Visiting an aged care home, sampling the food, talking to residents, checking cleanliness, and observing the happiness of the staff are simple ways to judge whether a residential facility is good, bad, or somewhere in between.
That’s the advice from regular guest, Craig Gear OAM, head of the Older Persons Advocacy Network. He elaborates on these tell-tale signs of quality as well as the online research you can do to help choose residential care. Craig also discusses help services that provide advice on financial and logistical aspects of this major life-upheaval. Discussion then turns to the difference between homes run ‘for profit’ versus the ‘not for profit’ sectors, and horror stories that emerge of sexual abuse and inadequate nutrition.
Recent aged care reform legislation will see improvements in transparency, quality and accountability in residential care. Among the changes, we will also see a registered nurse on duty 24/7, caps on fees and the end to exit fees. Serious incident reporting will help address abuse and sexual assault.
In Nostalgia Town, we meet Val Fell OAM – one of this country’s most remarkable seniors. At 93, she was the oldest person studying at an Australian university. Val has spent the best part of her life as a tireless campaigner for the rights of our senior citizens and those suffering dementia. Val was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia this year and her decades-long commitment as a community volunteer continues today. She is an ambassador for the Older Peoples Advocacy Network, Dementia Australia and the Council on the Ageing. In January, she was appointed to the Aged Care Council of Elders.
On Money Extra, Tracey West PhD talks about elder financial abuse. Although it is an issue estimated to affect one in ten people over 65, it remains widely under-reported. One reason for that is because abuse is most often perpetrated by an adult family member.
Our guest for Steppin’ Out is Garry Havrillay from 3BBR in West Gippsland, Victoria. Garry talks about his love of “music of the world” aired on his show Continental Drift. Featuring new releases, and distributed around the country via the Community Radio Network, you can stream Continental Drift online here.
FULL EPISODE
NOSTALGIA TOWN
MONEY EXTRA
Useful links –
Sign up to receive Baby Boomers Guide e-newsletters here
Baby Boomer Article on Choosing & Paying for Aged Care
Star Ratings for Residential Aged Care
Services Austalia Financial Information Service
Compare Aged Care Services on My Aged Care
Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission
Older Persons Advocacy Network
Government Support Services – Respect – phone 1800 737 732