NATIONAL UPDATE
SUPPORTING MEMBERS SAVING LIVES LASA is a helping hand as we navigate this unchartered COVID-19 territory together.
E
veryone has been calling these times unprecedented, and that’s exactly what they are. Not since the Spanish Flu around a century ago, has the world been thrust into a pandemic. Like then, one of the most important things to do has been to act early and swiftly, to have a plan to help stop the spread of a deadly virus, and minimise loss of life. Understanding this need, our responsive approach as a Member organisation has helped support an industry that cares for some of the most vulnerable in our society—and those most at risk of complications due to COVID-19. Our COVID-19 taskforce across the range of LASA operations—residential care, home care, retirement living/ seniors housing, events, and policy and advocacy—has been working hard to ensure Members are informed and equipped to respond to a changing situation. In the first two months alone, the LASA Taskforce managed more than 1,000 unique enquiries to our dedicated COVID-19 email address (health@ lasa.asn.au). Not just about helping individual organisations, Member queries raised at the operational level have informed the resources and templates we prepare, and the information we share with other Members, through our COVID-19 webpage and the Frequently Asked Questions. In the background, the LASA Taskforce has been researching the latest information and guidance materials so that Members can be confident they have the latest and most reliable information. Each day our COVID-19 webpage is updated with the most recent new resources—produced in-house and externally. The translation of national announcements to State or Territory emergency orders while ostensibly very similar has resulted in subtle and changing differences. This has required constant review and has meant we have had to nuance our guidance to the local setting, by developing our own resources, such as the flu resources pack and COVID-19 guidance for home care providers. We have also encouraged our Members to share their resources as we all work through this together. For issues for which there are no immediate answer, we have been reaching out to the Federal Department of Health for resolution, with a daily Issues Log. In addition, our team
investigates and prepares information to fill gaps which have emerged. Our regular Health Updates emailed to Members—now up to 63 to date—have resulted in more than 350,000 opens and 90,000 clicks to important resources, demonstrating the need in our industry for accurate information. Importantly, the issues which we identify inform our strong advocacy to Government, including our call for an aged care rescue package. We have been stepping up our advocacy on behalf of Members, by directly liaising with either the Federal Continued on page 14 LASA stepped up its support for Members with its COVID-19 resources.
COVID-19 Member Support 350,000+ Health Update opens
90,000+
clicks from Health Updates to important resources
63+
Health Updates
COVID-19 online resources 1,750+ unique enquiries to health@lasa.asn.au PPE Portal 100,000+ items of PPE delivered to LASA Members Advocacy to Federal Government COVID-19 webinars Specialist individualised support Online Directory of COVID-19 LASA Affiliate Services
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