The Truth About Ageing

Welcome to our Home Care Packages refresher episode!

If you want to deep dive back into previous episodes we do have the following available:

• E2 - unpacks all the different home care options in Australia
• E3 - how to access My Aged Care & what they will ask you
• E5 - goes into detail about Home Care Packages
• E6 - discusses how to choose a service provider

In today's episode we refresh the basic details of how to access a Home Care Package (HCP), wait times and the different levels of packages + deep dive into the difference between self-managed and managed Home Care Packages.

In summary, there are pros & cons to each type of package management and what's best for you will depend greatly on your individual circumstance.

PROVIDER MANAGED
Pros - management of your budget & services, individual coordinator that you can contact for queries, reviews to ensure package is meeting your needs, advocacy for higher level packages, complex care management, hospital discharge planning + will assist with navigating the aged care sector
Cons -  fees

SELF-MANAGED
Pros - you have full control over how you spend your funding, is cheaper than provider managed fees and you can choose your own staff for services.
Cons - you still need to liaise with provider to ensure that funds are used within legislative requirements, significant time for administrative tasks e.g. applications for re-assessment when required, rostering your own staff,  responsible for monitoring & managing a budget, for processing invoices and dispute resolution.

For more details, tune into E32. As always, if you have any specific questions feel free to get in touch. We are on Instagram @thetruthaboutageing on Facebook @thetruthaboutageingpodcast and can be contacted through our website at www.thetruthaboutageing.com.au.

Today we're flowing off the back of E30 and discussing how we can best support our loved ones during the pandemic. COVID-19 has challenged aged care services in many ways, so today we take some time to unpack what we can do to make sure our loved ones are feeling seen, supported and cared for. I've condensed my 5 Top Tips below:

1. Coordinating grocery delivery online
2. Looking into meal delivery options
3. Keeping regular social contact
4. Finding activities to do at home
5. Contact My Aged Care if your loved one needs more help at home

If you want more details about how to do any of these, listen to the ep for more info. 

As always, you can view our website at www.thetruthaboutageing.com.au. 
You can also find us on Instagram @thetruthaboutageing or on Facebook @thetruthaboutageingpodcast :)

Today the lovely Amanda is back to chat all about the impact of COVID-19 on Community and Residential Aged Care services. Amanda generously shares her experience of connecting with her Grandma who lives with advanced dementia in a residential care facility throughout the pandemic.

Whilst this episode doesn't speak specifically about restrictions in your state or impacts on individual service providers, we talk broadly about how we can support our loved ones through these challenging times.

In the community you may experience changes to services in regards to:

• Support workers wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Changes to service times, days or workers
• In extreme circumstances, non-essential services may need to be rescheduled or cancelled
• Service changes may be communicated at short-notice as providers respond to rapidly changing staff availability due to illness or quarantine

Some of the tips/tricks recommended for caring for yourself or a loved one during the pandemic are:

• Coming together as a community - family working alongside providers
• Being patient, kind & empathetic to service providers
• Have a 'COVID plan' in place - discussing what would happen if you were a close contact or if there was a significant reduction in services? Discussing if there is any capacity for other family, friends or neighbours to assist?
• Preparing items such as gift vouchers for payment of grocery shopping
• To remain socially connected - speak with loved ones over the phone, write letters, print photos, deliver snacks. Anything that helps individuals feel valued and cared for, goes a long way!

Within Residential Care settings some of the changes you may experience are:

• Changes to visitor hours or visitor restrictions
• Increased PPE by all staff
• PPE & vaccination requirements for visitors
• Facilities offering services like Zoom or FaceTime to speak with family when visitors restricted
• Changes to normal activity programs, but facilities offering alternative services in place of large group activities
• Changes to admission processes or site tours 

If you haven't already, you can view our new website at www.thetruthaboutageing.com.au. 
You can also find us on Instagram @thetruthaboutageing or on Facebook @thetruthaboutageingpodcast :)

Any of Amanda's opinions shared on The Truth About Ageing are her own.

Today we have the lovely Danielle and Kim back on the pod to continue unpacking End of Life doula work.

We discuss when is best to access an End of Life doula, how the service can be funded and things they wish more people knew about End of Life care.

Danielle and Kim share a beautiful message about how discussing death and dying allows us to destigmatising the experience and appreciate each living day even more! They talk about the importance of slowing down and being present with loved ones as they die to fully experience our own grief. They are incredibly inspiring individuals. 

You can find these wonderful ladies at:

Danielle:
Instagram - @doula_forlife
Facebook - @daniellecopplesondoula

Kim:
Website - www.kimsomerville.com.au & www.liferites.com.au
Instagram - @kimsomerville.endoflifedoula
Facebook -  Kim Somerville - End Of Life Doula

E27 is our first interview episode of 2022 and it's a pretty special one!

Today we talk with Danielle Coppleson & Kim Somerville who are End of Life Doula's from New South Wales. 

Danielle & Kim work alongside individuals and their families to support them through their end of life journey.  End of Life Doula's provide emotional, mental, spiritual & practical support for individuals who are facing death and dying - they honour the dying individual's preferences, help facilitate discussions with family members and provide reassurance to the individual and their families about what to expect as their health declines. 

If you'd like to learn more or get in touch with these wonderful ladies you can find them at...

Danielle:
Instagram - @doula_forlife
Facebook - @daniellecopplesondoula

Kim:
Website - www.kimsomerville.com.au
Instagram - @kimsomerville.endoflifedoula
Facebook -  Kim Somerville - End Of Life Doula

Danielle & Kim will be back on the pod again next week to talk through when is best to access an End of Life doula, how it can be funded and what they wish more people knew about death & dying. 

Welcome to The Truth About Ageing in 2022!

In most exciting news... *drum roll please*... we have a website!
Please feel free head over to www.thetruthaboutageing.com.au to suss our new space. 

We have more info about the how the podcast began, links to all our episodes and most excitingly a 'resource' tab that helps you search previous episodes by topic e.g. dementia, home care, positive ageing.  There is also a contact tab, so please get in touch if you have any questions, feedback or suggestions - we love hearing from you!

In today's ep we re-cap who I am & how the podcast started, what we'll be talking about in 2022, how to access our website and a quick reflective exercise at the end (would it be a TTAA podcast without one?). 

So excited to bring you more informative, practical and fulfilling content in 2022.

It seemed a fitting way to end 2021 with my favourite human - my beautiful Grandma!

We spend today's episode reflecting on the highs and lows of 2021, what she's looking forward to in 2022 and wrap up the year that was. She's a very generous sharer and just one of the best humans you'll ever meet.

Thank you so much to anyone who's tuned in across the last 6 months - I'm so proud of this little community we're building and find a lot of joy bringing this podcast to you each week.

The Truth About Ageing will be taking a break over the Summer holidays and will be back in your ears in February 2022.

We hope you have a beautiful Christmas and New Year - look after yourselves & loved ones around you. We can't wait for everything 2022 has to bring!

As this year comes to a close, we take some time to reflect on our highlights, challenges & moments we're grateful for in 2021 + set some intentions for 2022.

I challenge you to complete this yourself, but to also share this activity with a loved one.

The five questions are:
1. What have been your highlights of 2021?
2. What have been some of the most challenging moments of 2021?
3. What are you most grateful for in 2021?
4. What are you most looking forward to in 2022?
5. What are you going to prioritise in 2022?

Bonus -  all these things considered, what is your word for 2022? 

Head over to @thetruthaboutageing on Instagram or @thetruthaboutageingpodcast on Facebook if you want to join the conversation!

This week we're staying light & cheerful and most definitely in the Christmas Spirit! Today's quick tip episode is 5 activities you can do with Seniors in your life. Whilst for many of us Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year (queue Buble, Mariah & any other Christmas album I can get my hands on!), it can also be an incredibly isolating and lonely time for those without close friends or family. Today's challenge is to think of someone in your world that might need a bit of Christmas Cheer and to do one of these Christmas themed activities with them:

1. Christmas carols
2. Wrapping presents
3. Christmas craft
4. Christmas baking
5. Christmas shopping

For more tips and discussion about how to integrate these activities for Seniors with varied cognition, physical abilities and interests, listen to today's ep!

As always, you can find us on Instagram @thetruthaboutageing or on Facebook @thetruthaboutageingpodcast - can't wait to speak with you next week!

Today's ep is part two of an interview with my beautiful Mum, Steph. Steph is a life coach with 15 years experience working in the field of positive psychology with clients of varying ages. Over the two episodes we discuss specific positive psychology tools that can be implemented as we age that focus on promoting wellbeing and re-wiring our brains to help us focus on some of the good in our lives.

Today we cover tools 3-5 in how to promote our wellbeing whilst ageing. 
**If you haven't listened to E22, I encourage you to start there as this ep very much flows through from the last one. 

I hope you enjoy today's pod as much as I absolutely adored recording it!

As always, you can find us on Instagram @thetruthaboutageing or on Facebook @thetruthaboutageingpodcast.