Aged Care Australia Spring Winter2011 2012
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Eve Masterman... still going at 105
The Rod Young Legacy | ACAA CEO 2000-2012 ITAC Award | winners announced Attracting Younger Staff into Aged Care | how do organisations succeed where others fail
When is a Retirement Village not a Retirement Village | demountable homes parks
Aged Care Australia – ANNUAL CONGRESS –
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
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Aged Care Australia Voice of the aged care industry
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contents National Update 5 CEO’s Report 7 President’s Report 8 State Reports
37 ICT Company of the Year for 2012 38 ACIVA members find success in the NEHTA Aged Care Vendor Panel EOI 40 Dissemination of Research
Profiles 20 Rod Young 24 Eve Masterman
Workforce 46 Presidential Card 48 New funding to increase wages – or more work for less funding? 50 Attracting Young Staff Into Aged Care
Technology 27 The Rising Tide of eHealth 30 ITAC Awards 35 ITAC Infrastructure Award
ACAA OFFICE HOLDERS PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT DIRECTORS EDITOR PRODUCTION
Bryan Dorman Francis Cook Tony Smith Mary Anne Edwards Viv Padman Geoff Taylor Kevin O’Sullivan Rod Young Jane Murray
Sponsor Articles 53 Infection Control – Online Training
General 54 A Desperately Needed Healing Touch 58 W hen is a retirement village not a retirement village 62 Global Aged Care Crisis 65 SAGE Tour & IAHSA Global Ageing Conference 68 Braille Tactile Signs (AUST) 70 Good News Story – Sir James at Dalmeny 71 CRANKY OLD MAN 72 Calendar of Events 73 Product News
ACAA – NSW PO Box 7, Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 T: (02) 9212 6922 F: (02) 9212 3488 E: admin@acaansw.com.au W: www.acaansw.com.au Contact: Charles Wurf
ACAA OFFICES
ACAA – SA Unit 5, 259 Glen Osmond Road Frewville SA 5063 T: (08) 8338 6500 F: (08) 8338 6511 E: enquiry@acaasa.com.au W: www.acaasa.com.au Contact: Paul Carberry
FEDERAL PO Box 335, Curtin ACT 2605 T: (02) 6285 2615 F: (02) 6281 5277 E: office@agedcareassociation.com.au W: www.agedcareassociation.com.au
ACAA – TAS PO Box 208, Claremont TAS 7011 T: (03 6249 7090 F: (03) 6249 7092 E: smithgardens@bigpond.com Contact: Tony Smith
ACAA – WA Suite 6, 11 Richardson Street South Perth WA 6151 T: (08) 9474 9200 F: (08) 9474 9300 E: info@acaawa.com.au W: www.acaawa.com.au Contact: Anne-Marie Archer AGED & COMMUNITY CARE VICTORIA Level 7, 71 Queens Road Melbourne VIC 3000 T: (03) 9805 9400 F: (03) 9805 9455 E: info@accv.com.au W: www.accv.com.au Contact: Gerard Mansour AGED CARE QUEENSLAND PO Box 995, Indooroopilly QLD 4068 T: (07) 3725 5555 F: (07) 3715 8166 E: acqi@acqi.org.au W: www.acqi.org.au Contact: Nick Ryan
Aged Care Australia is the official quarterly journal for the Aged Care Association Australia
Adbourne PUBLISHING
Adbourne Publishing PO Box 735 Belgrave, VIC 3160
Advertising Melbourne: Neil Muir (03) 9758 1433 Adelaide: Robert Spowart 0488 390 039 Production Emily Wallis (03) 9758 1436 Administration Robyn Fantin (03) 9758 1431
DISCLAIMER Aged Care Australia is the regular publication of Aged Care Association Australia. Unsolicited contributions are welcome but ACAA reserves the right to edit, abridge, alter or reject any material. Opinions expressed in Aged Care Australia are not necessarily those of ACAA and no responsibility is accepted by the Association for statements of fact or opinions expressed in signed contributions. Aged Care Australia may be copied in whole for distribution among an organisation’s staff. No part of Aged Care Australia may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the article’s author.
www.agedcareassociation.com.au
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national update
CEO’s Report Rod Young CEO, ACAA
FAREWELL AND THANKS FOR ALL THE MEMORIES
it is essential that the industry ensures that the outcomes of those discussions are in the best interest of service provision. The basic tenant by which the Association must live is without strong viable service provision, there is no quality service.
s the person responsible for the content of this magazine, I have been delighted to witness the changing nature of the discussions across the age care industry over the twelve years in which I have been the CEO of Aged Care Association Australia.
It is imperative that we convey that message to Government who sometimes think that they can manage change and adopt new policies without reference to the viability of servicing that change. What starts off as a bright idea becomes undeliverable when the policy gets explored at service provider level.
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I would like to sincerely thank all the persons who have contributed their knowledge, experience and passion about aged care in the various issues of the magazine. Our industry is a complex one, with many moving parts, but is changing rapidly and will change more quickly over coming years as the change in demographics drives the nature and type of services which we will be asked to provide in the future. This will be the last edition of the magazine under the banner of Aged Care Australia. The next issue will have a new title. Readers may wish to make some suggestions about an appropriate new title to reflect the broadening interests of aged care services across the continuum of seniors housing, community care and residential care. It would certainly be a fantastic outcome if a reader’s suggested title for the new publication were to be adopted for the future. As we enter this phase of detailed negotiations around the implementation of the Living Longer Living Better reform package,
That said, I have often argued with Government that the best advocates for aged care participants are the aged care services providers. Unfortunately, we often find a multitude of groups saying that they are representing the interest of consumers, when in fact as service providers, we are often the person most closely associated with the consumers interests and needs and the organisation best placed to satisfy and meet those consumers needs. Again, thank you one and all for your contributions, support and readership. I wish everyone in the industry the very best for the future and wish as a parting comment to acknowledge and applaud the passion and commitment of all the people who work in the aged care industry and to acknowledge the wonderful work that is delivered every day by our dedicated workforce for our 225,000 aged care participants. All the best for the future. n
The Aged Care Australia magazine is looking for a new name. Do you have a suggestion? We are looking for a new title to reflect the broadening interests of aged care services across the continuum of seniors housing, community care and residential care. Let us know your ideas. Send your suggestions to janem@lasa.asn.au
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From July 2012, Australians can choose to register for a personally controlled electronic health record
The national eHealth record system will provide access to key health information, so that patients can get the right treatment faster, safer and easier. With your patient’s consent, this information can be quickly and securely shared with other healthcare professionals involved in their care. An eHealth record is expected to particularly benefit Australians aged over 65, and those living with complex and chronic conditions. People will have their own section in their eHealth record to enter demographic and basic healthcare information, including the location of their advanced care directive. Over time the record will provide access to a patient’s current health summary, updated medications, test results and treatment plans. This will provide additional value for people within the community and residential care settings. July 2012 is just the starting point for the eHealth record system. The more healthcare organisations that participate, the better connected the network will become, and the better it will serve you and your patients. If patients wish they can share their health information with family members, carers or other trusted people. People who travel will be able to access their record wherever they go within Australia as their healthcare information will travel with them.
For more information or to sign up to receive regular updates visit www.ehealth.gov.au or call the Helpline 1800 723 471
national update
President’s Report Bryan Dorman, President, ACAA
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s we go to print, there have been robust and frantic discussions between the industry and government about the nature of the reform package announced by the Government on the 20th of April 2012. In particular, the issues of gravest concern and most confusion have been the planned changes by Government to amend the ACFI. Despite recent statements by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Ageing, the apparent intention in changing the ACFI is to drive down the growth in residential care outlays and to force aged care providers to modify their claiming conduct. The original proposal put to the industry was called Option 1. This involved a quite aggressive re-weighting of the scores within questions 3 and Question 5 of the ACFI to drive down the ADL funding as well as the individual ADL scores per resident. The second component of Option 1 was to modify Question 11 around medication management timings to recalibrate the components of the care matrix and make it more difficult to assess high care classifications within that matrix. On modelling the impact of this proposal, the industry discovered that if applied and as at 1 July 2012, there would be at least a 10% reduction in the overall basic subsidy funding. The Department (of Health & Ageing) countered by alleging that their more sophisticated modelling was able to supply a life cycle model to the churn of residents and therefore the impact of the proposals, meaning that the impact in the early period would be much less than that modelled by the industry. The Department also contended that with this lower impact level, together with the frailty drift already factored into funding for the next year, providers would actually end up with slightly more money than they had received in the previous year. How this correlates with their stated intention to severely cut funding levels is perplexing in the extreme, and even hints of a misconception by some or all the parties presenting the proposal. So, the Industry representatives had no choice but to reject this option outright, given the size
of the proposed funding reductions for the 2012/13 financial year. In an endeavour to create a less aggressive impact on the two questions targeted in Option 1, the Industry representatives suggested an overall reduction to the individual pay points across the ACFI program. This would have the obvious impact of reducing funding overall but spread the burden across all assessments, all residents and all providers. This was described as Option 2, in negotiations (if you might call them that!). The Department then put forward a third option a hybrid of Option 1 and 2 resulting in a lesser reduction in the overall pay points and a less severe approach to Question 3 and Question 11. The Department then made available their data set which laid out the impact of the existing three options on the more than nine hundred providers, using the 2009/10 and 2010/11 years claiming history, as the base reference of funding levels, with which to compare their projected funding cuts for the 2012/13 year. The Department’s modelling again indicated that the industry would achieve income growth in 2012/13 compared with 2011/12 under each of the model scenarios, whilst simultaneously suffering cuts in ACFI funding! The difficulty for individual providers has been that, when analysing this data and comparing it to their resident profile, they suffer a cut in funding, not an increase. Thus arose the suspicion that somehow or other, the modelling undertaken by the Department fails to reflect provider reality or that the Department, by applying a macro analysis across the whole industry, has created significant variations at provider level. At the time of writing, there is considerable work being undertaken with the intention of trying to resolve these issues and particularly trying to understand how the Department has been applying frailty drift in its modelling. This seems to be the key differential between provider modelling (applying it to current resident mix) and the Departments (including future frailty drift) which also appears to incorporate some anticipated uplift in claiming by providers.
The emerging suspicion is that somehow or other, the modelling undertaken by the Department has failed to adequately reflect the reality of demand, and the consequent impacts. It has applied a macro analysis to achieve the governments desire to slash provider funding. This comes after provocative and unsubstantiated statements by both the Prime Minister, and Aged Care Minister that providers have cheated the ACFI system, notwithstanding that the Department had underestimated the changing care needs of our residents in their budget projections. Reflecting on the proposed changes, and comparing the “real world” provider analysis of resident profiles, as against the Government’s macro data base of resident mix, suggests the Department has failed to model sufficient future frailty drift and increasing care demands that are currently occurring within the resident population. It is impossible for any providers to accept this proposal. On face value, and when each becomes aware of the impact of the cuts, the reduction in ACFI funding is unsustainable. There can be no worse outcome than severe impacts on staffing and residents! It is fundamentally important, to aged care providers, that we all get this right. It is equally important to Government, that if they wish their aged care reforms to progress, providers are not negatively impacted by the ACFI reductions. This leaves the industry with no alternative but to vigorously resist the ACFI component of the reform process and consequently impact the whole reform agenda. Hence, there has been a great deal of energy expended in trying to achieve a consensus with the Government about what the ACFI reforms might mean and their impact on the industry, before any action is taken in response to providers concerns. No doubt, there will be considerably more discussion occurring over coming weeks and the Association will keep you fully appraised of the progress of those discussions. This will be my last editorial as ACAA President as I will be standing down from this position after seven years. I would like to sincerely thank all my colleagues and friends across the industry for your support and consideration and look forward to meeting many of you around the traps over coming years as I will still be actively engaged with the industry through the Regis Group, however not in an association capacity. All the best for the future n
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national update
ACAA – SA Paul Carberry, CEO ACAA – SA
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deliver, compared to those living residential care or in residential clusters such as retirement villages.
As part of its response to this remain-at-home desire, the government announced that it will provide more than 80,000 new home care packages by 2021-22, adding to the 59,000 packages currently available.
The home care system could not function without them.
he federal government’s policy document Living Longer, Living Better makes the observation that “older Australians clearly want to remain in their own homes for as long as possible as their care needs increase.” No-one I know disagrees with that proposition.
According to the policy, the residential care sector will increase as well, but at a reduced rate, with 65,200 new places over the period, 25,350 fewer than previously planned. Of course, the government can plan what it likes, but these projections are contingent upon the willingness and ability of those who will have to invest the billions of dollars needed to build these places. Hopefully, these doubts will be resolved, but at the time of writing, they are very real. However, back to those who remain at home and are at the high care end of the spectrum. Their ability to stay at home will depend on several factors. The availability of workforce will be critical, with the requirement for aged care workers expected to increase from around 300,000 now, to 827,000 in 2050. Many studies have recognised this fact, but no-one is sure where these workers will be found. After all, over the same period, the workforce ratio will decline from 5 people working for each person aged 65 and over, to 2.7. Workforce shortages will affect all areas of aged care, but most severely those requiring care who live dispersed throughout the suburbs of cities and towns. Their care is the most inefficient to
The other factor which will impact on people’s ability to remain at home as they age will be the availability of informal carers. They provide the majority of care to the elderly living at home, and are also vital in the coordination of formal care services. However, as the Productivity Commission has noted, the relative availability of informal carers is expected to decline in the future. Most informal carers are women, and the increasing participation of women in the workforce has and will continue to reduce their availability to care for elderly relatives. The Commission has also observed that the willingness of family members, especially children, to provide informal care appears to be declining. As well, the increasing residential mobility of families means that more children live in different parts of the country to their parents, and are simply not available to assist with care. So, in summary, people’s desire to live at home for as long as possible should be recognised and accommodated. Future barriers to fulfilling this desire will materialise in the form of a shortage of staff to do this work, and a reduction in the availability of informal carers. Government policy needs to consider this carefully and ensure the availability of residential care places does not slip below the demand, either through re-weighting of the planning ratios too greatly, or through allowing investment in residential places to be too unattractive or too risky. n
For the Latest Aged Care News go to www.acaa.com.au To view the latest Aged Care magazine online visit Adbourne Publishing www.adbourne.com.au/aged-care-latest.html
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national update
ACAA – NSW Charles Wurf, CEO ACAA – NSW
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elevant, topical, and inspiring. These are the elements that have made the ACAA-NSW Congress a success over the last twenty-four years.
Each year we prepare Congress so our delegates receive up-to-date information about the aged care industry, and informed opinion and analysis. But with the uncertain policy environment at both the State and Federal levels of Government, developing a theme, appropriate speakers and sessions for this year was a challenge. We decided to confront this challenge directly. Our theme, “Has Anything Changed?” sought from the outset posed the question our delegates wanted answered. The Congress was opened by the NSW Minister for Ageing and Disability Services, Andrew Constance, who called for a fresh approach to aged care services. The Congress addressed a mix of issues at both the State and Federal levels of Government, from work force reforms, to the practicalities of doing business in 2012, and to the Federal Government’s Living Longer, Living Better package. There isn’t a consensus to which session or which speaker at Congress stood out most. Feedback from many delegates indicated Alisa Camplin’s story of Olympic and personal achievement was not only inspirational, but provided an insight into how crucial the role personal effort and will is to success. Commissioner Greg Mullins from the NSW Fire Brigade provided a stark and sober message. Along with Rosemary Hegner, the Director, Health Management Unit at the Office of the State HSFAC, Lucelle Veneros, NSW State Manager, Department of Health and Ageing, and Gary Barnier, Managing Director of Domain Principal Group,
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Commissioner Mullins provided delegates with a first-hand insight into confronting a crisis. While Mark McCrindle’s presentation, Changing Times, Changing Trends enthralled delegates with a mix of information and humour about the differences between generations and how we will manage expectations of care into the future. This year’s Congress also saw changes from some traditional practices. One area of note was the decision to make a small donation on behalf of each of the speakers to Legacy in lieu of a gift. Legacy provides services to families suffering financially and socially after the incapacitation or death of a spouse or parent, during or after their Defence Force service. We also ‘passed the bucket around’ and combined with the generous support of delegates Congress has been able to raise $942.15 to assist Legacy in their important work. At next year’s Congress, while we will again see leaders and key decision makers from our industry gathering in one location, we will be changing venues to the Westin in Sydney. Although 2012 has set a high standard, we are confident the 2013 Congress at the Westin will match or even surpass this year’s event. Thank you to the team from the ACAA-NSW, and also the Nursing and Management Policy Advisory Committee (NAMPAC), for the effort and ideas that went into making this year’s Congress a success. n
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national update
ACCV Kate Hough, Acting CEO ACCV
New Complaints Scheme on track
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CCV is extremely pleased about the continuing positive feedback from our members about the operation of the new complaints scheme. There is no doubt the Department’s new in-take system is allowing a positive approach which aims to see issues or complaints responded to as early as possible. This is based on very sound principles of effective early resolution, including alternate dispute resolution processes. The Department has invested substantially in both training its staff in these new approaches and setting in place refined in-take processes so that matters are dealt with in the most appropriate way. ACCV is very pleased that, following a high level of collaboration with key stakeholders and the substantial work within the Department, we have now moved a long way from the former Investigation Scheme to a far more effective model. We urge members to continue to invest in training and up skilling staff, including front line staff, so any matters raised can be addressed as soon as possible. The next phase of this new complaints scheme will be to ensure approved providers have an opportunity to share their experiences about what approaches to issues resolution tend to be most effective in particular circumstances. ACCV is liaising with the Department about holding a ‘shared learnings’ session as well as dedicated training for approved providers. While there will always be some specific matters or complaints that are very complex, multi-faceted and very difficult to resolve, this new system allows these matters to be separated out from those that are capable of provider resolution, conciliation, mediation or other approaches to early resolution. This can only be of benefit to approved providers and the consumer we serve. The materials are available on the DoHA website at: http://agedcarecomplaints.govspace.gov.au/
ACCV releases Governance Policy Templates In December 2011 ACCV, in an initiative to reduce the burden on aged care providers, secured federal funding from the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) to develop appropriate Governance Policy templates for the aged care industry.
ACCV worked in partnership with Deloittes to develop appropriate governance policy templates for the aged care industry, with the aim to save aged care providers much time and effort. Draft templates were developed which covered the legislative requirements, and were vetted for technical accuracy by the Department of Health and Ageing Prudential Regulator – based in Canberra. The policy templates were designed to be user friendly so providers could simply cut and paste into their own corporate formats and policy documents, then make local changes to suit their organisational structures. In March 2012 the final templates were completed, approved by DoHA and Deloittes and made available on the ACCV website www.accv.com.au/resources. The templates cover the following areas: • Organisational approval process and permitted uses (of bonds) • Investment management strategy • Responsible personnel training • Delegated authority • Review of governance systems • Accommodation bond register • Deductions from accommodation bonds • Refund written guarantee They were supplemented by an overall Governance Standard template kit which gave providers an overview of their requirements to meet the legislative changes, the structure of the templates and a guide on how to use the templates. On 1 May 2012, ACCV held a discussion group on the Prudential Governance Requirements. Damian Coburn, Assistant Secretary, Prudential and Approved Provider Regulation Branch, Department of Health and Ageing attended the discussion along with members of ACCV Financial Discussion Group. Damien was able to clarify member issues around the new requirements. The issues that were identified for follow up action related to the cash flow statement and internal debt repayment. Participants also committed to trial the draft Annual Compliance Statement. n
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national update
Aged Care Queensland Nick Ryan, CEO Aged Care Queensland
A time for change
Australians on where they want to age are now being heard in the corridors of Canberra.
ince its release in April 2012, the National Aged Care Reform agenda Living Better Living Longer has kept Aged Care Queensland on its toes.
Community Care has experienced several reform package ‘wins’, particularly around the redefined planning ratios to determine more appropriate packaged care allocations, and the streamlining of programs to effectively support a care continuum for consumers.
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From hosting an expert led forum with two of our Gold Sponsors providing a detailed overview and analysis, through to engaging the Federal Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler MP on reform opportunities and challenges, Aged Care Queensland has worked tirelessly to ensure our members are engaged and informed. Concurrently, Aged Care Queensland has been actively involved in the establishment of the peak national body for the age services sector – Leading Age Services Australia. This enthusiasm has also been reflected by our membership, who clearly demonstrated their support for the national body in unanimously voting for changes to our constitution that, amongst other things, will see our name change to Leading Age Services Australia Queensland on 1 July 2012. The following ‘snippets’ highlight a few of just the many and varied activities Aged Care Queensland has been undertaking across our Community Care, Residential Care, Retirement Living and Education Institute areas since the last edition of Aged Care Australia.
The Community Care future is clear... or is it? With the introduction of the Federal Government’s Aged Care Reform Package Living Longer Living Better, there has been increased optimism within the Community Care sector that the messages from older
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It is important to caution however that there is still much detail required around issues such as means testing, ongoing program funding, Consumer Directed Care and the functionality of the ‘Gateway’... just to name a few! Now is the time for service providers and industry associations to be actively contributing to the development and refinement of the details around specific reform measures to ensure they can be effectively operationalised by service providers and still meet the needs of older Australians. The potential instability of the current Government also means that the aged care industry must continue to actively lobby the Opposition. It is imperative that the Opposition either commit to the current reform agenda and/or outline their alternative plan to ensure reform is not shelved with a potential change of Commonwealth Government.
Fire Safety Standards impact on Residential Care In June 2000, a fire at the Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel in regional Queensland tragically claimed the lives of 15 people and highlighted significant deficiencies in the existing fire safety standards for high occupancy buildings. Whilst the Queensland Government’s initial review focused on budget accommodation
buildings, aged care facilities were eventually included, with facilities built after 1 June 2007 now required to comply with the new Queensland Development Code (QDC) 2.2. The final stage of the program commenced on 1 September 2011, with 926 facilities in Queensland inspected for compliance against the new QDC 2.3 by 1 March 2012. Actions from the review see Category 1 Buildings, typically multi-storey buildings, of type B and C construction, and utilising less fire resistant material must be fully complaint by 1 September 2014. Category 2 buildings, generally single-storey, of type A construction, and using more fire resistant materials must be complaint by 1 September 2016. Meeting the standards could mean implementing compliance measures such as, retrofitting sprinkler systems, meeting specified staffing ratios, converting individual bedrooms in fire compartments and/or developing management procedures for fire and evacuation plans. The cost of these upgrades will fall to facility operators with neither governments committing funds.
Service Integrated Housing Conference a success for Retirement Living Truly a highlight for this quarter was Aged Care Queensland’s Service Integrated Housing: Choices for an Ageing Australia Conference, held at QT on the Gold Coast over 7 and 8 June. Attended by well over 100 delegates and exhibitors, the conference’s interactive format brought speakers and audiences together to discuss the interface between Retirement Living and Community Care through topics including, Aged Care Health Reforms, Models for Integrated Site
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national update
Developments, Assisted Living Services Technology Supporting Care, Medicare Locals, Services to Ageing Australians, and Getting Sub-Contracting Right... amongst many others! Delegate and speaker discussions highlighted that our sector is cognisant of the challenges and opportunities facing older Australians in accommodation and care options in the coming decades; and,
how we must proactively work together to ensure that a range of choices and options are available to meet the diverse needs of consumers whatever the settings
conference will continue to build on collaboration across sectors to facilitate person-centered care and support models in a range of accommodation options.
Aged Care Queensland is proud to have again facilitated such a successful conference (for the third year running), and we are already working on how we might improve on this winning formula in preparation for next year. In 2013, the theme of the
Many thanks go to all those who contributed to the conference over the two days. A very special thanks go to conference sponsors, Paynter Dixon and Jones Lang La Salle, both for their insights into accommodation choices for older Australians now and into the future, and for their ongoing support of Aged Care Queensland.
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This investigation revealed that there were few training options in relation to depression and anxiety disorders in older people and definite gaps in expertise within the sector. Consequently, beyondblue developed a strategy to address educational initiatives for the sector, and the development of workshops on depression and anxiety disorders in older people is part of this strategy.
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A series of short workshops has been developed to assist direct care staff to identify and support clients exhibiting signs of anxiety and depression. The program for residential aged care staff has been developed and piloted, the program for community aged care staff is currently being developed and is expected to be finalised in mid-2012.
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aca Aged Care Australia
ACAA – WA Anne-Marie Archer, CEO ACAA – WA
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ccolades all ‘round for Alzheimer’s Australia WA – as they celebrated their 30 Anniversary in style. The WA branch of the Association may have had humble beginnings three decades ago, but it has grown to become one of the most recognised organisations in our State. Thirty years ago it was formed to raise awareness of the disease and to support people and their families affected by the condition.
critical educational recourses they have developed and provided for the aged care industry. As part of their ongoing service development, Alzheimer’s Australia WA entered into a partnership with Curtin University’s Centre for Research on Ageing that will continue to improve the skills and care for people living with dementia in the State. In addition to the partnership, Alzheimer’s Australia WA will be establishing a Centre for Excellence in Dementia Care on the University’s Bentley Campus as a step forward to influence the health sciences curriculum and ensure future generations of health professionals are equipped with a sound knowledge of dementia care. The combination of both resources will provide not only the latest research, but also a purpose built day and short term respite care centre that will implement new models of care and innovative programs, such as an artist in residence and other nonpharmacological therapies. The 30th anniversary for Alzheimer’s Australia WA is an important milestone for the organisation and a timely reminder of the longstanding contribution they have made to the aged care industry in this State. n
Initially managed solely by volunteers who coordinated forums and talks about dementia, it rapidly developed carer support groups and later in-home and centre-based respite and counselling services.
Top Image: Governor of WA His Excellency Malcolm McCusker AC CVO QC and Mrs Tonya McCusker, Alzheimer’s Australia WA Ambassador Glen Jakovich and Chairman Craig Masarei Middle Image: Alzheimer’s Australia WA National President, Ita Buttrose AO, OBE Bottom Image: Alzheimer’s Australia WA Chairman Craig Masarei, Governor of WA His Excellency Malcolm McCusker AC CVO QC and Alzheimer’s Australia WA CEO Frank Schaper
Alzheimer’s Australia WA has continued to develop in leaps and bounds, now also delivering dementia training for aged care nurses, allied health and care workers and has become the first port of call when it comes to dementia support. The importance of their role is only amplified by the recent Access Economics report that stated that there are 280,000 people currently living with dementia and the forecast figures are staggering with 400,000 in eight years and one million in 2050.
After 30 years, the WA Association has achieved a lot in this State for both the care recipients and support for their families, as well as the
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Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre 28–31 October 2012 www.lasacongress2012.asn.au
Leading Age Services Australia INAUGURAL CONGRESS
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GUEST SPEAKERS
Major General (Retd) Jim Molan
Professor Paul D. Cleary
AO DSC
Yale School of Public Health – Service assessment – a star rating system
Leadership in a chaotic world
Morris Miselowski
Avril Henry
Futurevation – Your eye on the future
Innovative solutions for the future aged care workforce
WORKSHOPS • Media and communications • Aged care workforce – attraction, retention, investment • Aged care reform: living better, living longer
R E G I S T R A T I O N A V A I L A B L E F R O M J U LY Contact: Congress Managers Consec – Conference Management PO Box 3127 BMDC ACT 2617 T: +61 2 6251 0675 E: lasa@consec.com.au W: www.lasacongress2012.asn.au
SPONSORSHIPS AND EXHIBITION B O OT H S S E L L I N G FA S T Contact: Jane Murray T: +61 8 9405 7171 E: enquiries@lasacongress2012.asn.au
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The
Rod Young Legacy ACAA CEO 2000-2012
By Mike Swinson
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Rod is decisive, incisive and a great listener. He is honest, trustworthy and can keep a confidence, and as far as I can remember, he has always managed to deliver board papers on time or managed to talk his way out of it if he didn’t! (Francis Cook, Vice President of ACAA)
E
veryone I have spoken to whilst researching this story speaks highly of Rod Young, from politicians to bureaucrats to aged care providers, no-one has a bad word to say about him. Rod Young has been the main man, the CEO of Aged Care Association Australia for the past twelve years. According to many, he has an amazing capacity to take complex issues and break them down into component parts, to understand the nuances of legislation and the thinking of health and treasury bureaucrats and how to negotiate around them. According to ACAA board member Geoff Taylor, Rod also has an innate capacity to stay calm under pressure. “Rod never seems to loose his cool when dealing with Ministers, aged care providers and/ or bureaucrats. Add to that his deep and abiding understanding of the industry, of its
needs and aspirations, be it for profit or not for profit service providers and you realise he will be a hard act to follow!” Rod comes from humble beginnings; his Dad was a brickie and the family moved many times as his Dad chased work wherever he could find it. “I was born in Cootamundra; my father’s family came from Gundagai and Mum’s from Cootamundra. Dad was a bit of a nomad, moving from job to job, town to town. I think I lived in different towns while growing up, all scattered across NSW.” “I spent five years at St Patricks College in Goulburn, as a boarder. I remember the Christian Brothers had a leather strop that was about two and a half inches wide and a foot long and they used to (most of the time) get us to hold out our hands and they would belt you with the strop, never on the legs or backside. I remember it still, it hurt
and you knew you had ‘got the strop’ for hours afterwards.” It’s called corporal punishment, or put nicely, summary justice and it was widely regarded as the only way to instil discipline and a work ethic into young men. The Christian Brothers in particular had a fearsome reputation for dishing it out willy nilly. “I remember to this day the sports master announced the First xv football team at an assembly, I was called out front by the Headmaster for speaking when I was supposed to be quiet and I got removed from the First xv list as punishment! It was
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Rod is a great lobbyist for the aged care industry, he’s worked hard and earned the respect of politicians from both sides, I have valued his friendship, support and his wise counsel, but I cannot keep up with him when he is in party mode! Tony Smith, board member of ACAA
Ten years ago, Rod Young and I had a bet. He predicted that Rugby Union and Rugby League would be a single united code within ten years! I said that was rubbish and we had a bet for $50.00 He lost! It’s wonderful for us that his capacity to predict and influence aged care policy is so much better than his capacity to predict football futures
”
Mary Anne Edwards, ACAA Board Member from Mackay, Qld
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most unfair, because as I remember, I hadn’t been talking at all!’ As the family travelled from town to town, Rod’s father morphed from bricklayer to child welfare officer to farmer, ending up on a block near Inverell, in Northern NSW. That career move wasn’t destined to last, because six months after taking on the farm, he suffered a serious chain saw accident. “Dad just managed to save his leg,” said Rod, “one doctor wanted to amputate, the other said no and in the end after six months in hospital and years of rehabilitation, Dad kept his leg. He changed careers again and went into hospital management, ending up as a CEO.” When asked who instilled his work ethic? Rod thought for a while and said in a moment of revealing honesty: “I don’t know, I think I can be quite lazy!” Then he added, after another thoughtful silence, ”No, I’ve always thought that if you
are being paid to do something then you should always deliver! You should give the task at hand your absolute best effort! I’m not sure where that comes from, probably from a combination of Christian Brother’s discipline and parental influence.” To understand Rod Young his employment history allows a glimpse of the inner man. Rod has worked for the Australian Business Chamber of Commerce lobby group, in hospital management (like father, like son!) and helped the Family Court establish its current mediation service that endeavours to take some of the heat out of divorce proceedings. ACAA Board members all say he is a great lobbyist, a good mediator and manages his board well. Says Rod, “marriage or partnership breakdown is not unlike the turmoil that happens to people when they have to leave home and move into a hostel or aged care
facility. It is an emotionally fraught time; sadly I have experienced it with my family!” After my father died we had to find a place in a hostel for Mum who had dementia. I know from experience the emotional distress family members suffer as they watch their loved ones disappear into that mental void, from where there is no escape!” “You just have to accept it, that’s the awful reality of dementia,” he said. About two years ago Rod told the board of ACAA that it would soon be time for him to move on, because he had been there for ten years, it’s now 12 years and time to go he says. “I have thought for some time that our industry capability could be better served if we could use our resources differently, to enhance policy development, research and government liaison. That why ACAA has been a strong supporter of a single industry body and, I trust, how LASA will develop over coming years. I certainly wish the new association every success for the future.” “Basically I want to slow down a bit, have time to do other things, you may not know but we own an old homestead, South of Wollongong, built in the 1830’s, complete with dairy, stables, silo and other buildings all on a few acres. It needs a lot of work and I am looking forward to renovations, DIY style!”
“My relationship with Rod grew out of our working association as President and CEO of the no longer functioning ACAA,” says Bryan Dorman “Within months of assuming the Presidency, I and my fellow directors of ACAA set a different direction. The board decided that it was to focus on developing strategy and policy. The board then delegated to the CEO, the responsibility of resourcing and carrying out this strategy and broadcasting the policy. Rod was the ideal man for this, and the changed functional role of CEO. He stepped up to the plate very quickly, and assumed the challenge for change both within and without the association.” Bryan said that Rod brought together a working group of all our regional CEO’s, board meetings of ACAA became an open forum, attended by its directors, state CEO’s and State Presidents. The focus became one of information and knowledge sharing as much as setting strategy and policy for ACAA. This set ACAA apart from other industry bodies at the time. It also gave Rod a very valuable power and influence base. Bryan said he cannot speak highly enough of Rod, “as a colleague, Rod has enviable ethics, energy and clarity of vision. On industry matters he has no peer. He was the ‘go to’ man for all allied and industry stakeholders, during the PC review and reporting cycle.”
“In an industry that is relatively simple in its concept, but with complex and numerous working parts, Rod has always distilled the essence of the issue and looked for the solution. Having worked closely with Rod for 8 years, I have learnt to admire and respect his capabilities and his tireless work ethic,” said Bryan. This final quote is the closest I get to a negative from anyone and anyway, in Australia this character trait is seen by most of us as a unique mark of distinction! n
“
Rod is a great party animal; he gets louder as the night goes on! He is a great stayer and will almost always be there as the last man standing! Anonymous.
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Eve Masterman: teacher, poet, librarian, activist and adventurer, still going at 105 By Mike Swinson
This article has been drawn from Eve’s personal recollections when she turned 99, an ABC broadcast and other publications too numerous to mention.
S
HE is barely five feet tall, frail, somewhat stooped, yet her eyes still glisten and sparkle even though her memory isn’t what it used to be. “Did you know my sister Nan?” she asks when I meet her for the first time. “No, I didn’t” I reply. Every day, if the weather is fine, poet and protester Eve Masterman – who will celebrate her 105th birthday this month – sets off on her regular visit to keep a watchful eye on the Berriedale Peace Park in Hobart’s northern suburbs, a park that she was instrumental in establishing many years ago. From her nearby home, she walks across the busy main road, up a slight hill, over the railway line and into the park. Usually she is armed with her garden hoe or a large pair of pruning shears. “This Silver Wattle needs pruning, don’t you think? It’s a bit long and straggly,” she says. Ms Masterman, who is the sister of awardwinning Tasmanian children’s author Nan Chauncy, for whom the nature reserve Chauncy Vale, near Brighton, was named, wanders around the park she founded, picking up sticks, weeds and rubbish like broken glass. “Oh dear, why do they do this, the silly people?” The park is the responsibility of Glenorchy City Council, but it is Eve Masterman who continues to plant new shrubs, fill in rabbit holes and, even at 104, still brings
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her pruning shears up to clip out dead or damaged branches. Eve is the youngest of a family of six children. She was 5 years old when her family migrated from England to Australia in 1912. Eve’s father was the engineer who oversaw the channelling of the Hobart Rivulet, a mountain stream that flows down the slopes of Mt Wellington and which, thanks to Mr Masterman, now passes underground through the city and out into the Derwent River.
cottage called ‘Daydawn’, built by one of her brothers, and is still standing. Her sister Nan wrote all her books there, including the prize-winning ‘They Found a Cave,’ which was set in the hills behind Chauncy Vale and later made into a film by the ABC. The children and many visitors were always exploring the hills and sandstone caves behind the house, becoming keen naturalists and observers of nature, its moods and seasons. Eve says her early memories are happy ones, even if times were tough and they had to grow much of what they ate.
When this project was finished the family moved out to Bagdad to try their luck at orcharding. Eve remembers how she and her siblings were routinely recruited for the berry harvest, a tedious and backbreaking job made tolerable by the presence of Nan, who’d be sent along to keep the youthful workforce compliant with her storytelling, for which she had a natural gift. It got to the point where the children collectively bargained with their parents that they’d pick the berries only if Nan came along!
“I think as I was the youngest of six, I was spoilt rotten.” When you meet Eve you would never guess that she was ‘spoilt rotten’ as she calls it, because she still lives at home, on her own, cooks and works in her garden, looks after the nearby Peace Park and doesn’t take any medication at all. Home is a modest heritage listed sandstone cottage on the banks of the Derwent River, with glorious views of The Museum of Modern Art and its vineyard, Mt Direction and the hills of the Eastern Shore beyond.
These days’ visitors to the nature reserve that is Chauncy Vale when wandering one of the many walking tracks can come across an unusual looking pile of rocks, perched on a ridge line well above where the surviving family house now sits. The rocks are all that remains of her father’s vision to build a stone home that took advantage of the views down the valley to the Southern Midlands.
“Did you know my sister Nan?” she asks again. “No, I didn’t” I reply.
The area was pretty untamed in those days and this early experience of the wild Tasmanian bush greatly affected all the young Masterman’s. The home was a
In an unusual moment of retrospection, six years ago Eve wrote, “As I celebrate my 99th birthday I am left in no doubt that getting old just happens, it sneaks up on you whether you are ready or not. Age is something that cannot be ignored or avoided, the secret is not to surrender to it but rather just carry on living and keep walking. To lose the ability to walk would be a very sad thing for me, as I still try to walk a mile a day. I particularly enjoy walking
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around the Berriedale Peace Park and walking over to visit friends.” Eve is still walking, as Glenview Community Services, Community Outreach team leader, Craig Jones can testify. “She is a remarkable woman, I can remember just two months ago Eve locked her house keys in the bathroom, so instead of calling for help, she broke the window and crawled through the hole to get them!” Eve is one of the many Glenorchy and surrounding suburbs older residents who are cared for under the Commonwealth’s Community Aged Package Scheme (CAP) by Glenview Services staff. “I remember I was visiting once and she was doing her toenails, I mean she can still reach them!” said Craig. “When I asked her about that she said... “Doesn’t everyone do their own nails?” Eve remains defiantly self reliant! She accepts help once a week with a cleaner and a weekly shop. She has three meals delivered once a week and when she trots up the street on Fridays she does all her own banking! Apart from that Glenview sends someone round every day to poke their head in the door and say “Hello Eve, how are you?” “Growing older brings with it a mixed bag of emotions and experiences,” says Eve. “While I am fortunate to have many friends, none of them are my age. Most people, friends and family in my age group are dead.” “Did you know my sister Nan,” she asks again. I softly reply “No, Eve, I didn’t know her.” Eve was a keen Girl Guide and bushwalker, and remembers sharing a log cabin at Cradle Mountain one midwinter night with pioneering conservationist Gustav Weindorfer. The group were savouring game meat shot by their host (being a conservationist obviously meant something different in those days) and all was going well until flames started leaping from the fireplace, and the visitors were alarmed to discover that Mr Weindorfer’s chimney was made of wood! Eve is also a noted poet and long time member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
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She started her working life as a French teacher. She always loved the French language and culture, and spent time in France before the outbreak of war in 1939 forced her return to Australia. Later on she became a translator for French Antarctic crews arriving in Tasmania. She was also Tasmania’s first Parliamentary Librarian. She taught English at a Swiss finishing school and French at an exclusive Australian school for girls, where one of her students was a member of the Murdoch family. Her home is crammed with memories; old postcards adorn the walls, sharing space with simple paintings or sun bleached photos and well out of date peace activism meeting notices. A recent copy of New Scientist is a part of the clutter on her desk. “I love memories. I love the way they can transport you to another place and time. I love the way objects, smells and events can trigger memories of people and events that happened many, many years ago. It is an amazing thing, but I still have vivid memories of being on the ship that brought my family out from England to Australia. I think I was 5 or 6 years old at the time. Loneliness is something that can affect everybody and I am no exception. The telephone is a wonderful thing as it allows you to talk to friends that provide company through voice and conversations.”
“Did you know my sister Nan?” she asks. My reply is the same “No, Eve, I didn’t ever meet Nan, but I wish I had.” “I have had a long and interesting life,” says Eve in her 99th year recollection notes. “I have seen so many changes in so many areas of life it has been fascinating. I believe that society’s perception of older people is changing and changing for the better. However, as to what young people think of older people I am really not sure.” “My message to younger people, who will one day be old people, would be simple. Keep walking, never stop learning and enjoy life.” n
technology
The Rising Tide of eHealth
I
was fortunate to present at the recent Information Technology in Aged Care (ITAC 2012) conference in Melbourne. This gathering brought together a wide range of parties – consumers, clinicians, policy-makers, care providers and IT vendors – with a common interest in harnessing new technologies to improve the care of older Australians. My topic was the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) system, a key Federal Government initiative that aims to progressively enhance the way care is delivered and enable Australians to play a much more active role in this care 1. This national system goes live on the 1st July 2012, at which point consumers will be able to register for their own electronic health record. This is a major step forward in eHealth, but also only the beginning: the national eHealth record system will be progressively enhanced and extended over coming years. Having spent the past decade working in and around electronic patient records, both here and in the UK, I think of eHealth in tidal terms. A turning tide may be barely noticeable to start with, but the change in flow is irrefutable to the watchful observer. eHealth in Australia is at this point. In recent months, I have noticed a shift in conversation from ‘whether the PCEHR will happen’ to ‘when will it reach me, my GP, my local hospital, and hence enable me to better manage my health and the care of my loved ones?’ In tidal terms, the questions become: ‘when will the eHealth surge reach my area? When will we see the benefits?’ These are clearly not simple questions. Like a rising tide, it will reach various parts of our health system at different times and the impact will vary. Rather than focus on the PCEHR system go-live, I want to explore in this article what this rising tide is likely to mean for older Australians and where it may lead. The eHealth record system starts with registration. It’s an opt-in system, so individual Australians can decide whether they want to participate or not. Those who register will be able to make further choices in terms of the type of information held in their record, such as Medicare data, and who can access this data. Once an individual electronic health record is created, consumers and clinicians can start entering data into it. This record will be progressively enriched with clinical information – personal health information such as allergies and immunisation records, event summaries,
and electronic discharge summaries – as General Practice, Hospital and Aged Care clinical systems are upgraded with conformant software. This will take time since each of these systems needs to be carefully tested and assured prior to release, and clinicians trained and supported. Gaps in information are inevitable given some health providers will continue to be paper-based or using non-conformant software. However, the richness and completeness of the electronic health record – hence its clinical value
– will grow over time, particularly as nominated providers such as GPs “curate” this information by creating shared health summaries for patients. Consumers will also take time to become familiar with the system and understand how it can assist them while safeguarding their privacy. As familiarity and confidence grows, so too will registrations. The national eHealth record system will be enhanced over time either directly by the
National Contracts Manager: National Co-Ordinator: National Tech Services Manager: Queensland Brisbane: Cairns: Victoria: South Australia:
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Ian Hartup Michael Friesendorff Paul Black Ping Chang Keith Friedrichsen Troy Cairncross Roz White
0411109353 0412066113 0412166114 0412116114 0408368921 0412117114 0431503195
ian@imc1.net techservices@imc1.net paul@imc1.net ping@imc1.net imcnthqld@imc1.net troyc@imc1.net rozwhite@imc1.net
Head Office: 23-25 Daking Street North Parramatta NSW 2151 Phone 02 9890 5067 Email imc@imc1.net
technology System Operator (the Department of Health and Ageing), or indirectly through Industry innovation around the national infrastructure. In the near term, this is likely to mean additional clinical content such as specialist letters, referrals, and diagnostic reports. Medication Management will be a particular focus, with new sources of medication information linked to the national eHealth record system and new views developed to enable clinicians and consumers to review and better manage medications. This is particularly important for older Australians and the chronically ill who deal with complex medication regimes on a daily basis. The value and attractiveness of the national electronic record system will increase further over time as connections are established to other clinical repositories, such as drug, pathology and radiology systems run by State/Territory Health Services and Private Providers, and new ways to access the record are supported. Integration to mobile devices, such as iPads and Smart Phones, is an obvious priority. Notwithstanding the technical and policy challenges involved, this will open the way to extensions such as mobile health applications and home monitoring devices. Again subject to patient consent, this will enable more complex clinical data, documents and images to be accessed and shared – consequently used more effectively by clinicians in diagnosis and treatment, and
by consumers in managing their own care. Such sharing requires higher speed broadband – hence the importance of the Government’s wider infrastructure investment.
“A rising tide lifts all boats.” [Proverbs] As clinicians find value in the system, they are likely to encourage more of their patients to sign-up, thereby triggering further waves of adoption. As the user base grows, Care Providers and Vendors are likely to respond with further innovation, including new applications, services and graphics which give the consumers (and their carers) a better understanding of their health condition and the various preventative and treatment options, hence greater control over the type of care they receive. Such innovation is already happening, particularly among larger Health Insurers where new eHealth platforms and services are being readied to offer a higher level of service to members, particularly the chronically ill. Government programs are likely to seek out similar ways to leverage the national infrastructure to improve access and support new models of care, particularly those unable to afford private health insurance. The proposed Aged Care Gateway service may be an early example of this – linking to the national eHealth
record system so that care needs assessments can be used more effectively in assessing care options and managing ongoing care. Over time such initiatives are likely to significantly improve the range and quality of care options available within the community – hence reduce the load on hospitals and residential aged care facilities. Older Australians are likely to be a major beneficiary of this. In summary, I see eHealth is entering a new and exciting era – a period which will unleash innovation and profoundly change the way that health is delivered. While I predict a promising future, it would be naive to believe that such outcomes can be immediate or are inevitable. They are categorically not. Many challenges lie ahead, and success hinges on how the various stakeholders respond – consumers, clinicians, policy-makers, providers and vendors. But despite this, I know that what we’re doing here is worth pursuing. As problems arise, I reflect on the words of Thomas Macaulay: “A single breaker may recede but the tide is coming in.” n
References 1. The Government’s personally controlled electronic health record system is being delivered by the Department of Health & Ageing (DoHA), with the support of the National eHealth Transition Authority (NeHTA), the Department of Human Services (DHS) and Accenture as the National Infrastructure Partner.
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aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 29
technology
ITAC Installation of the Year Awards:
for a Facility of less than 150 Places Mike Swinson
“
The moment of truth in an aged care facility is when there is a conversation/ interaction between a resident and a member of staff, nothing else is as important as that moment. So it is essential that new technology supports and empowers that moment of truth and this technology does.” So says Gionvanni Di Noto from Sydney based IT Consulting firm, GDN Management and Technology. Giovanni is talking about the success of the project to introduce a range of new technologies to the Thomas Holt Villages aged care facility in Southern Sydney, winner of the ITAC Installation of the Year for 2012, for a facility of less than 150 places. “Ours is a small facility and just under two years ago, we were still paper based,” says the CEO Alexandra Zammit. “This project has really been about bringing us into the 21st century, about empowering and upskilling staff and making sure we can meet the exacting requirements of federal government compliance legislation.”
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Thomas Holt Villages have had a phased technology introduction including a care package from ManAd that Alexandra says is comprehensive, yet easy to use. “The staff are smiling, they love using the new technology, they have been included in the decision making process all the way with constant consultation, followed by training in basic computer skills before we moved into the new technology training process,” says Alexandra. Thomas Holt Villages was established in 1956 as a charitable public company to provide accommodation and care for approximately 150 residents as well as older people living in their home in the Sutherland Shire. Giovanni Di Noto said underpinning the successful project’s first phase was the rollout of the latest version of the Manad+ software, a comprehensive care management software platform developed by Australianbased Management Advantage Pty Ltd. That was followed by an e-Boardroom
platform based on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 to streamline all Board activities and documentation.” Other strategic IT capabilities were installed including an extended Wi-Fi network, electronic office and communication tools for all staff; in addition to existing hardware & software upgrades, the streamlining of procedures and operative framework and the establishment of a Security of Information Policy and thorough Disaster Recovery Management plan. The benefits of this investment in hardware, software and staff training have been substantial and immediate says Alexandra. “We have achieved funding enhancements over 10%, conservation through a paperless system and increased efficiencies that are the equivalent of fifteen full time positions.” It doesn’t get much better than that. n
ITAC Awards:
Best Implementation 150 to 650 Places
“
Atlassian has been incredibly gracious in providing us with a community based license to their JIRA software at no cost for our NFP organisation, and Sundale is thrilled to have implemented solutions based on their product.” So says Gavin Tomlins the CIO of the winner of the ITAC Implementation of the Year for an aged care facility from 150 to 650 places. The facility is called Sundale and is an unusual mix of services including standard aged care, across eight sites, but also a child care centre and a private rehabilitation hospital! “I come from a biomedical background and I knew about this company called Atlassian. They have a huge reputation here and overseas and they have a strong community ethic of giving support to organisations like us that might not otherwise be able to buy and deploy their software,” said Gavin. The Atlassian product is not a care based software, it is a project management tool
that gives Sundale’s ICT staff the capacity to implement task management tracking, document tracking, incident tracking, hardware tracking and so on. “It is only limited by our imagination, so we also do things like payroll, quality control and risk assurance as well as a number of other tasks,” says Gavin. Atlassian’s JIRA, as it is called has revolutionised project and issue management for Sundale. It has been implemented not only directly within the organisation but also provides project specific third party vendor access as necessary. The software is also available to all NFP at either no cost or minimal cost, depending on the individual business circumstances. Even ‘for profit’ organisations in aged care can access this world class product at minimal cost. “We have also utilised JIRA in the administration of projects from the complete refurbishment of our Suncoast
Community Care entity to the deployment of new hardware (HP Thin Clients) across 28 Cost Centers. So, for a NFP like Sundale this Project Management software is totally free, we don’t pay a cent for it and it is world class,” said Gavin. Sundale is a not-for-profit community based organisation. Its sites are scattered along the Sunshine Coast area of Southern Queensland. With over 500 employees and 8 physical locations, Sundale continues to service regional Queensland CEO of Sundale, Glenn Bunney said “we are lucky to have a great IT team and the award is recognition of their dedication and enthusiasm. This new JIRA Atalssian product is great, it’s all about document control and continuous improvement processes. When we looked at how we could deploy this software we were constantly asking ourselves ‘How can we use this to improve the care of the elders in our community? It ticked all our boxes and then some!” n
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technology
ITAC Awards: Implementation for a facility of over 650 places.
Mckenzie Aged Care Mike Swinson
“
We were looking for a new continuous improvement software program because our current systems were no longer meeting our needs. i.on my Care was the only product that worked for us, so in it went,” said Mckenzie Aged Care CEO Rob Hutchison. It seems that for any implementation of new software to be a success there have to be a number of key parts to the relationship between vendor and client. These include after sales support, program flexibility and operational applicability, to name just a few. “I didn’t want to install a system that collected information just for the sake of collecting it, it needed to encourage us to analyse the data and draw conclusions, from it and it does!” says Amanda Seymour. According to Amanda; Group Quality Systems Manager at Mckenzie Aged Care, that’s just how it is between the IT staff and the i.on my Care support team. “This program has already saved us hours of work, we have had and still have a great working relationship with the i.on my Care team because we have managed to
personalise and customise the software programs for our own use,” she said. She adds “It’s all about reducing duplication, particularly when it came to existing paper based systems. Take for example our mandatory education program for staff, it was a nightmare trying to track what everyone had done, was about to do or were scheduled to do.” “We have over 850 staff, all doing up to seven mandatory training courses during a year; it really is challenging. Now there is a single point of entry, computer based, no matter where the staff member is, I get reports instantly, I can check easily who has done what and when and how they went and what they are due to do next. It is such a positive change, sometimes I have to shake my head to make sure it’s real,” says Amanda. With 7 facilities, 850 employees and 850 residents, information management presents challenges to any organisation of this scale; (1600 people) challenges that require a complex web of data to be stored and shared. Rob Hutchison said the main objective in implementing a software solution at McKenzie was to minimise time spent on the administrative burden of collating and sorting raw data and at the same time implementing a solution flexible enough to handle feeds from existing systems, in order to leverage all that data in a productive quality system. . “It’s all about syncing data across the business units to meet the diverse range of needs across a wide geographical spread and large number of residents and staff. The i.on my Care software has eliminated the need for over twenty separate paper based or excel
spreadsheet systems throughout the business units, and centralised all these functions in one software package. The information is instantly accessible to the executive team and has facilitated the simple production of automated reports, incident alerts and reminders to manage the many credentials and audits. McKenzie Aged Care went through an extensive review process to determine the needs of a centralised quality management system and first learned of i.on my Care in 2011. Discussions and product demonstration followed, that progressed to a pilot, then subsequent purchase and implementation. According to Rob Hutchison, “There was no other provider who was able to offer the specific requirements we needed. In addition to the specific ability to customise the fields and pages to mimic our manual forms and processes allowed us to migrate our staff from manual paper based systems to i.on my Care with minimal disruption to our operations.” n
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ITAC Infrastructure Award
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his winning infrastructure award is a classic case of ‘be prepared,’ and Melbourne based Jewish Care are certainly well prepared for the future in an IT sense. The organisation has recently relocated and rebuilt its data centre from the ground up. The project included the laying of about a kilometre of Dark Fibre cable along busy St Kilda Road, linking Head Office to the Data Centre. This dark fibre cable delivers speeds of 10GB/sec! According to Jewish Care’s Manager of Information Technology and Communication’s, Cameron Mackay “this exciting and challenging project was instigated primarily to address the significant material risks associated with ongoing dated IT infrastructure and to provide a solid platform for a significant future investment in organisational capability .” In other words this new offsite data centre will give the organisation vastly increased flexibility, a capacity for growth in IT functions and resiliency. Cameron said that “after a review of many different options, including cloud based services, infrastructure as a service and fully outsourced models, the Jewish Care Board
decided that the organisation would build and invest in its own systems and people.” He said that when they investigated the cloud based option, not only would it have been expensive but it seemed to him that in three to four years’ time, it would be mature enough to cope with the demands of a system like this. However the new data centre has been designed so it is cloud ready at any time in the future. So what does this new data centre mean to Jewish Care and its sixteen diverse sites
across Melbourne? The new data centre has been designed with the capacity and capability to: • Cope with increased demand for IT functionality; • Deploy more complex IT systems that will improve business effectiveness and enhance our customer experience; • Improve the disaster recovery and business continuity position; • Address the physical risks associated with ageing infrastructure; • Place Jewish Care as an Employer of Choice; • Be capable of hosting the new ERP system when implemented; and • Improve availability and reliability. Jewish Care (Victoria) Inc. is an organisation with a proud history of serving the Jewish Community of Victoria dating back to 1848 when Melbourne had a small Jewish community numbering approximately 200 people. It is now a thriving, vibrant and sophisticated community of some 60,000 people in Melbourne and is still there providing valuable care and support services that enhance the wellbeing of its community. n
aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 35
Professional Laundry
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Combining Australian and International Standards, Electrolux Laundry Systems has developed a laundry and process audit. The audit is based on reviewing the current environment & practices, & comparing against best practice techniques. This results in a comprehensive report delivered to customers, outlining any possible gains from their current environment.
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aca Aged Care Australia www.electrolux.com.au/Products/Professional/
technology
ICT Company of the Year for 2012 Mike Swinson
T
here is an old saying attributed to Archimedes that ’The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,’ and according to the founder and CEO of this year’s ICT Company of the Year, never was a truer word spoken!
function up onto the stage to share in the glory of the moment.
Caroline Lee, CEO of Leecare, said ‘without the Leecare team, acting both independently and as a cohesive unit we would not have developed such a fantastic product that has been welcomed with open arms by the aged care industry.’
So why did Leecare and its Platinum 5 software product win the award this year? According to Caroline it’s because “Leecare has provided to the aged care industry what Google provided to the world. Choice that doesn’t cost a fortune but which also delivers the absolute best functionality and innovation from a committed group of people whose mission is to support excellence for all size clients above profits.”
“We could not have developed the Platinum 5 product if our sales team had not been doing what they do so well, if our software developers didn’t do such a great job and so it goes for every member of the Leecare team, they are the ones who deserve recognition, not me!”
“Leecare has invested heavily in research and development over the years, because if you don’t keep developing, constantly upgrading software you will be left behind,” she says. “Technology keeps changing as do the industries demands on that software, take the new e-health record as an example.
So when the announcement was made at the ITAC awards function, Caroline Lee had a huge grin on her face. Why? Because Leecare had finally achieved national recognition as the ICT Company of the Year and nothing was going to wipe that smile from her face. She also dragged every Leecare team member who was at the
A major reason for the earlier than planned development of Leecare’s system into Platinum 5 was to ensure quick and easy development of components that would interface with, upload from and send encrypted and secure resident clinical/ medical data to the national e-health repositories,” said Caroline.
According to Caroline Lee the company’s products achieve what the clients demand, in particular: • Operating systems that aren’t necessarily Microsoft based • Not having to buy a lot of expensive hardware • Able to enter information from a wide range of devices • Care management software that thinks like a nurse, not an accountant • Software that supports a non-English speaking and ageing staff base • Interactivity with other programs • Link with the national e-health clinical/ medical data repository when it comes online “This award gives our prospective and existing customer’s confidence that we have the technology that works, that is safe and secure and that it is an outstanding product with great benefits,” said Caroline. n
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ACIVA members find success in the NEHTA Aged Care Vendor Panel EOI
O
n 7 June, the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) announced the signing up of ACIVA members for the eHealth Aged Care Software Vendor Panel following an extensive EOI process. Vendor Panel members are: • Autumncare • Database Consultants Australia Pty Ltd • EOS-Commcare • iCare • Leecare One of the panel’s objectives is to provide expert information to NEHTA regarding the aged and community care sector’s software
needs. Its role is to use the support of NEHTA to further develop the panel members’ software so that residential and community aged care providers using the vendors products can easily access the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (PCEHR) of residents and clients. The Vendor Panel members will be developing capability to access the HI Service and link to the PCEHR to download and upload important clinical details via Event Summaries, Shared Health Summaries, and eventually Discharge Summaries and Transfer documents, amongst other reports. Another role of the panel is to document and provide details and development advice to other aged care vendors who are not part of the initial panel through a Lessons Learned process. This will be communicated via ACIVA to ACIVA vendor members.
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Your Needs. Our Solutions.
Concurrently, three members are also supporting the joint ACAA/ ACSA Aged Care Industry IT Council’s (ACIITC) Pathfinder Project, Autumncare, Commcare-EOS and Leecare. Clients of these vendors, Montefiore Homes NSW, RSL Lifecare NSW and Silverchain WA are also involved in determining policies and procedures that will aid the sector in their PCEHR implementation. The three ACIVA – Pathfinder vendors have been part of numerous meetings and a two day summit with the Chair of the ACIITC Suri Ramanathan and a team from DollMartin, representatives from DOHA Accenture and NEHTA to strategise the rollout, the procedures necessary to prepare and resources that aged care providers will require to aid in their implementations. The more clinical information systems that access data from and upload data to the PCEHR, the more relevant information will be available for health practitioners to refer to when making clinical decisions from any health sector. The Pathfinder project is therefore also aimed at determining any key information changes that should be made to the set template PCEHR documents that will benefit the older population receiving residential and community services. Other ACIVA members with clinical information systems, and therefore their clients, will not be left out of these initiatives as these vendors will be able to develop their components much more efficiently once the panel members pass on their development lessons learned. ACIVA members will be supporting other ACIVA members through various forums planned for later in the year and next year.
Aged Care Software and the ACFI To date no aged care clinical software systems in Australia have been informed of or involved in any ACFI communications from DOHA. Clients of the aged care vendors have been the single source of information for any software vendor wishing to keep up to date with any proposed changes. ACIVA members call on the Department of Health and Ageing to significantly improve their consultation with the software vendors in the sector otherwise the lodgement of B2B ACFI claims will not be able to be electronically supported or accurately submitted. The consequence of such will be significant delays and increased departmental expenditure managing the expected commensurate manual corrections that will ensue. ACIVA’s position is that consulting with the software vendors required to support the department’s e-submission initiative is fiscally responsible and prudent and to not consult is folly. n
The one-stop shop for Aged Care Facilities and Residential Community Care providers.
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technology
Dissemination of Research
Extracted from e-Doc aged care May 2012 newsletter
What can we learn from the differences in performance of electronic nursing documentation systems among organisations and over time? Dr Ping Yu
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valuation of the performance of electronic documentation systems was conducted in 16 residential aged care facilities in three aged care organisations in two surveys conducted over two consecutive years: 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011. A self-administered questionnaire instrument was used to collect care staff members’ feedback about the performance of the electronic system, measured by eight parameters: information quality, system quality, information service quality, ability to use the system, intention to use, use, user satisfaction and net benefits. 590 care staff members participated in the surveys, 283 in 2009 to 2010 and 307 in 2010 to 2011. Information quality in the first survey, staff at Organisation 3 perceived the quality of information to be significantly lower than did staff at the other two organisations. The electronic system did not change in any of the aged care organisations, but the care staff members’ perceptions about the quality of information from the system was less positive in the second survey than it had been in the first. The level of decline was less at Organisation 3 than it was at the other two organisations. System quality received similar positive feedback from staff members in Organisation 2 and 3, but was seen to have significantly dropped in Organisation 1 in the second survey. Care staff members’ ability to use the system, intention to use and perceived net benefits of their facility’s documentation system maintained at the similar positive level across three organisations and two data points.
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Use of the electronic system was measured by care staff members’ self-reported time spent on documentation and the number of times they logged on to the system. Not much difference was found between the two surveys in Organisations 1 and 2, but there was a significant increase in Organisation 3 in the second survey. User satisfaction was higher across the three organisations in the first survey than in the second. The level of user satisfaction was similar in Organisation 1 and 2, but significantly lower in Organisation 3 in the second survey. These results suggest that the successful implementation of an electronic documentation system is only the first step towards optimising the information management system in an aged care facility. Continuous monitoring and fine-tuning is required to maintain a high quality computerised information management system in aged care. Our multi-variance electronic documentation system performance measurement model enables the identification and measurement of performance of the system from multiple perspectives. As a self-administered questionnaire survey can be implemented in a short time frame over a large population, our questionnaire survey instrument provides a useful tool that can be customised to continuously measure the performance of the documentation practice in an aged care facility.
The benefits of introducing electronic health record systems into residential aged care homes Yiting Zhang, Dr Ping Yu
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he introduction of electronic nursing documentation systems brings substantial benefits to care staff
members, residents and residential aged care homes. Information quality in the first survey, staff at Organisation 3 perceived the quality of information to be significantly lower than did staff at the other two organisations. The electronic system did not change in any of the aged care organisations, but the care staff members’ perceptions about the quality of information from the system was less positive in the second survey than it had been in the first. The level of decline was less at Organisation 3 than it was at the other two organisations. A multiple case study was conducted to identify these benefits and how they have been achieved. The study was carried out between 2009 and 2012 in nine aged care homes belonging to three organisations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nursing managers, registered nurses, endorsed enrolled nurses, personal care workers and aliened health care professionals. Data was collected from 110 interviewees. Content analysis of the transcribed audio records was conducted using a constant comparison approach. The benefits have been grouped into three categories: 1. Th e benefits to individual care staff members have been identified as: improvement in documentation convenience, and efficiency in data entry, distribution and retrieval. Because it was easy to access the system, staff appeared to read more information using the electronic system than they did in the paperbased record system and their understanding of the information grew. The care staff members are educated on workflow and document recording. They are motivated to enter data and empowered by using the system. 2. The benefits to residents as perceived by care staff members are an improvement in the quality of individual residents’ records and in the quality of care. For example, there is an increased follow-up of residents’
health issues, care staff are able to respond to care-needs faster when using an EHR system and there were fewer incidents of undesirable behaviour by residents. The system is able to support the development of care plans and to facilitate quicker and easier nursing decisions. In addition, care staff members are able to spend more time providing resident-centred care because of less documentation time. 3. The benefits to residential aged care homes themselves are improvement in information management and the working environment as well as increased ability to acquire funding due to improved documentation. An aged care home with an EHR system is more attractive to the care staff. Information management is improved due to improvements in the quality of nursing documentation because it is legible, the layout of electronic forms and charts is clear and displayed compactly on the screen and the content is accurate, complete and up-to-date. In addition,
communication among the staff members and between staff members and residents as well as with outside health care providers is facilitated by using the system. These benefits were achieved because of: the nature of the aged care EHR systems and the way the systems were used by the staff, e.g. its ease of learning and use and its customisable nature. Also, one benefit could lead to another. For example, staff ’s ability to enter data quickly enabled them to record data immediately rather than at the end of a shift. This enabled quicker and better care decisions based on more prompt and complete information. In order to optimise the benefits, care must be taken in choosing and using the electronic system.
How does an electronic nursing documentation system affect the activities of caregivers? Esther Munyisia, PhD Candidate
A
ged care organisations are increasingly introducing electronic nursing documentation systems into residential aged care facilities. There is, however, no evidence about the effect of such systems on caregivers’ daily work. To obtain this information, an observational study was carried out in the high and low care houses of an aged care facility. Data were collected at 2 months before implementation of the e-documentation system and compared to data at 3, 6, 12 and 23 months after system implementation. Documentation and communication activities The time registered nurses (RNs) spent on these two activities remained stable in the first 12 months after implementation. After 23 months, their time on communication was reduced by 12.2% and time on documentation increased by 10.5% from the initial time recorded when using a paper-based system.
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Personal carers’ (PCs) and endorsed enrolled nurses’ (EENs) time on documentation increased and their time on communication was reduced in the 12 months after the implementation of the electronic system. After 23 months, EENs’ time on documentation was reduced by 11.5% and time on communication increased by 10% from the time spent when using the paper-based system. The PCs’ time on these activities returned to the original levels recorded for the paper-based system. Similar trends in time on these two activities were recorded in the low care house after the implementation of the electronic system. Time spent on caring for the residents remained unchanged at most measurement periods after the implementation of the electronic documentation system.. Caregivers’ time spent on other activities, such as medication management and personal duties, either remained stable after implementation or the changes in time were not directly associated with the introduction of the electronic system. These results suggest that the introduction of an electronic documentation system in an aged care facility may not interfere with the caring duties of caregivers, although the caregivers’ efficiency of documentation may not necessarily improve. To optimise the efficiency benefits of electronic documentation at an aged care facility, it is necessary to understand the caregivers’ documentation requirements and the optimal way to enter data into the computer. Another insight is that after implementation, caregivers were more likely to use the electronic system for communicating about their care rather than using face-to-face oral communication. This practice, however, may not be sustained over time. Thus, although adoption and use of an electronic documentation system may stimulate positive changes in caregivers’ documentation practice, maintaining the positive change could be a challenge. This calls for continuous training and support of the caregivers in the use of the electronic system for sustainable benefits in practice. The results also suggest that it may more than a year for nursing staff to completely integrate and use an electronic documentation system in their daily work. So, to optimise the benefits of electronic documentation in aged care facilities, organisations implementing
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such systems need to identify strategies that support and accelerate the speed with which the new documentation practice can be integrated into residential aged care services.
Quality of paper-based and electronic nursing documentation in Australian residential aged care facilities Ning Wang, PhD Candidate
F
ollowing the implementation of two electronic documentation systems, a nursing documentation audit was conducted in nine aged care facilities in three organisations to evaluate the quality of electronic versus paper-based documentation. The evaluation covered resident admission forms, assessment forms, care plans and progress notes in resident records. Resident admission forms • Five versions of paper-based and two versions of electronic resident admission forms were identified in the nine aged care facilities. • An average of 59% of items were documented using an electronic form, significantly more than was the case using a paper-based admission form (56% of the items was documented, p < 0.01) • The electronic admission forms collected more resident data than the paper-based forms. Resident assessment forms • About 9% of the resident records did not contain documented assessment forms. All of the electronic records contained assessment forms. • There were, on average, 28.10 documented assessment forms in each electronic record; significantly more than that (14.46) in paper-based record. • Most items in the assessment forms were completed in both types of documentation systems. • A wider range of resident care needs was assessed and recorded in the electronic assessment forms than in the paper-based ones. • Although most of the assessment forms were completed within the organisational timeframe, the paper-based system significantly outperformed the electronic one in this regard (p < 0.01).
Nursing care plan •A free-text format was adopted by two organisations in their electronic care plan to replace the previous free-text paperbased care plan. •A standardised, check-box based electronic care plan was used in one organisation to replace their previous standardised, tick-box based paper care plan. • Th e mean number of statements describing a resident’s nursing problem or diagnosis increased substantially, from 2.17 in the paper care plan to 5.41 in the electronic system (P<0.01). e mean number of goals in each care • Th domain remained the same, 1.9, in both electronic and paper-based care plans. • The mean number of interventions recorded was significantly reduced in an electronic care plan compared with its previous paper counterpart (5.6 vs 6.61, P<0.01). General assessment of data presentation • Th ere was a decreasing trend in the number of entries in the progress notes in resident electronic records. There used to be 27.97 entries in resident paper-based progress notes in a month. The number of entries was 26.53 at 6 months, 26.78 at 12 months and 23.2 at 18 months into the electronic documentation. • Th e electronic records were legible and better than paper records at meeting the following documentation requirements: using the 24hr clock, written in black ink, resident identification on every page and crossing out spaces and errors with a single line. • S imilar to the paper records, the electronic records were found to contain abbreviations which are not officially approved. • S ignificant improvement was found with the electronic records in terms of dating the records and signing with a printed name and designation (P<0.01).
Two strategies to organise implementation of an electronic documentation system Kieren Diment, PhD Candidate
A
n interview study was conducted to understand the processes of implementing an electronic
documentation system at three residential aged care facilities (RACFs) under the same management group. Although the management group used an identical method to implement the system across each RACF, different facility managers can take different approaches. The differences have an effect on implementation speed and outcome. Two strategies was observed to deal with local implementation challenges, which both have advantages and disadvantages. The first strategy is that managers require only selected staff members â&#x20AC;&#x201C; registered and enrolled nurses, and personal care workers in low care â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to use the new electronic system. Because of the relatively small number of staff, it can reduce the workload of training and supervision. This creates less disturbance to routine service delivery. This strategy can result in a core group of individuals who are trained to be extremely familiar with the system. This familiarity, in turn, can lead to more efficient usage, and possibly easier control of documentation quality. The
disadvantages include: extra work for entering data written on paper by the staff without computer training; a feeling of exclusion in some staff not selected to receive the training and the potential for them to feel disengaged from nursing documentation, so risking the loss of essential nursing observations; and less opportunity for the excluded staff to develop or improve their computer skills. The second strategy relies on a dedicated team of trainers, and dedicated time for them to train their colleagues. It requires all carers in an RACF to use the documentation system almost every shift. Training is delivered by a train-the-trainer strategy. A dedicated group of trainers is selected primarily from personal care workers, along with managers, to be the first to receive extensive training on how to use the system. Training is then delivered by this group of trainers to the rest of the team through individual training. This approach can be very effective. The position of trainer can be empowering for the personal care workers who are used as site trainers. When there is a
critical mass of care staff using the system, peer support and peer learning is stimulated, and this will reduce the level of difficulty and make the learning process more enjoyable as well as reducing reliance on centralised support. For this full team-oriented strategy to work, time has to be available for each care staff member to receive training. Of course everyone needs to use the system regularly to improve familiarity with the system. For both strategies to succeed, managers must have an excellent understanding of what they want from the system, and how it could improve documentation in comparison with paper-based practice. The first approach is a short-term strategy to get the electronic system up-and-running quickly if human resources are constrained, but it requires more on-going effort to ensure success. The second strategy requires more up-front effort and adaptability to changing conditions, but can result in a more self-sustaining documentation system.
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How personal carers spend their time in residential aged care facilities Siyu Qian, Zhenyu Zhang
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nowledge about how personal carers (PCs) spend their time in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) to deliver each care activity is important not only for substantiating the amount of government funds needed, but also to help care managers appraise PCsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance and arrange appropriate numbers of PCs in order to maximise efficiency and productivity. To accurately measure how PCs spend their time on each care activity, a continuous observational study was conducted in 2010 at two RACFs. The observation at Site 1 was between the hours of 7:00 and 14:00 or 15:00 for 14 days. One PC was observed on each day. The observation at Site 2 was from 10:00 to 17:00 for 16 days. One PC working on a
KCC007_KCA_Personal_Care_130x185_ACAJ_OL.indd 1
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morning shift and another PC working on an afternoon shift were observed on each day. 58 activities carried out by the PCs were grouped into eight categories: oral communication (pure oral communication and multi-tasking oral communication, that is, a PC speaking while performing some other activity simultaneously), direct care, indirect care, infection control, documentation, transit (walking or standing in the corridor), staff break, and any other activities.. Overall, personal carers spent the majority of their time (59%) on oral communication (17.6% on pure oral communication and 41.6% on multi-tasking oral communication. Second only to oral communication, direct care consumed most of the time (30.74%), followed by indirect care (17.59%) and staff break (15.21%). The rest of the time was spent on infection control (6.41%), transit (4.56%), documentation (3.14%) and other activities (1.21%). The duration of most of the activities was less than one minute.
Personal carers frequently switched between activities. Most of the switches were within or between oral communication activities, direct care activities and indirect care activities. Personal care workers at Site 2 spent significantly more time than their counterparts at Site 1 on oral communication (Site 1: 47.29% vs. Site 2: 63.47%), transit (Site 1: 3.44% vs. Site 2: 5.53%) and others (Site 1: 0.50% vs. Site 2: 1.83%), however they spent less time on documentation (Site 1: 4.07% vs. Site 2: 2.34%). No statistically significant difference was found on the time spent on direct care, indirect care, infection control and staff breaks. Although direct care was the major responsibility of the PCs, oral communication (both pure and multitasking) was the most time-consuming activity and it was frequently switched between direct care and indirect care activities. This may indicate that oral communication is one of the most
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important activities supporting direct care and indirect care. The content of and manner in which the oral communication was conducted may be critical factors affecting the quality of care.
Battling the challenges of training nursing staff to use Nursing Information Systems Malatsi Galani, PhD Candidate
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mplementation of nursing information systems (NIS) has proven to be a highly complex process sometimes leading to failure to realise the anticipated benefits. Although the majority of care staff members have embraced the new documentation practice, some still remain uncomfortable using computers and tend not to document or revert to using paper. Numerous factors have been identified which hinder end users’ acceptance and usage of the system. The difficulty of providing adequate training is one of the major barriers for the effective use of an NIS and has proven to be difficult for healthcare organisations to properly implement. A study based on cognitive load theory, is being developed to evaluate the challenges for nursing staff to use electronic systems and to develop training strategies to improve
novice care staff members’ capability and skills to use the system. Novice users will be identified, as well as experienced ones. The grouping will be based on the user’s knowledge about the domain, experience with computers in general and experience with the specific system being evaluated. A user’s experience with the electronic system will be identified through analysing the history of the user’s electronic data entry and measure nursing staff ’s perceived computer knowledge and experience in general and the experiences with the specific system being evaluated using Staggers Nursing Computer Experience Questionnaire. Once the novice and experienced users have been identified, cognitive load theory (CLT) will be applied to interpret the learning challenges the nursing staff members encounter. Based on the specific ‘cognitive load’ identified, the training and learning materials will be designed and implemented in such a way as to decrease cognitive overload for the care staff members to learn to use the electronic nursing documentation systems. Because training nurses to use NISs has always been a challenge for health and aged care organisations, the systematic research of theory-driven training material development will enhance the effectiveness of organisational NIS training strategies, and thus contribute to the adoption of clinical IT in health and aged care settings.
Introduction – Conclusion of the Aged Care e-Doc project Professor David Hailey
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he Aged Care e-Doc project was set up to measure the benefits of computerised documentation in residential aged care, in a collaboration between the University of Wollongong and aged care organisations in three states. In this final newsletter, further findings from now concluded studies on implementation and use of electronic documentation in residential aged care are presented. There are also reports on newer studies that have been established to explore other aspects of the use of this information technology. These articles give further perspectives on the benefits of electronic documentation systems and also on the challenges faced by residential aged care organisations in their successful application to routine services. n For further information contact Ping Yu Lead Researcher Aged Care e-Doc Research Project School of Information Systems and Technology Faculty of Informatics, University of Wollongong Tel: 02 4221 5412 Email: ping@uow.edu.au
aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 45
workforce
SAME, SAME... BUT DIFFERENT
I
had read had been in charge at the Home for more than 20 years. As I walked into her office, it was easy to see where everyone’s smiles came from... what a charismatic lady!
A little bit of research before departing uncovered something close to all of our hearts – Myanmar’s version of an aged care facility. The Buddhist Home for the Aged was established in 1915 and is located in Mingun, a short one hour boat ride from Mandalay. As I walked through the front gate I was greeted by smiling faces, the majority of which did not speak any English. I was looking for Nurse Thwe Thwe Aye, who I
She was astounded that someone involved in Aged Care in Australia should be so interested in her small Home. She proudly gave me the VIP tour, introducing me to some of her 80 residents (the oldest of which is 96), and her son who is studying to be a doctor. Needless to say, his expertise will be invaluable to the Home. She translated all of my questions to the residents, who beamed with smiles at the opportunity to have their photo taken with a foreigner. Whilst Spartan, the facilities were spotlessly clean and all of the residents were very well cared for.
have recently returned from annual leave. This year, I chose to visit Myanmar – a country that much of the world knows little about. Known as Burma until 1989, military rule has seen very few tourists until recently. For me, a good opportunity to immerse myself into the culture of the country.
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The slimline low fixed height end columns are designed to eliminate the risk of injury to feet, damage to bed by objects trapped under the bed and to maximise visual monitoring of residents especially when in the raised position. (see inset photo).
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Loads of features and attractive designs. The HomeCare beds are built with solid timbersurrounds, and are available in a wide selection of timber stains to complement any decorating style.
• Customise your bed sizes and head boards shape and colour to suit your decor. • Customise your electronics and accessories to suit your staff and resident’s (patient’s) requirements
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We also manufacture a wide range of accessories from over bed/chair tables and bedside lockers to self-help poles and bed sticks. TGA Registered & Manufactured to AS/NZS 3200.2.38:1997 and AS/NZS 3200.2.38.2007
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Unique Steel Design Pty. Ltd., 9-11 Point Henry Road, Moolap, Vic 3221.
(03) 5248 8369 | www.uniquecare.com.au
Whilst strolling around the grounds, I asked Thwe Thwe Aye about the challenges that she faced with running the Home. Funding, unsurprisingly, came top of the list. The Home relies on donations and volunteers for their funding. Next came staffing... hardly surprising given the limited resources available to pay wages. I smiled to myself, repeating in my head the old saying you hear in many Asian countries “Same, Same...
But Different!” I had travelled 6,000 km to encounter a very similar version of what I see most days in my job – amazing people proving wonderful care for the elderly, in a caring and compassionate way, given limited resources. After a wonderful hour, it was time to depart. My small donation was most humbly accepted (one of the most endearing traits of the Burmese people), although I wished
I could have given more. My boat trip back to Mandalay was one of reflection. I felt honoured to have met Nurse Thwe Thwe Aye and her “orphans”. It made me proud to be involved in such a wonderful industry. n Brad King Manager Business Development Presidential Card 0413 839999 BKing@PresidentialCard.com.au
aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 47
workforce
New funding to increase wages – or more work for less funding? Kristen Ramsey, Senior Associate, Hynes Lawyers
A
s many providers will already be aware, part of the Federal Government’s plan to relieve workforce pressures in the industry is to reallocate $1.2 billion of the funding clawed back under changes to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) in an attempt to improve wages and conditions in the industry. In order to access the reallocated funding, providers will need to meet certain eligibility requirements. Whilst those requirements are yet to be finalised (and are to be subject to industry consultation) it is anticipated that, as a minimum, in order to access the funding, providers will need to: (a) b e a signatory to a Workforce Compact;
(b) h ave an enterprise agreement (or agreements) in place that:
(i) delivers higher wages targeted to areas of greatest workforce pressure; and
(ii) takes into account the additional funding as well as improved wages or conditions resulting from productivity gains achieved as a result of the Workforce Compact; and
(c) t ake part in the Department of Health and Ageing’s regular Workforce Census and Survey. For providers that meet the eligibility requirements, the funding will be made available through a new conditional adjustment payment (CAP) implemented by adjustments to their existing funding agreements.
What is a Workforce Compact? The Workforce Compact will essentially be an agreement, or a pact, between aged care providers and the relevant unions (which will in turn be endorsed by the government)
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concerning various measures to improve training, development, wages, working conditions and productivity in the industry. Whilst the terms of the Compact are to be developed over the next 12 months by an independently chaired advisory group, the government has already stated that the Compact will contain a commitment to enterprise bargaining as the primary mechanism for improving terms and conditions in the industry (and this is reinforced by the minimum eligibility requirements). Whilst there is limited information available to date, it is likely that the Compact will contain a set of minimum terms and conditions which providers will be expected to meet through an enterprise agreement in order to access the reallocated funding and receive the CAP.
Challenges and questions It is unclear whether providers that already pay above award wages, and yet do not have an enterprise agreement in place, will be eligible for the CAP or whether they will need to put in place an enterprise agreement in order to access the funding. Information available to date however strongly suggests that an enterprise agreement is likely to be necessary. Enterprise bargaining can often be costly and time consuming and there is no guarantee that unions or employees involved in the process will limit their claims to simply the terms and conditions contained within the Compact. As such, a real issue for organisations will be whether the CAP is likely to be sufficient to offset the additional costs associated with negotiating and implementing an enterprise agreement consistent with any requirements under the Compact. Furthermore, for providers who take steps to put in place an enterprise agreement in
order to access the funding, in circumstances where their employees do not vote up a proposed enterprise agreement, the provider is not likely to be able to access the CAP irrespective of actual wage rates paid. For those providers who already have enterprise agreements in place which provide for higher than award wages, the question is whether they will be able to use the CAP to offset their already higher wages bill or whether the increased funding will need to be passed directly onto staff (irrespective of their already higher wage rates and despite potential reduction in ACFI funding). Given further information about eligibility requirements and basic details regarding the terms of the Compact itself are not anticipated until later in the year this also poses difficulties for organisations that are presently in negotiations for enterprise agreements, as such organisations could find that new arrangements need to be entered into next year in order for them to be able to access the funding. Such organisations may wish to give consideration to putting negotiations on hold pending further information and clarification regarding the terms of the Compact and the eligibility rules themselves.
A real solution or just another band aid? Whilst everyone agrees that funding arrangements need to change in order to improve wages and working conditions in the industry, the government’s reforms in this area have been heavily criticised as another “band aid” approach that does not really get to the heart of the problem – being that funding is simply not keeping up with the cost of providing aged care services. Unlike under other funding arrangements, whereby providers have relative freedom to use
and allocate funding as it may be required, it would appear as though the intention is for the CAP to result in direct increases to employee wages and therefore that providers may not have any discretion or flexibility regarding the use of the funding (even where they already provide higher wages). No matter which way you look at it, it is difficult to see how providers will benefit under the new arrangements as on one hand many are likely to suffer a reduction in funding under the ACFI clawback, and on the other hand, in order to access the CAP providers face the onerous and costly task of negotiating and implementing an enterprise agreement which provides for higher wages in circumstances where the CAP may not sufficiently offset the costs associated with such a task. At this point, like with many other elements of the reform package, it’s a bit of a case of wait and see, but with industry consultation regarding the terms of the Workforce Compact and the eligibility rules due to commence shortly all providers are encouraged to take part and have their say.
Meanwhile... Fair Work Australia’s minimum wage panel handed down its annual wage increase decision late last week and in doing so increased the minimum wages in each modern award by 2.9%. These increases take effect from the first pay period following 1 July 2012 and affect all aged care providers who have staff covered by the Aged Care Award 2010, Nurses Award 2010, Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 or any other modern award. From 1 July 2012, CPI increases to expense based allowances will also kick in. Given the risk of prosecution and the potential for substantial fines in the event of underpayments, all providers are encouraged to review existing wage rates and salary arrangements to ensure that appropriate rates are being paid to all staff. This includes employees covered by enterprise agreements as the rates of pay in such agreements are
also impacted by the minimum wage panel’s decision. For providers that pay ‘all up’ hourly rates or otherwise remunerate staff on a salaried basis, particular care will need to be taken to ensure that, when such rates are broken down, employees are not being disadvantaged compared to the relevant award. Where rates of pay need to be increased as a result of the minimum wage panel’s decision, providers should also give consideration to whether a written variation to the contract of employment is required and/or desirable.
Need some help with all of this? Hynes Lawyers is able to assist providers in respect of all areas of employment law and industrial relations. This includes advising providers on the implications of the government’s reform package, and assisting providers in their review of existing terms and conditions in light of the increase to award wages. n
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Mat Tyler
Project Manager, Royal District Nursing Service
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aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 49 22/06/12 12:10 PM
workforce
Attracting Young Staff Into Aged Care Mike Swinson
Overview
F
or many aged care providers, attracting suitable staff is a never ending problem. The existing workforce is ageing, the number of people needing care is rapidly rising and wages in the sector are regarded as amongst the lowest in the Australian economy. So how do some organisations succeed where others struggle? Location: Toowoomba. Provider: Lutheran Church’s Northridge Saleem aged care facility. Most people, if they are honest, in one of those rare moments when we look inward to discover what it is that really motivates us in what we do in this world, want to ‘Make a Difference!’
a natural student, he’s had his moments with the local authorities, been in a serious motor vehicle accident already. Not anymore, now he rides his bicycle to work and has never missed a day. Two years ago Dylan Sing started working one day a week at Cowra’s Bilyara Hostel while also studying an aged care course run by a local training organisation. Why? Why are there other young people at the same facility, all discovering that there are rewarding careers in aged care?
Twenty two year old Colin Smith is being unusually honest when he says ‘I love the feeling of leaving work knowing I have made a difference to someone’s life!’
Location: Canberra-Goulburn. Provider: Anglicare and the University of Canberra. Increasingly, aged care organisations, large and small are establishing business and staff development relationships with a variety of training organisations including universities. It’s happening in the ACT, SA and Tasmania to name but a few.
Quite a moment for a former worker who chased a job in the local Toowoomba meat works when he left school because ‘that’s where the money was.’ Colin; a boner and slicer in his previous life, now works in aged care and loves it.
In December of last year a deal was struck between the University of Canberra and the Canberra/Goulbourn division of Anglicare. It’s hoped the new arrangement will help plug the skills gap in aged care nursing for not just Anglicare, but also other aged care providers.
Why? Why has he been joined by three other young people at the same facility, all discovering that there are rewarding careers in aged care?
Under the arrangement, a new Graduate Certificate of Chronic and Complex Care has been developed and will be offered for the first time in July 2012. The new degree is designed specifically for graduate nurses working in aged care in the region.
Location: Cowra. Provider: Bilyara aged care facility. Dylan Sing is nineteen. He was a finalist in the recent NSW Aged Care Services awards and to his amazement he came in third. Now many of you may think that’s nothing special, let me share a secret with you. For Dylan this award is the stuff of dreams. This youngster had always thought dreams never come true, aspirations always get shattered, especially to young fellas like him. Dylan is one of the many kids who get a reputation for being ‘the most likely to end up in trouble.’ Not
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The new graduate certificate will be delivered through a combination of online learning and classes offered on site at aged care facilities. Location: Sydney. Provider: BUPA Aged Care across Australia. This year sees 25 newly registered nurses start work at various Bupa Care Services facilities around Australia through an innovative graduate employment and training program, created to attract more newly-trained nurses to
aged care by offering them practical experience and professional development. It’s regarded as the first employment training arrangement of its kind and consists of four three-month clinical placements over the first year, leading to the completion of the first four modules of a Graduate Certificate in Nursing. Participants then have the option to continue their employment while completing the graduate certificate over the following two years through customised modules and selfpaced learning, funded by BUPA. Ruby Anne Cantos is a registered nurse who completed her nursing degree in the Philippines, where she said aged care nursing was not an option, and dementia care virtually non-existent. An 11-month long course at the Sydney based College of Nursing allowed her to become registered in Australia, but the graduate program gave her the chance to learn about caring for the elderly. “I’m very happy that I got in,” Ms Cantos said from her new workplace at Bupa Morphettville in Adelaide. “It’s really good because it offers a lot of opportunities to get support from the managers, other RNs and the companies head office in Sydney. Location: Hobart. Provider: Glenview Community Services. Glenview is a small aged care facility providing a mix of high, low and community care. The average age of staff is around 45 years, so faced with the challenge of finding and keeping young staff a number of strategies have been put in place. Glenview has established a close working relationship with the local Polytechnic (TAFE) and provides work experience placements for people doing Certificate 3 or 4 in aged care. They also financially support and encourage student nurses to enter aged care, with scholarships or work experience placements. Hannah, 23, an enrolled nurse, part way through her degree to become a RN, at Adelaide University. Glenview help with her travel costs, books and other associated
expenses and has a work/study office she can escape to when quiet time is needed. “She, and others like her are the staff of the future,” says Alayne Baker, Glenview’s HR Consultant. “Young people bring new ideas, they grew up with IT and the older residents love having them around!” “We also have a young man who started work experience with us when he was just 15. Now he is 17, he is finishing his HSC and is working in our kitchen as a trainee. He is under the watchful eye of the Chef and is supported and encouraged by the staff (mostly female) who work there. I think Dylan is the only one of his mates who has a job and that brings a unique pressure to bear on him,” says Alayne. “We do this because we need young people, our workforce is ageing, we provide a supportive learning environment and train them our way with strong work and care ethics.”
Overview Colin Smith in Toowoomba, Dylan Sing in Cowra, Ruby Anne Cantos in Morphettville, Dylan and Hannah in Glenorchy are living
breathing examples of how it takes more than just a job offer to attract and keep staff. It is obvious if you look at these facilities and delve into the ethics of employment, the support that is needed, encouragement provided and finding that management ‘goes the extra mile’ that you can achieve success. Take Dylan Smith in Cowra as an example. Less than six months ago he finished his Certificate III in aged care. His boss, Ray Harris told me that Dylan was a challenging kid, but “we have supported him, mentored him and he has rewarded us by the bucket load!” “This award he achieved has lifted Dylan’s pride in himself and I’m proud to say he has never missed a day’s work even when we rostered him on weekends! If you want young people working in aged care you have to go the extra mile as employers, you have to support and encourage them. We have a number of young staff and with our help they are all constantly improving their qualifications. It’s great to see,” says Ray. Dylan told the local newspaper; the Cowra Guardian that when he started work at Bilyara
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“conversation came naturally between him and the Hostel residents and with the help of a role model, a colleague, Kelly Cramp, he soon found it easy to chat with them. But ask him to describe how it feels to come third in the Service Awards and he was lost for words. ‘I don't know what to say, I just feel good,’ he said.” Dylan certainly looks on top of the world in this photo at the awards night! Whilst this article does not provide an answer to the age old problem of attracting young staff, it does provide an insight into the employment strategies of a number of large and small aged care organisations that seems to be working for them. n Why don’t you contact me with your story about success or lessons learned on this vexed topic of ‘attracting young staff to aged care.’ Mike Swinson, mike@cimatters.com.au Mob: 0407 485 649.
Selecting a Nursecall system is a daunting task, with so many technologies involved how do you choose the right product and the right supplier? At Austco, we understand aged care. Over the past twenty five years, 5,500 healthcare facilities have chosen Austco as their trusted supplier. Our range of Nursecall Systems provide: • Compliance with the Australian/New Zealand Standards for “Alarm systems for the elderly” (AS2999) and “Patient Alarm Systems” (AS3811) • Comprehensive reporting for risk and cost reduction, as well as effective and efficient resource management
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aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 51
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aintaining organisation wide awareness of infection control practices is an ongoing challenge for any training or HR manager in aged care. With a mixture of employees and contractors from a wide range of professional backgrounds, providing the level of comprehensive and targeted training just to new starters is a full time job, let alone designing, organising and delivering refresher training to maintain awareness.
Designed with the diverse needs of health care providers in mind, the course is modular and can be targeted to address specific roles commonly found in aged care facilities (including the requirements of cleaning and catering staff). The course also incorporates a dynamic pre-assessment capability, so those that are already competent can illustrate their understanding and avoid the requirement to do training altogether.
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aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 53
general
A Desperately Needed Healing Touch
Initial assessment – 6th February
Mike Swinson
“Every day for the past 10 years I wake up in pain and discomfort. It’s my leg ulcer and it’s refusing to heal and it’s bloody awful to have to live with!” “I have never experienced pain like this. It was a sharp stinging pain every time they dressed the wound. Sometimes it was so bad I would sit in my chair and cry because it
“
hurt so much and there was nothing I could do to make it better!” “If you have never had an ulcer or chronic wound like this, you have no idea of what it’s like. It’s one of the worst things I can imagine!” ‘It leaks all day and night, it has to be bandaged every second day and often it stinks!”
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I could continue this litany of pain and suffering from those unlucky enough to suffer from a chronic wound that doesn’t want to heal, but I am sure you have the picture. If you haven’t don’t jump on your iPhone or iPad and Google it because when you see an image of a big one, they aren’t pretty! In fact they are awful! Just to show you how awful, I have included an image so you can get acquainted with one, up close and personal!
Professor Upton says “Your skin is the barrier to the outside world, it is your protection and when you suffer from a wound that won’t heal you are at risk of infection all the time.”
16th March
So what exactly is a chronic wound and why are they such a problem? A chronic wound is a wound that will not heal in the stages or time the way ordinary wounds do. Some of the common causes of chronic wounds include Diabetes, Vascular disease, Infection, Immobility to name but a few. A chronic wound may never heal or may take months, even years to do so. These wounds can cause severe emotional and physical stress; they can also create a significant financial burden. Eve’s story. In October 2010 Eve injured her leg when working in the garden. She noticed a nasty dark spot that wouldn’t go away that within weeks grew into an ulcer five cm wide. Eve had to give up bowls and relied on treatment from her GP until she managed to get into the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Hyperbaric Wound Unit. She had to go to the unit every day for thirty two days, each treatment lasting two hours. “After the nurses had dressed the wound I would sit in the chair and cry because it hurt so much, but even though it hurt like hell, I have to say that the staff at the unit were wonderful!.” There have been advances in chronic wound treatment; compression bandages and oxygen combined with a hyperbaric chamber can improve the healing time. But the awful reality remains that for most sufferers a chronic may never heal! However, all is not lost, there is light at the end of this tunnel of despair, as a technological breakthrough is about to change the lives of those suffering chronic wounds. The technology was developed in Australia over a period of 12 years and will be launched in the next few weeks in the UK and Europe, then hopefully not too long later, subject to regulatory approval, into Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
It’s called VitroGro® ECM and is the brainchild of Professor Zee Upton from the Queensland University of Technology. Professor Upton explains. “In simple terms, VitroGro® ECM is a solution containing patented proteins that is applied to the wound surface. Skin cells normally grow on a framework of proteins, but unfortunately in chronic wounds this framework is damaged. VitroGro® ECM replaces the damaged framework allowing normal wound healing to take-over and the wound to close.” the solution containing patented proteins is applied to the wound surface. Skin cells normally grow on a framework of proteins, but unfortunately in chronic wounds that framework is severely damaged. The solution replaces that damaged framework allowing normal wound healing processes to take over and the wound to eventually close. “I will never forget the first time I was confronted with a chronic wound,” said Professor Upton, “it was at a wound clinic in Brisbane and there was a woman who had arrived for treatment of her huge leg ulcers. They were about half the size of an A4 page. As the nurses took the dressings off she had tears running down her face from the pain, the wounds reeked and she asked me ‘Do you think my legs will get amputated?’ Of course I had no idea. She was only 52 years old and had young grandchildren. The worst thing about these wounds is that people die from the ones that will not heal.” In a VitroGro® ECM clinical trial one participant’s Venous Ulcer was thirty years old! Christopher Reeve, the man who played Superman and had a riding accident that made him a quadriplegic, did not die directly from his injuries but from an infection that started in a pressure ulcer that would not heal.
In a strange twist of fate, it is remarkable that Zee Upton is doing the work she does, for if she had followed family tradition she would never have crossed the threshold of a University. She is the only member of her extended family to have a degree, let alone one with honours and a subsequent PhD! “When I left home and went to University, I partied hard and failed first year. I wanted to do Nuclear Physics, because I was a double Math’s and Chemistry kind of gal! I got a job as a lab assistant, enrolled in Biology as part of my Science Degree and fell in love with it. Ten years later, studying part time I had my degree and subsequently my PhD.” Professor Upton’s area of expertise and interest are proteins in the cellular structure of human skin. Her PhD was centred on growth factors; what makes cells divide and how proteins interact with other proteins in a range of different species. To cut a long story short, ten years and jobs at two universities later, VitroGro® ECM was fully patented. “As I was working with growth factors in chickens I noticed a new protein that had not been described before. It took me six years to get one year’s funding to chase this protein and it was tough going. It turns out to be a sticky protein and is now the essence of VitroGro®” she said. A full patent was obtained, investors found, a company formed and the research and development phase through to commercialisation went into full swing. Disaster struck in the form of the GFC and the project almost collapsed, but it survived and now is a fully listed public company. VitroGro® looks like clear water; it is easily administered with a syringe without the needle with drops of the fluid onto the edge of the wound. Some weeks later the wound starts to change colour, it gets pinker, the redness starts to fade as the healing process begins. “If you look carefully,” says Professor Upton, “you will notice little colonies of cells
aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 55
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with diabetes and probably double that number are undiagnosed sufferers.” In Australia research partnerships have been formed with the establishment of the Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre, which involves 22 partners including Silverchain in WA.
8th June
Liz Howse is the Clinical Nurse Consultant with Silverchain, she’s been looking after people with chronic wounds for 18 years and cannot wait for the VitroGro® technology to be available in Australia. Her youngest patient is 18 years old, the oldest is 103! She says some patients wounds heal after 12 weeks, others never do. Janine, 71, also had treatment at the Hyperbaric Wound Unit at the Royal, her wound is also healed.
forming at the edge of the wound, then over time the cellular structure extends and the wound starts to heal. This technology is exciting. The places I am most interested in extending this technology to are the growing economies, like India and the Middle East. India has over 15 million people diagnosed
“The price of my commitment to those six weeks of daily visits to the hospital pales into insignificance when compared to the benefits of being healed. I take my hat off to that magnificent team at the Royal!” One trial of VitroGro® ECM showed that after 12 weeks of treatment, 82 per cent of patients were partially or completely healed and this was with patients that suffered with
their chronic wounds for an average of 37 months. What’s also known is that chronic wounds cost the healthcare system dearly. For example, conservative costs to the UK National Health Service (NHS) are estimated at £2-3 billion per year. In the United States hard to heal wounds affect 6.5 million patients and is estimated to cost in excess of US$25 billion annually. In Germany, according to cautious estimates, approximately 3-4 million people suffer from hard to heal wounds and associated costs are high for the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) funds, the economy and patients. Clearly there is a vast market for this technology and a capacity to ease the suffering of literally millions of people worldwide. n
Contacts: International Product Manager, VitroGro® ECM Brian Ziegler. 0417 786 793 Professor Zee Upton, Assistant Dean (Research), Faculty of Health and founder of VitroGro® ECM. Queensland University of Technology. QUT 07 3138 9639
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general
When is a retirement village not a retirement village
I
n the last edition of Aged Care Australia Magazine we examined Granny flat rights (or Life Interests) as the first in our four part series examining the different legal and financial arrangements that people enter into to provide companionship and aged care services but which are not permanent residential aged care. In this edition we are going to examine Demountable Homes Parks. Demountable homes parks can generally be classified into two groups: those that originated from caravan parks for tourist accommodation and also offer permanent
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sites (often in a distinct area) and those that are purpose built villages/communities normally marketed to retirees. The latter are often called things like “Over 55’s Community”, “Retirement Resort” or “Lifestyle Village”. The demountable homes parks that are purpose built for the retiree market have all the look and feel of a bricks and mortar retirement village with communal facilities such as swimming pools, bowling greens, tennis courts etc. In fact there is a park on Queensland’s Gold Coast that even has its own private cinema and a lake stocked with
fish so the residents can go fishing! These kinds of demountable homes parks normally have bigger units, with the majority being two-bed units and a large proportion being three-bed units. There tend to be very few (if any) single room units and as a result there are often larger numbers of people in the community. The units themselves can be hard to pick as demountable or relocatable homes, particularly when there is a garden surrounding them, and they come with all the mod cons: air conditioning, full kitchen, often an ensuite as well as a central
bathroom, a laundry, a front deck and in some cases a back deck also. However, the units are often cheaper than the bricks and mortar retirement village unit, largely due to the cheaper construction costs, with the cost of a new home ranging from around $150,000 to $650,000 depending on size and quality.
Commonwealth Rent Assistance and DHPs
The key difference between a Demountable homes park and a retirement village is that the loan, licence or lease arrangement between the resident and the operator is over the land, not the building. Being an owner-occupier and a tenant at the same time poses a unique set of circumstances for people living in these communities. Traditionally, there have been no stamp duty, entry fees or exit fees and many residents have qualified for government rent assistance. However, some of the new villages do charge a DMF ((Deferred Management Fee (exit fee)) on the sale of the home.
Here’s how you calculate the rent assistance payable:
Because of the nature of ownership within a Demountable Homes Park, i.e. you own the home but rent the land (often called “site fees”), Rent Assistance is often payable to residents of these parks.
The rent you pay must be above the minimum threshold for rent assistance to be payable. The minimum thresholds are: $106.80pfn for singles and $173.80 for couples (different thresholds apply to couples separated due to illness or share arrangements). Rent Assistance is paid at 75% of the rent above this threshold, up to the maximum of $120.20pfn for singles and $113.20 for couples. n
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Case Study Shirley is a full age pensioner living in a “Over 55’s Community”, the purchase price of her unit was $300,000 and the site fees she pays to the village operator are $100p.w. Her rent assistance will be calculated as: Rent paid $200pfn Minus threshold $106.80 Excess $93.20 X 75% = $102.30 Rent Assistance paid would be $69.90pfn For Shirley to receive the full amount of rent assistance of $120.20pfn her rent would need to be at least $267pfn. The fact that rent assistance is payable under these arrangements has caused accusations of artificial inflation of the site fees as park owners expect that the majority of residents will be able to claim the rent assistance and therefore can afford a higher amount of site fees or the owners set the site fees at the
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amount at which maximum rent assistance is payable One of the main concerns for resident of Demountable Homes Parks and Caravan Parks is increases to the site fees (rent). The leases offered vary from one park to another and one resident to another, while the lease will indicate the rate at which the rent will be increased during the period of the lease (e.g. CPI) for those with shorter leases the expiry of the lease can bring uncertainty about the affordability of the new lease. The other cause for concern for many residents of these parks is the risk of re-development. If the park as a whole is being sold, closing down or is being re-developed, 6 months’ notice is needed. Residents have the right to challenge any of these orders through the relevant states’ tribunal process. Receiving care in one of these communities is often very similar to receiving care in your own home, residents or their families co-ordinate a combination of government funded community care packages and private carers to meet the resident’s needs
Rachel Lane Rachel is the Principal of Aged Care Gurus and coauthor of the book “Aged Care, Who Cares?” with Noel Whittaker. Rachel is well known and respected within the aged care and financial services industries for providing advice on the structuring of income and assets for aged care. She regularly facilitates workshops for Aged Care Association Australia (ACAA) and is often sought by key industry, Government and media professionals for expert comments and advice in this area.
Rachel has been working in financial services for 14 years and specialising in aged care for the past 8. Rachel holds a Masters in Financial Planning which included a research report on aged care in Australia titled “Aged Care; The struggle to provide Quality, Equity, Efficiency, Sustainability and Choice”. Prior to founding Aged Care Gurus Rachel held the position of Executive Manager, Aged Care Solutions at Colonial First State. Her Research report formed the basis of Colonial First State’s submission to the Productivity Commissions review of aged care. Rachel is a regular contributor to industry publication Aged Care Australia magazine and is often sought by mainstream media for her professional insight on aged care matters.
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www.agedservices.asn.au
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Global Aged Care Crisis The Silver Tsunami in India Mike Swinson
“Mother has become like poison, while wife is sweet!”
A
s most of us are aware, Australia’s population is rapidly ageing, resulting from years of low birth rates and advances in medical technology leading to increased life expectancy. In 1901 the average Australian could expect to live for 47 years, now it’s over 80 and rising! As the recent Productivity Commission report into ageing in Australia found, over the next several decades, population ageing is projected to have significant implications for health, labour force participation, housing and demand for skilled labour.. However don’t think for a moment that we are on our Pat Malone! The ‘Silver Tsunami’ is a global phenomenon and is advancing inexorably on every country in the world. So if by some small chance some of you think things are crook here in Aus, say a prayer, say thanks to someone that we don’t face the problems that a country like India does. The Indian sub continent boasts a population of 1.8 billion and rising, a country steeped in tradition, where for centuries the old have been honoured and respected. Ancient religious texts and writings imposed a duty of care on sons to provide support for their parents. Like the Christian commandment to ‘Honour thy father and thy mother’, there is a Hindu saying in Sanskrit: mathru devobhava (mother is like God), pithru devobhava (father is like God) and guru devobhava (teacher is like God). So you would think there shouldn’t be a problem, families looking after families, but it doesn’t, it isn’t working that way at all! Not any more!
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There is already a saying in India that, ‘mother has become poison and wife sweet’. As in this country the influence of religious teaching on younger generations has wilted and waned. Since Independence, India has been passing through a rapid socio-economic transformation that has brought about important changes in the social profile of the population. Demographers say Indian grandparents have gone from having as many as 66 potential caregivers to as few as five. It is little consolation that much of the rest of the world faces a similar dilemma. This is especially true in Japan, where the population is rapidly ageing that by 2050 there will only be 1.5 workers paying taxes to support each elderly person. Demographers also warn that in 25 years’ time, Thailand could find itself in a situation almost as bad. The personal reality of a changing world is brought home by this report from The New York Daily News dated May 15th, 2012. “R. Padmanathan Nair sits on a plastic chair in the entryway of the Heritage senior home talking about the fellow residents who treat him like family, which is helpful seeing as his own rarely visit. He says his wife tried to abscond with their valuables, so in desperation he gave his house to a nearby niece, who he thought would look after him! The moment the property passed into her hands she ignored him. Now his daughter is the only one who visits the 76-year-old retired teacher and only a few times a year. She didn’t get the house! “
“But she only comes to get money from me,” said Nair, unshaven and dressed in a white lungi skirt-like garment and striped polo shirt, his voice rising in anger. “It’s a blessing there are homes like this.” The report goes on to say, “India, a nation that prides itself on the inclusive embrace of its extended families, is slowly accepting a feature long common in the West: aged care facilities. Social changes find more urban families rejecting traditional arrangements involving grandparents, parents and children under one roof, preferring life without nosy inlaws. Economics is also playing a role as more professionals work abroad or in large Indian cities, too busy to care for aging parents.” But what you loose on the swing, you can pick up on the roundabout! Many older Indians prefer living with others their own age, even enjoying a bit of romance away from the disapproving gaze of grown-up children. “Life here is easier than living with my family in all respects,” said P.V. Bhaskasan, also a retired teacher. “There’s too much fighting in extended families.” As in Australia and many other Western economies, the extended family system in India is gradually breaking down, giving way to the nuclear system. Forces of modernisation, technological change and social mobility have changed people’s lifestyles and values. These changes have adversely affected traditional teachings and respect as well as attitudes of empathy and care for the aged. The migration of younger people from rural areas to towns and cities increases the vulnerability of the old who stay behind, particularly those living in families
who do not have independent food production sources like land, livestock or household industry and are dependent primarily on their labour.
11,100 people older than 60 committed suicide, a 20% increase from 2008 and there is no sign that those figures are improving.
It all adds up to a problem that in India is on a vast scale, requiring the injection of billions of dollars into what is seen as a non productive sector of the economy. Poverty is rife in India and the Hindu caste system will ensure it stays that way for a long time to come. The future for many is one of poverty and depravation. The vast flow of wealth in India is demographically downward, to the younger generations, so what will become of the older generations?
“In abuse cases, parents don’t want to dob in their own children,” said Anjali Raje, deputy executive director of the International Longevity Center in Pune. “So the abuse or neglect is swept under the rug.”
As India’s traditional social contract frays, seniors are more subject to neglect, to physical and mental abuse and depression. The statistics are not pretty, in 2010,
The 76 year old retired teacher, Padmanathan Nair can count his lucky stars that he had enough money to get into an aged care facility and that he didn’t end up spending the rest of his life begging on the streets. The number of people over 60, now at 96 million, is expected to double by 2030, with governments ignoring the building ‘Silver Tsunami!’
According to many experts, aged care is the Indian government’s last priority. A recent survey by the Economist magazine rated India last among 40 nations, even behind Uganda, on “end-of-life care services,” including access to drugs and caregivers. Only a few medical colleges teach geriatrics and less than 15% of the population is covered by a pension system, which offers as little as $1.50 a month for many to survive on. Said Roshan Jacob, an Indian elder-care expert. “We’re digging our own grave. It’s a 200% crisis for India if we don’t start thinking about this.” n Note: Content for this article has been drawn from numerous sources, including the New York Daily News, the South Asia Times, the Hindustan Times, the Bangkok Post and the ABC.
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2013 Study Tour Program STUDYING & ADVANCING GLOBAL ELDERCARE
Register Your Interest Now
Plan your year of learning with SAGE. Our exciting 2013 study tour program includes:
USA
With technology being a major solution to assisting seniors age in place this tour will be conducted focusing on I.T.
18th - 29th May 2013
research, developments and implementations. Discover the latest advances in technology impacting on care
An emerging technology and IT solutions focused tour. Visit South Carolina, Washington and New York and will include attendance at a seminar at CAST (Center for Aging Services Technology) in Washington.
delivery, service models, communication and collaboration, telemedicine and more. The tour will take in South Carolina, Washington and New York and will include attendance at a seminar at CAST (Center for Aging Services Technology) in Washington, an institution that is leading the charge in developing, evaluating and adopting emerging technologies that improve the ageing
Visit sagetours.com.au to register your interest.
China
experience.
With an ageing Chinese population, a rising middle class,
plus Singapore
improving regulatory frameworks and increased interest
14th - 26th April 2013 An intensive ten day business development tour exploring seniors living operations and business opportunities in Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing. Includes attendance at Aging Asia Invest Conference in Singapore (15-18th April).
from international investors in the sector, interest in seniors living development in China has never been stronger. Experience an intensive program of networking, study sessions, workshops, discussions and facilities tours around Beijing, Shanghai and visit Tianjin Mall the first and largest Trade centre for the elderly and disabled in China. Delegates will gain essential insights into the current status of the Chinese seniors housing market and the opportunities
Visit sagetours.com.au to register your interest.
available to Australian operators.
for more information or to register your interest visit www.sagetours.com.au or contact study leader Judy Martin jmartin@agedcare.org.au SAGE study tours are a partnership between: Supported by:
a specialist design practice.
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China tour
China tour
general
SAGE Tour & IAHSA Global Ageing Conference Dennis Chamberlain, Chief Executive Officer, James Brown Memorial Trust
Study & Advancing Global Eldercare (SAGE) Tour – Philadelphia area USA – October 2011
T
he Tour of seven Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC’s) was both exciting and interesting, and there were a number of key issues which I and the Philadelphia tour group picked up on and which are recorded briefly here:• The wages structure for untrained staff (care-workers) is below that of Australia, and as a result there sometimes appeared to be a larger number of care-worker equivalent staff “on the floor” when compared with what is in place in Australia. • Normalisation – the concept of a home-like environment – was not widely adopted by the operators visited, with staff in formal nurse uniforms and where wearing “white coats” was the norm. However, The Green House model, offering high care residents a home-like environment, using multi-skilled carers to undertake all activities (ADL’s, medication management, food preparation, domestic chores, washing, etc., was very interesting to observe. We managed to include a visit to Green Hills Aged Care, located in Orange, New Jersey, to see one in operation. One of the photos here shows the exterior of what is actually a 12 bed-roomed house, designed to The Green House specification. • CCRC’s seemed to me to be mostly focussed at independent living, where the big revenues are. The number of aged care beds, both low and high care, is much smaller when compared with the number of independent living units within an operation. The rationale here is to limit exposure to unfunded liabilities as state and federal subsidies are time limited and do not cover the full cost of care. If residents deplete their own cash reserves and cannot fund the gap, the home usually does not evict – rather, they pick up the gap in recurrent funding. An exception to this perception of mine is the Immaculate Mary Aged Care home, in suburban Philadelphia, which specialised in dementia care. The staff there were clearly dedicated to their work and, although they are somewhat constrained by space and available redevelopment dollars, they have
managed, through creative ideas and the energy from their staff, to transform a large part of their very institutional building into an interesting and fun place for dementia sufferers to which to live. the above photo shows one of the more creative nooks they have developed for residents’ diversion and entertainment. • A number of CCRC operators advised they met with their residents at regular intervals to confirm that their personal finances continued to be “in good shape” and so could be expected to fund their future cost of care at the facility! Older people in the USA cannot rely entirely on Medicare and Medicaid to fund the cost of residential aged care, especially if they had sufficient funds to enter a CCRC. All CCRC residents are expected to have private wealth, reasonable recurrent income and private health insurance specifically designed for those living in a retirement village or aged care complex. • CCRC’s do not regularly offer entry to their aged care beds to those living in the broader community – rather they look after their own residents exclusively and do not engage with the wider older population. This philosophy is vastly different than what is currently in place in Australia. Likewise, many of them do not offer in-home care into their villages, and the broader community, although a number we visited indicated this was on their agenda for future investigation. • The USA federal government is currently cutting the level of funding that goes to operators of aged care homes – something that is anathema to Australia providers – we are continually pushing the federal government to give more to support our elderly!
Leading Edge – International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA) Global Conference – Washington DC – October 2011 The Conference was held in the Washington Conference Centre. I have been on organising committees for the Retirement Villages
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Association National Conference twice and three Aged and Community Services Association National Conference and Exhibitions, but I have never participated in such a large event before. A brief overview is provided below:• Including trade exhibitors, the total registrations for the 4 days totalled over 8,000 persons. • The trade exhibition hall was huge with an enormous array of exhibitors, 433 in total. • There was an emphasis on concurrent sessions, with between 25 and 27 separate streams to choose from – clearly something for everyone. The presenters may all have had accents, but many of the issues presented were familiar – e.g. marketing the sector, building stock renewal, affordable housing, reducing dependence on government funding, managing the issues of regulatory compliance, managing occupancy levels. • There was little industry advocacy arising from the conference – this in part arises from the fact that residential aged care which is a federal only funded service in Australia, is a combination of both state and federal funding in the USA, and there are 50 states! • Key note speakers, instead of being selected for their knowledge and expertise in the ageing sector, were mostly international celebrities who were also becoming older e.g. Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland), Maya Angelou (writer and Pulitzer Prize nominee) and Elie Wiesel (Nobel Prize winner for Peace). • The social program available to registrants was more segmented, as many of the various state associations across the USA used the conference as a platform for meeting with members, so state dinners were a feature. There was no main conference dinner, but there was a 9.00 pm. cocktail/dance party with the entertainment being the celebrated, but quite obviously ageing, original Village People. So what were the big take-homes from being involved in a SAGE Tour? • Knowledge that aged and community care the world over faces much the same challenges; • Australia can still consider it to be a world leader in the provision of high quality aged care and services; • Getting to know your peers on the tour can lead you to new ideas and knowledge, just as much as looking at facilities in the country you’re visiting; • Successive Australian governments have continued to support older people to a greater extent than many other countries, but there has to be a limit to this and that time is fast approaching; • Finally, with Email, Facebook, Twitter and iPads, the office back in Australia is only a minute away! n
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Who cares about Aged Care providers? More should!
A
To ensure your current administrative software meets the silent partner test, can you confidently say it:
ged care is all about care – caring about residents, providing support and assistance, caring for staff... But who cares about the aged care providers?
More needs to be done, particularly when dealing with RISK MITIGATION. Believe it or not, there are companies that are concerned about the needs and concerns of aged care providers and who want to assist them reduce the burden and risk associated with this industry. One area these companies can be found in, is technology. Technology can be used effectively as a silent, 24 hour partner in the administration of an aged care facility. It doesn’t sleep, take holidays or ask for increased benefits. (Important when you think the bottom line of any organisation looks at three things: business protection, efficiency and profit). For example, the programs needed to administer agreements, organise bonds or keep a check on maintenance can be time intensive, expensive and historically haven’t fully protected users. So if a company claims to be supportive of you, the provider, are they really?
If you’re finding a few ‘no’s in there, perhaps you need to review your software and adopt an alternative partner more aligned to your business needs? The myth that larger technology means better outcomes is simply not true. Consider instead modularised, budget conscious, flexible option software like the kind created by e-Tools Software. You then have at hand a choice of affordable programs with full support. There’s no need to continue with the status quo – rethink old processes and expensive software by taking a look at the suite of aged care software solutions from e-Tools. There really is a company who cares about aged care providers! n
www-e-tools.com.au
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Braille Tactile Signs (AUST) Renée Gatt C, Braille Tactile Signs (Aust)
B
raille was developed by the young French boy Louis Braille in 1825 as a result of loosing his sight in an accident at the age of just four. First displayed and demonstrated in 1851 at the World Exhibition in Germany, Braille was not widely used until 1918, 56 years after Louis’ death. Today Braille is a universal language for people who are blind and who have low vision. This touch system is now taught to children and adults all over the world enabling them the equal right, pleasure and necessity to the communicative language of reading and writing; and fundamentally, access to the built environment. Safeguarding the rights of people who are blind or who have low vision to equity of access, The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), became law on March 1 1993.
‘Accessibility’ is a widespread term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. A mandatory provision in all public spaces, buildings and transport, Braille and Tactile signs are essential for people who are blind or have low vision. Enabling access to education, employment and all forms of social participation, the Equal Opportunity Act stipulates a violation of international human rights, should these provisions be breached. Wayfinding signage can be seen today in so many applications, on walls and doors, on directory signs, at transport stops, on moving vehicles and beyond. Aged care facilities rely heavily on such signage to assist their residents and visitors on their path of travel to and from facilities of interest and need. It is essential in these circumstances to provide continuous surface products, with no add
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Compliance and effective monitoring… on features ensuing no breeding sites for bacteria. Encapsulated products are also vital, meaning all graphics is enclosed with in the sign, and not applied to the surface; securing all information from being damaged or wiped off by appropriate cleaning products.
…two essential components for optimising oral anticoagulation therapy enables quality of care.*
Custom made for specific purposes and situations, signs are designed to suite endless uses, with colour and graphic aesthetic to suit. It is essential that all Australian Standards, Building Codes and related criterion are met in the design, manufacture and installation of Wayfinding products. These specifications ensure the correct Braille dome, letter and tactile heights, amongst many other requirements; importantly luminosity. Referring to the difference between dark and light properties, and not to be mistaken for colour contrast, luminance contrast can be picked up most easily by people with low vision. With a minimum of 30% contrast, the luminance must occur between the tactile graphics and the signs background, as well as the sign and its mounted surface. The tactile component allows those with low vision, who may have lost their sight prior to, or without the knowledge of Braille, to successfully negate their path to services and resources, as easily as a sighted person. While both the international symbol for access, (the wheelchair symbol) and the audio symbol, required to be white on Ultramarine Blue, any colour combination is allowed for all other graphics, providing they comply with these luminosity requirements.
With 300,000 Australians who are blind or have low vision, authorities expect that this figure will double by 2020 as a result of the aging Baby Boomer population. Preparation is underway to ensure access is adequate and suitable for this increasing number. Blindness has numerous common causes, from Cataracts and Glaucoma to Diabetic Retinopathy, but it is most certainly Macula Degeneration, which is primarily age related, that is the leading cause. Low vision can be caused by a number of different diseases, conditions or accidents. Some eye conditions are congenital, (present at, or near birth) others are caused by a disease, infection or s through exposure to UV rays or chemicals. stem
Compliance and monitoring - inter-related factors in oral anticoagulation * Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd, Accreditation Standard 2, 2.7 Medication management.
The importance of compliance • •
ompliance rate with long-term medication in general has been estimated C at between 50% and 60%1 Evidence shows that INR monitoring improves the quality of oral anticoagulation between 50% and 85%2
Warfarin – a particular case in point • • •
T his is increasingly prescribed as lifelong therapy for patients with mechanical heart valves, atrial fibrillation or thrombophilic disorders, effectively preventing arterial embolism in a wide range of conditions3 Maintaining INR within its therapeutic range is effectively achieved through monitoring Patients on warfarin who have had a heart valve replacement there was a 32% difference in survival at 15 years between patients with low and high variability in anticoagulation control4
The obvious choice is partnering VKA and CoaguChek® XS Plus for improved compliance
y XS s test I N R k Of the 314 million people worldwide who have C a vision impairment, e h to de so gumost way 87% live in developing countries, making common n ma nt t e r e Coitathe b a sm ever djustme impairment worldwide. With such staggering has n ya - thefigures it isgcomforting ®
rin heraap to see that the world is increasingly becomingmaware, onitoanddcertainly iate t R e N I m more accessible and safer place for all. n for im easy For more information regarding this important aspect of accessibility contact the friendly and helpful staff at Braille Tactile Signs (Aust) or visit www.brailletactilesigns.com.au
E LIF E TIM TY N A R R WA
CoaguChek® XS Plus References: 1. DiMatteo MR. Formulary 1995; 30: 596–8, 601–2, 605. 2. Heneghan C, Alonso-Coello P, Garcia-Alamino JM, Perera R, Meats E, Glasziou P. Self-monitoring of oral anticoagulation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet 2006;367:404-411. 3. Ansell J et al. Int J Cardiol 2005; 99: 37–45. 4. Butchart EG et al. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002; 123: 715-23.
Roche Diagnostics Australia Pty Limited., 31 Victoria Ave Castle Hill NSW 2154, Phone: 02 9860 2222 ABN 29 003 001 205
COAGUCHEK, BECAUSE IT’S MY LIFE are trademarks of Roche.
Specially produced for indoor and outdoor applications, a continuous surface is essential for all Braille and tactile signs. These encapsulated products exclude potential damage to their graphics and colour, ensuring the signs are never compromised by vandals. Being a continuous membrane, with no add-ons in the form of inserted Braille and graphics, (implying nothing can be removed) guarantees its vital readability, longevity and aesthetic endurance. Elements of the environment, cleaning products, graffiti and alike, can be safeguarded against with some signs specially sealed with an Anti-Graffiti & UV Stabilised Coating, protecting the sign for its lifetime.
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Good News Story – Sir James at Dalmeny
T
he Commonwealth Respite Carelink asks clients to complete a survey of their experience in residential respite. The results for Sir James at Dalmeny are: Q1. W hat did you think of the standard of care... Excellent. Comments = very considerate caring staff. Q2. W hat did you think of the facility... Excellent. Comments = Sir James is a lovely well appointed place. Q3. W hat did you think of the respite room... Excellent. Comments = Had a delightful room, of my choice. Overlooking the ocean. Q4. W hat did you think of the staff... Excellent. Comments =Really great! Q5. Did you experience any problems of difficulties... NO Q6. Do you have any suggestions for improvement?... YES, maybe a communication book, so I know if a Dr. has visited or a flu shot given or if she was unwell etc. Q7. Would you use this facility for respite again... YES, definitely! Q8. Were you happy with the booking process through CRCC... YES
S
ir James at Dalmeny recently received a beautiful replica Van Gogh painting that was donated by local artist Alexander Macdonald. The following is the letter that came with the painting: “This painting of Van Gogh’s ‘The Irises’ is given to Sir James at Dalmeny facility by
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the artist Alexander Macdonald in loving memory of his father John Macdonald, who was a resident here in March 2012. The donation is in honour of the wonderful man that John was and the superb care that was provided to him by the nursing staff here.” n
Q9. Comments or suggestions you would like to add... I always feel ‘in the dark’ when collecting mum from any respite as there is no real account of how she has been or her behaviour whilst there. I ask staff members but most just say ‘she was fine’. I see a different side of her when she returns home. Francis Cook, CEO says he is very proud of staff at Sir James Dalmeny and these results exemplify what we stand for. Particularly as a regional facility. n
CRANKY OLD MAN
W
hen an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Microsoft Melbourne. The old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem. And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across the Internet.
Cranky Old Man
I'm now an old man... And nature is cruel, It's jest to make old age... Look like a fool. The body, it crumbles... Grace and vigour, depart, There is now a stone... Where I once had a heart. But inside this old carcass... A young man still dwells, And now and again... My battered heart swells. I remember the joys... I remember the pain, And I'm loving and living... Life over again. I think of the years all too few... Gone too fast, And accept the stark fact... That nothing can last. So open your eyes, people... Open and see, Not a cranky old man... Look closer... See... ME!!
Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within... we will all, one day, be there, too. n
What do you see nurses?... What do you see? What are you thinking... When you're looking at me? A cranky old man... Not very wise, Uncertain of habit... With faraway eyes? Who dribbles his food... And makes no reply, When you say in a loud voice... I do wish you'd try! Who seems not to notice... The things that you do, And forever is losing... A sock or shoe? Who, resisting or not... Lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding... The long day to fill? Is that what you're thinking?... Is that what you see? Then open your eyes, nurse... You're not looking at me. I'll tell you who I am... As I sit here so still, As I do at your bidding... As I eat at your will. I'm a small child of Ten... With a father and mother, Brothers and sisters... Who love one another. A young boy of Sixteen... With wings on his feet, Dreaming that soon now... A lover he'll meet. A groom soon at Twenty... My heart gives a leap, Remembering, the vows... That I promised to keep. At Twenty-Five, now... I have young of my own, Who need me to guide... And a secure happy home. A man of Thirty... My young now grown fast, Bound to each other... With ties that should last. At Forty, my young sons... Have grown and are gone, But my woman is beside me... O see I don't mourn. At Fifty, once more,... Babies play round my knee, Again, we know children... My loved one and me. Dark days are upon me... My wife is now dead, I look at the future... I shudder with dread. For my young are all rearing... Young of their own, And I think of the years... And the love that I've known.
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events & news
2012 Calendar of Events 11-13 July
13-14 August
3-5 September
Nurses in Management Aged Care (NIMAC)
Joanna Briggs Institute National Australian Conference on Evidence-Based Clinical Leadership Transforming Clinical Leaders to Reform Healthcare
2012 ACSA National Conference
Jupiters Hotel, Gold Coast W: www.nimac.com.au
Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach T: 07 3725 5588 E: khart@acqi.org.au W: www.agedcare.org.au/news/2011news/acsa-national-conference-2012
Adelaide Convention Centre T: Kym Elson, 08 8313 3637 E: kym.elson@adelaide.edu.au W: www.joannabriggs.edu.au/Access%20Evidence/Events/ Adelaide%202012
10-12 September
20-26 September
28-31 October
12–14 November
NZACA Conference
SAGE Tour Fully booked To register for future events contact Judy Martin, Study Leader, jmartin@agedcare.org.au
LASA Inaugural Congress Consec – Conference Management
RVA National Conference
Rotorua Energy Events Centre, Queens Drive, Rotorua, NZ T: +64 4 473 3159 E: robyn@nzaca.org.nz
Hilton Hotel, Sydney W: www.rva.com.au
T: 02 6251 0675 F: 02 6251 0672 E: lasa@consec.com.au W: www.lasacongress2012.asn.au
Call us today on 0410 771 029
Mr Bed Mechanic “Electric Bed Specialists”
Or visit us www.mrbedmechanic.com.au Our main area of operation is servicing various makes and models of electric beds and patient lifters within the home care, aged care and hospital sectors. We are a mobile service providing a fast response time to resolve breakdown issues that do occur unexpectedly and to prevent further issues from occurring.
We stock a wide range of spare parts for all major brands of electric beds and patient lifters for hospitals, aged care facilities and homecare sectors.
Not only do we repair electric beds and patient lifters as we repair the following equipment too: • Electric reclining chairs • Air mattresses • Kitchen trolleys • Shower chairs • Air and water chairs
»»» ExprEss dElivEry AustrAliA widE »»»
What solutions can we offer you? • Preventative maintenance programs for patient lifters & electric beds • Electrical tag testing on all class 1 & class 2 appliances • Welding services • Electric bed & patient lifter emergency rentals • New & used electric bed sales • New air mattresses & memory foam mattresses • Stainless steel kitchen & laundry trolleys • Australian made furniture i.e. bedside cabinets, wardrobes, overbed tables Mr Bed Mechanic is dedicated to provide low cost solutions without compromising on quality and to deliver a rapid response time to resolve the problem.
product news
Whiteley VIRACLEAN
SUPER CONCENTRATE DISPENSERS
ODACON – INCONTINENT SPRAY
Hospital Grade Disinfectant
Ideal cleaning system for Aged Care facilities
Instantly neutralises urine and faecal odour at source • Water based and non-irritant to skin
Viraclean has been proven to kill: • Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA or Golden Staph) • Pseudomonas aeruginosa • E coli • Enterococcus Faecalis (VRE) • Acinetobacter • Acetobacter • Salmonella choleraesuis • Proteus vulgaris • Influenza virus
• Free of solvents • Superior OH&S benefits over traditional dispensing systems • Integrated system for covering most cleaning applications in Aged Care facilities • Superior cleaning performance • Versatile & user-friendly colour coded identification system • Reduced labour costs through increased productivity • Simplified cleaning process – decreased inventory & training costs
• Herpes Simplex virus
• On-site training & technical support
• Hepatitis B Group virus
Whiteley’s Super Concentrate Dispensers offer a complete cleaning system for Aged Care facilities. Whiteley’s Super Concentrate Dispensers ensure accurate dilution across a wide range of water pressure – this allows for optimal cleaning performance. The dispensing units allow for easy monitoring of 2.5L Super Concentrate bottles without opening the cabinet and includes select valve technology for dispensing multiple products.
Viraclean is a major development in advanced cleaning and disinfecting technology from Whiteley Medical. It is the result of years of intensive research and development. A considerable investment in both time and money has been made in the interests of improving the safety and efficacy of hospital grade disinfectants. Viraclean passes TGA Option B and kills a broad range of other bacteria including MRSA (Golden Staph) and E-coli and is also proven effective against Hepatitis B Virus, Herpes Simplex Virus and the Influenza Virus. Viraclean also has excellent materials compatibility unlike bleach and other corrosive disinfectants. This product can be used for routine cleaning and for disinfecting where necessary. This makes for simplification of cleaning and disinfecting procedures.
Are your residents and staff at risk? Over the past 10 years a multitude of electric bed failures in the homecare and aged care sectors has increased significantly due to improper or non existent preventative maintenance structures, therefore placing residents and staff at risk of serious injury. Preventive maintenance is a schedule of planned maintenance actions aimed at the prevention of breakdowns and failures. Our primary goal of preventive maintenance is to prevent the failure of equipment before it actually occurs. It is designed to preserve and enhance equipment reliability by replacing worn components before they actually fail. Preventive maintenance activities include
The Super Concentrate range is designed to simplify the cleaning process, increase cleaning efficiency and maintaining performance standards in facilities. Super Concentrates include a selection of neutral detergents, a window & glass cleaner, air freshener and total bathroom cleaner. The Super Concentrates range offers cleaning professionals an integrated system that is versatile and OH+S friendly through quick colour identification of products, labels and cleaning charts.
equipment checks, lubrication of moving parts, replacement of worn components etc. According to the Department of health and ageing standards and guidelines manual Section 1.7 Inventory and Equipment, Part B “that equipment is maintained in a fit state through preventative and corrective maintenance programs” Value of Preventive Maintenance There are multiple misconceptions about preventive maintenance. One such misconception is that preventive maintenance is unduly costly. This logic dictates that it would cost more for regularly scheduled downtime and maintenance than it would normally cost to operate equipment until repair is absolutely necessary. This may be true for some components; however, one should compare not only the costs but the long-term
• Non-flammable •N eutralises odours at the source A health problem such as incontinence is a common occurrence amongst older people. Whiteley Medical has developed Odacon – Incontinence spray, to clean and neutralise odours on surfaces and in the air. Odacon is best described as a highly efficient deodoriser for incontinence and human excrement. It is designed for safe use in circumstances where regular contact with normal skin may become part of the management of incontinent patients. The product has been in regular use in normal medical, geriatric and psychiatric institutions in the USA for many years where its’ unique properties have proved invaluable in improving environmental conditions by greatly reducing offensive odours associated with Aged Care patients. Odacon is non-flammable, water-based and non-irritant to the eyes and skin. It eliminates a common cause of urine smell by neutralising urine and faecal odours at source. The ammonia producing mechanism in fresh urine is inhibited by the product, which has a bacteriostatic action in addition to its ability to destroy urine and faecal odours.
For more information on any of our products please call our Product Support Hotline on 1800 833 566 or visit: www.whiteley.com.au
benefits and savings associated with preventive maintenance. Without preventive maintenance, for example, costs for lost down time from unscheduled equipment breakdown will be incurred. Also, preventive maintenance will result in savings due to an increase of effective system service life. Long-term benefits of preventive maintenance include: • Reduction of resident or staff injury • Improved system reliability. • Decreased cost of replacement. • Decreased system downtime. • Better spare parts inventory management
For more information call us on 0410 771 029 or email us at info@mrbedmechanic.com.au
product news
Engage your workforce and boost service delivery Achieving optimal service delivery in aged care relies on a fully engaged workforce to deliver best practices. According to consulting group Deloitte, “engaged employees are prepared to put discretionary effort into achieving organisational goals, become strong advocates for the company’s values and stick with a company for a long time”. Key contributors to positive engagement are professional development opportunities, career advancement, performance feedback and recognition. On the other hand, diminishing engagement can often be attributed to onerous and unnecessary processes getting in the way of improved patient care. A well implemented Human Resources Management Information System (HRMIS) can address each of these factors in a simple format suitable for the typical aged care worker. The Aurion HRMIS is well utilised in aged care across the country as a fully integrated HR and payroll solution that simplifies important processes for workforce management. Aurion ensures accurate and timely payroll and leave processing as well as managing the recruitment, learning and development and career
management of staff. All of which contribute to staff engagement. Ensuring your staff engagement activities are not hindered by overwhelming processes, Aurion delivers an easy to use Employee Self-Service portal and Business Process Automation (BPA) to take out the manual processing of common and laborious activities. Critical functions such as occupational health and safety, immunisation monitoring and qualification tracking are also integrated into the Aurion HRMIS to ease the governance burden in aged care. In a recent whitepaper released by HR consulting firm, Chandler Macleod, business leaders identified process improvements,
TENS Pain Management Without Drugs Masters Medical has been providing TENS units for pain management, muscle stimulators, electrodes, Therapod Back Care Range and non slip socks and slippers to Hospitals, physiotherapist’s, Aged Care facilities and Pain Clinics since 1988. All TENS units, muscle stimulators and electrodes are registered with the TGA. TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. It is a drug-free method of pain relief that has been used to treat a wide variety of muscle and joint problems, as well as many other painful conditions. We have many different units to choose from to meet your needs. When we first started supplying TENS devices there were very few brands and models. Now the range of choice is confusing because “cheap” devices that break down, give poor results, and even cause significant discomfort have flooded the market. Not only do we keep abreast of the latest TENS advancements, we personally and
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rigorously test all models. Plus, rather than just the standard 1 year warranty we offer our clients an extended 3 years warranty at no charge. Masters Medical has a variety of TENS units and Muscle Stimulators together with a large range of electrodes to suit almost every application including electrodes suited for sensitive skin. We can also supply a range of accessories such as Vitamin E cream for soothing and Cleancote wipes for use prior to placing electrodes. Our non-slip socks and slippers are used in hospitals and aged care facilities to assist in the prevention of falls. These can be worn whilst patients are showering or at hydro therapy and are fully machine washable. A 5% discount if you quote the ACA Journal when ordering. We can ship to anywhere within Australia.
Why not call Karen on 1800 621 335 to discuss your requirements.
staff training and increasing of employee engagement as the three most important activities being employed to improve productivity. Aurion addresses each of these activities and more to help you power your performance and optimise your service delivery in aged care.
For more information visit www.aurion.com.au
Restore Dignity and Self Esteem “I proudly served in Japan and Korea; my doctor said that my Diabetes was brought on as a result of this... For more than 30 years this disease has affected me, it has robbed me of my right foot and the toes on my left foot. I have been unable to clean myself after going to the toilet for a long time and my wife had to do this task for me. 5 years ago I had The BIDET SHOP® install a Bidet seat to my toilet; it was such a relief for us both! My wife was able to leave the house and spend time with her friends, knowing that I
could look after myself now. I am so happy; it is embarrassing when another person has to clean you. The Bidet has restored my sense of dignity and self esteem. If you’ve got a problem that’s making it hard for you, give these blokes a call, it’ll change your life.”
Phone The BIDET SHOP® on 1800 243 387 and talk with one of their friendly staff today!
product news
Caroma Takes Another Innovative Step With New Caravelle Easy Height Toilet same classic style and easy to clean rounded contours. The toilet suite incorporates Caroma Smartflush® technology to deliver a WELS 4-star rating for water efficiency. For lasting reliability, the Caroma Caravelle Easy Height toilet suite is constructed from vitreous china and is suitable for independent living applications. Australia’s largest sanitaryware manufacturer Caroma, has launched a new and impressive raised height toilet suite as part of its roll out of new Care products – the Caravelle Easy Height Toilet Suite. The Caravelle Easy Height toilet suite is ideal for aged care applications, and utilises a raised pan height, which is up to 40 mm higher than a standard toilet pan. The raised height assists people with restricted mobility and allows ease of use when getting on and off the toilet.
Please visit www.caroma.com.au for more information or contact Cameron Reed – Sales Manager Healthcare creed@gwagroup.com.au 0419 670 262
The design is an extension of Caroma’s popular Caravelle toilet suite, which features the
Software food service solutions for aged care kitchens: Sundale A new innovation in catering management for the aged care industry has reached Australian shores and is taking kitchens by storm – one recipe card at a time. Sundale is a local community based not for profit residential aged care organisation focusing on the needs of the community by
Are your Aged Care Facility’s Microwave Ovens Radiation Compliant? Microwave Oven Radiation Leakage Limits (AS60335.2.25) EFFECTS OF RADIATION “Exposure to sufficiently high levels of microwaves will cause heating. In the case of human tissue, excessive heating could have serious health effects such as deep tissue burns and hyperthermia. The purpose of Australian Standards is to avoid all known adverse health effects by limiting exposures to levels below those at which heating occurs.” SO:ARPANSA Australian Radiation & Nuclear Safety Agency – Australian Government
GUIDELINES Tests undertaken in workplaces have found microwave ovens leaking radiation up to 10 x (times) above the recommended limit. The most practical and accurate way to ensure the microwave ovens used by Staff are within Radiation Health Committee and Australian Standard radiation guidelines is to have them tested by an accredited organisation Testing can be arranged by contacting Microwave Safety Systems Pty Ltd which is an ISO 9001 Accredited & Quality Endorsed company and services the Government & Corporate sectors.
To arrange inspections or for further information call 1300 305 303, email admin@microwavesafe.net or visit www.microwavesafe.net
providing innovative high-tech solutions for its aged care customers across many sites. Sundale’s focus is independence and well being. Jamix is working with aged care in Australia and Finland with software systems to teach food service operations how to cost effectively deliver food with nutrition and online stock management to track their business for cook fresh, satellite and production kitchens. In addition to Jamix reducing costs, waste and administration, Jamix through ingredients, recipes, menus and stock cards can improve productivity in the kitchen by documenting processes and food safety requirements.
Gavin Tomlins, Sundale’s Chief Information Officer, found the Jamix Food program as a versatile tool, quick to install and simple to use. The clever software makes browsing and maintaining recipe, menu and resident dietary data efficient and quick so that a range of vital information is readily available. This software provides the answer. The revolutionary Jamix system assists kitchens with what they call the “Food Cycle”, from the basics of planning and managing ingredients, individual meals and menus, to major inventory control, online supplier orders, wastage and nutrition planning. Catering operations can utilise the system to cut costs and enhance efficiency in every area of their operation.
For more information, see www.jamix.com.au or contact Tomi Hamalainen, on mobile 0438 637 187 or email tomi@jamix.com.au
aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 75
product news
Bethsalem Care Bethsalem Care is an aged care facility operated by the Christadelphians in South Australia and is based on the principles and values of Bible truth. After 50 years operating as a low care facility at Glynde, our new home at Happy Valley was opened in August 2004. ‘Bethsalem’ means “A House of Peace” and this is clearly reflected in a spacious, beautifully appointed and care focussed design. As a home ‘where life matters’ Bethsalem Care provides appropriate quality care for resident’s need giving families and friends peace of mind, whilst encouraging independence. Bethsalem Care is a 90 bed, fully accredited stand alone facility committed to pursuing continuous improvement and implementation of evidence based best practice. A decision was made to implement the Clintel CareRight package as the application of choice for clinical care. This decision was made after extensive evaluation of industry standard clinical care packages for the following reasons • Good support of the ACFI and accreditation processes
As with any new technology implementation, early adoption by staff was a significant consideration, especially moving to an IT based system requiring everyday input from a largely mature aged work-force not quite so familiar with IT concepts. To address this a survey of employee’s computer skills was undertaken and whilst the majority of staff were competent with email and internet use it was necessary to run training sessions for all staff on the CareRight web based interface. Our initial concept was to go live in one section of the home, however on later analysis it was agreed that an “all inclusive” implementation would provide a better solution and improve staff take up and commitment to change. Bethsalem Care migrated from a paper based clinical system to CareRight in September 2011 and after a few teething problems has settled well into our usual daily operations. Staff were actively supported during the implementation phase. CareRight has been operational for over nine months and some of the benefits we have experienced are:
• Excellent capability for the design of assessments and forms and the ability to configure assessments to populate information on the resident care plan
• A user friendly and easy to navigate webbased interface
• The ability to integrate functionally with existing accounting software and other IT packages in use and proposed for future implementation • Strong local presence and support in South Australia
• It offered a cost effective solution to our requirement for an IT based clinical administration system
• Resident information can be accessed from the all networked computers. As Care Manager I am able to access residents’ information and review resident needs and outcomes easily
Engineered to Perform with Super Quiet operation, Stylish Design, Internal Light, Glass Shelving and handy Drink Can Dispenser in the 117Ltr Freestanding or Under Bench Bar Fridge is suitable for medium to large rooms, and to
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• Capabilities for the design of forms/assessments. We have developed our own assessments and are able to configure them to automatically populate relevant information to the resident care plan. Whilst this is still a work in process the first assessment/care plan design implemented and trialled was the resident interim care plan. An initial assessment is conducted when the resident is admitted to the facility covering all the basic care needs to ensure continuity of care. Once the assessment is completed the registered nurse prints the interim care plan and implements it on the floor for the delivery of resident care by the personal care staff •T hrough integration with our resident accounting package, resident data is entered once and this information then populates Care Right. Updates also populate CareRight automatically • It is our intention to integrate Clintel with our electronic medication management system to facilitate flow of information from our medication system to the resident clinical record •T he global dash-board and user private messaging has improved communication with care staff in the facility, many of whom do not have access to company email •A n easily accessible product based help-desk can be used to log issues and make requests
• The Clinical record application has features which support good documentation such as
TECO Australia introduces Bar Fridges to its Range Following its successes in supplying Split System and Window Wall Air Conditioners, and LED/LCD TV’s to Mining Camp Accommodation and Common Area Portable Building Units, Student Accommodation areas and Hotel/Motel Rooms, TECO have introduced a range of Bar Fridges specifically designed to cater for the hospitality industry.
spell check and other Microsoft applications that many of our staff are familiar with
cater for Student Accommodation and smaller Hotel/Motel Rooms, that require a small fridge for guest convenience, TECO have also introduced a 50Ltr Bench Top Bar Fridge. To complement this range, TECO Australia will introduce over the coming months, Vertical Freezers, Chest Freezers and Frost free Refrigerators with Multi Flow Control ranging from 215Ltr to 410Ltr.
For more information visit www.teco.com.au
Health Metrics Health Metrics Pty Ltd purchased the assets of WeCare Australia Pty Ltd. The acquisition adds dozens of customers and thousands of residential care beds to the Health Metrics stable. This transaction extends Health Metrics’ market share within the aged care vertical. “This acquisition is a key part of our multi-pronged strategy”, said Steven Strange, CEO of Health Metrics. “This is good for our bottom line and our growth but more importantly it’s very good for the WeCare customers and staff. The customers now have a road map that will future proof their current investments. We will continue to support and enhance the WeCare system”, added Steven. All existing WeCare customers will be contacted individually as part of the integration process.
For any further enquiries regarding this press release please contact Steven Strange directly at sstrange@healthmetrics.com.au
product news
Aqua Joy bath lift supplied by
Freedom Bath Lift Company Aids mobility impaired people of all ages There are many expenses and limits involved in building a home catering for people with disabilities. Often the design process can be costly, time consuming and unsightly. Considering this, Freedom Bath Lift Australasia has introduced to Australia the ‘Aqua Joy’ bathlift to provide for people with disabilities and reduce their renovating costs substantially. Instead of renovating or building an entirely new bathroom, a ‘Freedom Bath Aqua Joy’ is merely placed inside one’s existing bath and – by a simple push of a button – the bather moves downwards and upwards allowing access into and egress out of the bath. “At the touch of a button you can be lowered into or raised from your bathtub to ease the effort and risks involved in the process for many people. The Aqua Joy with effort enhances comfortable independent and safe use of the existing bathtub,” says Freedom Bath Australia Director James Lloyd. ‘Aqua Joy Bath Lift’ is ideal for people who use wheelchairs, scooters and walkers. “Transferring from a wheelchair to a Aqua Joy Bath Lift is unproblematic because the transfer is made at the same level from one to the other, the lifting and lowering are done for you,” says Mr Lloyd. The ease of access in and out of the tub enhances the ability of people with disabilities to bathe independently. However if desired the bath-lift can be used by any member of the household, carer or attendant. Aqua Joy Bath-lifts are both portable and versatile. They are suitable for deep baths,
(having a maximum seat height of 460 mm); as well as for shallow baths (with a minimum seat height of 88 mm). The maximum lifting weight limit is 170 kg (26.5 Stone). “Aqua Joy Bath Lift” can fit into almost any style of bath. Not only are people with disability able to enjoy this comfort at home, they are also able apply this comfort when travelling,” says Mr Lloyd the unit is totally transportable. The Aqua Joy Bath Lift separates easily into two compact sections, saving storage space and enabling portable use in instances when people are travelling. Being able to take your ‘Aqua Joy Bath Lift ‘ to hotels or to a relative’s accommodation eliminates the need of finding accommodation with specialised facilities provided in-house. With the seat positioned as far back in the bath as possible, the design provides maximum legroom to optimise comfort in the bath. A luxury ‘slip over cover’ attached to the Aqua Joy Bath Lift also enhances comfort. A range of accessories are available such as Vertical detachable side flaps, Lap belts, Chest restraints, Head Rests and Pommels enabling children and adults suffering Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson’s and other debilitating illnesses to at last enjoy a bath in safety without fear of injury or drowning. Simplicity of use extends to the charging process, which includes an indicator light showing when the battery is charging. One charge generally lasts for 15 lifts however as
with all chargeable batteries the more they are charged the longer the life in some cases up to six years. The bath lift has a unique inbuilt safety feature of not lowering unless there is sufficient charge to raise the client back to the top of the bath. The quality control in the manufacture and assembly of the Aqua Joy Bath Lift is second to none in fact the units are cycle tested ten thousand times on a regular basis that is the equivalent of two baths a week for almost one hundred years, every component is individually tested before assembly. “Aqua Joy Bath Lift is designed to be safe and simple to use, so as to assist people of all ages with disabilities to improve their mobility hence become more independent”.
For customised package deals especially designed to fit individual needs, please call TOLL FREE 1800 505 712
Manad Plus Manad Plus is a leading aged care software solution that ticks all the boxes. • Easy to use: Changing from paper-based or existing software is easy for clinical and administrative staff with simple navigation and intuitive screens • Complete care management: Document all your residents clinical care needs in assessments, care plans, progress notes and charts • Get the best from ACFI: Our unique ACFI ‘in-progress’ feature constantly tracks changing care needs to highlight increased
entitlements. We’ve already released the 1 July ACFI changes
•P owerful reporting: Analytical reporting tools, more than meeting the needs of management
• S tay on top of accreditation: Continuous quality improvement plans and audits will assist with compliance
• S upport: the help desk is supported by senior nursing staff and IT professionals to get assistance when you need it
•P lan and track tasks: Organise your home by scheduling all the tasks that need to be completed, allocate it to someone and track its progress and completion
Call us now on 1300 62 62 32 for a Manad Plus demonstration or visit manad.com.au for more information.
•B illing and bond management: Easily generate all your residents invoices each period and manage their bonds and your prudential requirements
aca Aged Care Australia | Winter 2012 | 77
product news
Ozone in Laundry than the two atoms we normally breathe. Ozone is the second most powerful disinfectant in the world and can be used to destroy bacteria, viruses and odours, but quickly reverts back to oxygen after it is used, making it an environmentally friendly oxidant.
Given our current climate of escalating electricity and gas prices, it’s no surprise that aged care organisations are looking at ways to lower their operating costs.
When used in a laundry application Ozone disinfects the wash water and everything in it. Because this is achieved in cold water, it results in dramatic utility cost savings, and can be fitted to any existing programmable washer, meeting the AS4146-2000 Australian Standard.
The graph opposite shows how a typical 90 bed facility can benefit from an Ozone system in their laundry. In conclusion, Ozone is an environmentallyfriendly, cost-effective and highly efficient addition to any laundry facility.
What is EnviroSaver? EnviroSaver is an ozone washing technology designed, manufactured and supported by Laundry Solutions Australia. EnviroSaver produces the following positive outcomes in an aged care laundry: • Saves up to 63% water and drainage costs • Saves over 34% gas • Saves up to 83% electricity
Something that few people are aware of is that at least 30% of an aged care facility’s entire electricity consumption comes from their laundry. For this reason over 500 facilities Australia-wide have adopted Ozone systems such as EnviroSaver to their wash process in order to lower costs.
•R educes the carbon footprint of your laundry by up to 70% •M eets the Australian Standards of Laundry AS4146-2000 •F ailsafe System – ensures disinfection before proceeding
Sometimes called “activated oxygen”, Ozone (O3) contains three atoms of oxygen rather
• Australian Made and Owned
Lille Healthcare Reduces its Carbon Footprint Respect for the environment represents an important part of Lille Healthcare’s corporate goals, and the control of Lille’s impact on the environment is continually being improved. Since the end of 2005, Lille Healthcare’s production site in Wasquehal, France has been certified ISO 14001, which demonstrates the implementation of an environmental management system that provides the framework for continual improvement. ISO14001 also requires a commitment to compliance with applicable environmental legislation and regulations. Lille Healthcare is committed to meeting all regulatory requirements and the actions of the production site include the prevention of pollution, minimising rejected material, reducing waste, noise and energy consumption, and maximising the level of recycling to 85%. 100% of the fluff pulp, which is the principal component of Lille Healthcare’s products, is sourced from suppliers that are affiliated with forestry development programs, such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative). The palletising of Lille Healthcare’s products has enabled the company to optimise its logistic flows, consequently reducing the CO² emissions that are linked to the transport of
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Lille Healthcare goods. As Sarah Britton, Lille Healthcare’s Operations Manager explains, “from the moment our product is produced and palletised for storage and transport, the most efficient method of stacking is used. As a result, more cartons are able to be shipped per pallet, reducing Lille’s carbon footprint.” “Lille Healthcare is highly dedicated to protecting the environment,” says Charles Cornish, Lille Healthcare’s Managing Director. “The disposable adult incontinence aid market falls under the same umbrella as children’s nappies – both use a lot of water and paperbased products in production and contribute, post-use, to landfill loading. As such, is it extremely important that we do whatever is possible to minimise our environmental impact.” Lille Healthcare Australia does all in their power to minimise their environmental impact. “The two areas which have the greatest impact are in education and in re-engineering our transport and logistics approach to keep trucks off the road,” explains Cornish. “We offer financial incentives to our hospital and aged care facilities to hold orders and bundle them into larger, less frequent orders. This has an immediate impact on the number of trucks on the road and fossil fuel usage.”
“The Lille Continence Institute, our education and training organisation, is directly decreasing the number of continence aids being used in Australia,” Cornish goes on to say. “This is achieved through the promotion of avoiding, or delaying, the onset of incontinence as well as training on the appropriate use of aids. This has struck a chord with many clients of LCI as they see immediate cost savings, greater levels of comfort and dignity in their residents, and, ultimately, a better outcome for the environment. It is one of those win-win situations that corporate Australia seeks.” These actions assure the highest level of environmental, ethical, social and economical management of the natural reserves. Even Lille Healthcare’s visual identity endeavours to reflect this in its green, leafy motifs; the designers’ idea being to emphasise that during the manufacture of disposable products, Lille Healthcare is proactive in its approach to the environment and sustainability.
For further information please contact: Leonie Nichols National Marketing Manager P: (07) 3423 4008 F: (07) 3367 0984 E: leonie.nichols@lillehealthcare.com