Your Aged Care Compass

With July 1st fast approaching, Flexi Care is preparing for Support at Home (SaH). Providers are still waiting for all the information they need from the government. Flexi Care has adopted a proactive approach to preparing both their staff and their clients for the changes that are coming.

Coral and Adrian discuss how Flexi Care is preparing and the challenges they can see. Adrian highlights the aspects of SaH that he feels could present obstacles to both providers and participants.

 In this episode:

• Providers still don’t have all the details for Support at Home
• HCP levels vs SaH classifications
• Funding levels under SaH
• Interim funding
• Being approved for services at assessment
• Discussion about the need for nursing and allied health services for everyone
• Service categories under SaH
• Co-contributions for different service categories
• Co-contributions for grandfathered participants
• Care management
• Fees under Support at Home
• New funding pathways
• How Flexi Care is preparing for SaH

Connect with Adrian Morgan and Flexi Care:

• Flexi Care website
• Adrian Morgan LinkedIn
• Facebook

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

Home care provider Flexi Care supports people in the southern areas of Brisbane to live independently, safely and confidently in their own homes and communities.

Adrian Morgan is the General Manager of Flexi Care, an independent, not-for-profit provider of in-home services and support.

Coral and Adrian discuss Flexi Care’s approach to providing older people with practical help to continue to live well in their own homes, while respecting their rights to make their own choices about the services they receive.

In this episode:

• Recognising that older people’s needs can change quickly and significantly
• Flexi Care employs “home care partners” to work with people to best meet their needs
• Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) and Home Care Packages (HCP) explained
• Flexi Care delivers both CHSP and HCP
• Wait times for HCPs are, on average, 11 months
• People currently receiving CHSP funded services will not be grandfathered under Support at Home
• Flexi Care does not sign people up over the phone
• Face to face meetings are the best way of sharing information
• Understanding what a person needs to enjoy their best quality of life
• Flexi Care’s community adventures program
• Funding availability once a person signs up with Flexi Care
• Changing providers to Flexi Care and transfer of funds
• Care plan reviews are done as often as needed
• Requesting a support plan review
• Needing approval for service types under SaH will reduce flexibility for participants
• Care management and fees under SaH
• Quarterly budgets and unspent funds under SaH
• How Flexi Care is preparing for Support at Home

Connect with Adrian Morgan:

• Flexi Care website
• Adrian Morgan LinkedIn
• Flexi Care Facebook

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

Depending on when you entered the aged care system, you may be grandfathered under SaH. Learn what this means for you and how you will be affected.

Grandfathering relates to financial contributions only. It does not relate to the level or number of services you may receive.

If you need to be reassessed into a higher classification, you’re still protected financially but you may lose the flexibility you currently enjoy within your home care package.

In this episode:

• The importance of the date Sept 12, 2024
• Who is grandfathered?
• Grandfathered participants will be treated differently under SaH
• Changes in terminology
• The three different groups of participants when SaH begins
• No worse off principle and how it applies
• Co-contributions for grandfathered participants explained
• How unspent funds are treated
• Quarterly budgets
• How much funding can be rolled over per quarter
• Flexibility with care plans for grandfathered participants
• Care management fees
• Cost of services to include administration fees

Resources mentioned:

• Summary of indicative Support at Home prices

Connect with Anna Millicer:

• Get Smart Aged Care Consultancy
• Anna Millicer LinkedIn

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

Understand how your support plan informs your care plan and therefore the support and services you may be able to get from your service provider.

The support plan and the care plan are two separate documents yet they are both linked to the in-home support you may receive. It’s important that each one is as detailed as possible to ensure you get the level of in-home support that’s right for you.

 In this episode:

• What is a support plan?
• Information in a support plan
• What is a care plan?
• How the care plan is developed
• Information in a care plan
• When a care plan should be reviewed
• Care plans for people assessed after July 1st
• Support plan reviews for additional services under SaH
• When and how to get a support plan review

Resources mentioned:

• Blog – What’s the difference between a support plan and a care plan?

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

Having an assessment for in-home support requires preparation on the part of the older person and their family/carers. The assessment tool, the IAT, gathers the information given by the participant and works out a level of support for that person.

If the information given is incomplete or lacking in detail, you, as the participant, may miss out on the in-home support you need. Ensure you know what your limitations and difficulties are and articulate those every time you speak to staff at My Aged Care or any assessment organisation.

 In this episode:

• It’s essential that people understand how they are being assessed
• The integrated assessment tool (IAT)
• How the IAT works
• Understand the reasons you’re requesting an assessment
• What the assessment covers
• Who can provide information at assessment
• What assessors are looking at during assessment
• The importance of conveying all your information
• Service categories under Support at Home
• You must be approved for services within those categories to be able to use your funding for them
• The support plan

Resources mentioned:

• Blog - Getting an assessment under Support at Home
• Blog - Understanding Support at Home
• Blog - When should I contact My Aged Care?

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

With all the changes coming on July 1st, understanding Support at Home is crucial. Coral and Kathryn discuss how Dovida is preparing to meet this challenge. Unfortunately, providers still need more information about how the program will look once it’s implemented.

Regardless of all this, vulnerable older people need continuity of care. They need to be reassured that their services and support won’t be affected.

Learn about the changes that Dovida and their clients are likely to be affected by once Support at Home takes effect.

• Understanding what will Support at Home (S@H) look like for current recipients of home care packages?
• How Dovida is preparing for July 1st
• The three service categories under S@H and their co-contributions
• Providers are expected to do more for less so efficiencies must be improved
• The restorative care pathway and a reablement approach
• Clinicians bring value to a person’s wellbeing and independence
• Care management explained
• Quarterly budgets and caps on unspent funds
• Assistive technology and home modifications programs 
• End of life pathway explained
• Advantages and disadvantages of S@H

• Dept of health and aged care website - classification and budgets for ongoing services
• Dept of health and aged care website - short term supports
• Blog - what's the difference between a support plan and a care plan?

• Kathryn Ewen LinkedIn
• Dovida website
• Facebook Dovida Perth Metro
• Instagram Dovida Perth Metro

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

Good home care providers want their clients to be well supported and have their needs met. This leads to greater independence and better outcomes for the older person. Dovida (formerly Home Instead) is one such provider.

Coral has a chat with Kathryn Ewen, a networker with Dovida Perth Metro, about Dovida’s processes for supporting their clients and how they fulfil their motto of “Your life, your way.”

In this episode:

• Dovida, formerly Home Instead, is a home care provider
• Kathryn’s role as a networker
• Helping people navigate a complex aged care system
• The kinds of clients that Dovida supports
• The questions that potential clients ask
• What's important to know when you’re looking for a provider
• Eligibility for services and identifying unmet needs
• What makes a good provider?
• Investing in staff training
• The process of signing up with Dovida
• The importance of working with the client based on their goals
• How quickly a care plan is to be provided
• Support plan vs care plan
• How Dovida develops the client’s care plan
• When does funding start?
• Transitioning to Dovida from another provider
• Unspent funds
• When and how Dovida requests a support plan review for a client
• Transitioning to Support at Home
• Support under the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) won’t be affected from July 1st, 2025.
• Kathryn’s key points for getting support

Resources mentioned:

My Aged Care phone number: 1800 200 422

My Aged Care website

Connect with Kathryn Ewen and Dovida:

Kathryn Ewen LinkedIn

Dovida website

Facebook Dovida Perth Metro

Instagram Dovida Perth Metro

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

Welcome back for our first episode of 2025. The aged care sector is undergoing huge changes with the implementation of Support at Home on July 1st. Those changes started last year.

Coral and Michelle discuss the topics that we’ll be exploring further on the podcast this year and the guests we’ll invite to join us. We have some very knowledgeable speakers lined up. They’ll be helping us and you, our listeners, to better understand Australia’s aged care system.

In this episode:

• Changes coming to the aged care sector
• The integrated assessment tool
• The new Aged Care Act
• Support at Home
• Episodes coming with aged care providers
• Other topics we’ll be covering this year

Resources mentioned:

Blog - Understanding Support at Home

Blog - Getting an assessment under Support at Home

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

We’re often contacted early in the New Year by people who have spent Christmas with their older loved ones and noticed increased frailty in the older person. This can be quite confronting and lead to some distress and uncertainty about what they should do.

Don’t panic. Enjoy your celebrations together and then start some gentle conversations about getting some help at home and what that might look like. These are not easy conversations so pick a quiet time and be prepared to listen to and support the older person.

 In this episode:

• This is our 35th episode and the last one for 2024
• The family gathering at Christmas and what you might notice
• Is your loved one getting frailer?
• When to broach this subject
• Enjoy Christmas and leave this conversation for another time
• Suggestions for gifts for your older loved one
• Spending time with your loved ones is the ultimate gift
• We’re offering podcast sponsorship in 2025
• Next episode is on Tuesday, Feb 4, 2025

Resources mentioned:

• Let’s Talk Consultation https://seemeacn.com.au/lets-talk-consultation/
• Podcast page for sponsorship proposal

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.

Support at Home (SaH) is the new aged care program, developed in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. It will replace the current Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care programs from July 2025, and, eventually, the Commonwealth Home Support Program.

Today Michelle and Janine have a chat about the changes that are coming, and those already implemented.

Janine is one of our consultants at See Me Aged Care Navigators. She is a registered nurse, a former ACAT assessor and a former national assessor for the My Aged Care assessment workforce.

 In this episode:

• Support at Home (SaH) is replacing the current aged care program
• The assistive technology and home modifications scheme
• The end-of-life pathway.
• The single assessment workforce
• The integrated assessment tool and why it was developed
• The new levels of ongoing funding under SaH
• Categories of services under SaH
• Assessment determines what services people may receive
• Participant contributions
• New price caps for each service include an administration fee
• Care management fees
• Be prepared before making a referral to My Aged Care
• Triage determines urgency of assessment and who does the assessment
• Making a referral to My Aged Care hasn’t changed
• Limits to rolling over unspent funds

Resources mentioned:

• Let’s Talk Consultation

Connect with Coral Wilkinson: 

• Instagram 
• LinkedIn 

Follow See Me Aged Care Navigators:

• See Me ACN website
• Facebook
• Instagram

More about Your Aged Care Compass podcast: 

Do you support an older loved one at home and you're ready to give up because it’s just too hard? Your Aged Care Compass is for you.

We're Coral and Michelle, the sisters behind our business, See Me Aged Care Navigators.

Coral is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience in both health and aged care. A former assessor with the aged care assessment team, an advocate and author, there’s not much Coral doesn’t know about Australia’s aged care system.

Michelle is a former pharmacist with over 30 years in the public health and private sectors of pharmacy. Michelle is the client care manager for our business. 

Our story started as one of supporting our parents to remain in their own home, to be as independent as possible and remain connected to their community. When we eventually needed extra support, we achieved this because we know Australia’s aged care system so well. We knew what programs could assist us and our parents.

Your Aged Care Compass podcast brings together not only our personal experience in supporting our parents but also our vast professional experience in supporting other families to keep their loved ones at home. 

We'll help you makes sense of Australia’s aged care system and bring you topics related to ageing as well. Legal, financial, health, forward planning and more.

 Your Aged Care Compass will guide you clearly and compassionately to the right support at the right time for your ageing parents and loved ones. 

Like what you hear? Please leave us a rating and review. We’d love you to share this podcast with any friends or family who have older loved ones.