Healthcare volunteers also visit Suzie at home to help make her life easier with IT and admin support.
“Catholic Healthcare has helped me go from feeling completely shut off from the world to having control over my life again… helping me regain my confidence. Their support has changed everything for the better - 100%.”
Suzie’s Care Advisor, Christian, has been working with Suzie to identify services which can assist her now and in the future, such as starting the process of decluttering her apartment.
“I’ve been wanting to clear out my clothes and items for a while but wasn’t ready,” says Suzie, who is 72 years old and lives in south east Sydney. “My Care Worker has been great, taking it slowly, showing me each item which I can decide to keep, donate or throw out.
“For each item of clothing I ask myself ‘Does it look good on me today?’ If it doesn’t, then it’s going.”
Like all Catholic Healthcare Home Care clients, Suzie has been provided with a Samsung tablet known as MyCH (My Catholic Healthcare). The device comes fully personalised and connected to the internet. It helps clients manage their home care services and appointments, stay connected with family and friends, and access apps and streaming services – but without the clutter and jargon of everyday computers and other handheld devices.
“The MyCH tablet is wonderful,” says Suzie. “It stores all my contacts, appointments, and the times my Care Workers will be visiting. I have Facebook so I can keep in contact with family, cousins and friends. I need to be online so I can send emails and stay in touch with the world.
“When I got my new Smart TV it wouldn’t talk to my modem. A Catholic Healthcare volunteer visited and set up everything for me. Now it all works and I can watch my favourite programs on ABC iView.”
Going forward Suzie will continue to receive shopping, cleaning and decluttering services. Care Advisors are also setting up podiatry and clinical health services as needed.
“Some things can get a little harder to manage later in life,” says Christian. “But with the right services and support, you can remain living independently for longer.”
Suzie is pictured with her Care Advisor, Christian.