MEMBER STORIES
AWARD-WINNING CARE 2021 LASA EXCELLENCE IN AGE SERVICES WINNER OF THE ORGANISATION CATEGORY PUTS PEOPLE FIRST
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angeCare is a not-for-profit organisation providing in-home services to aged and people with disabilities living in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland region and surrounding areas. Operating since 1986, RangeCare is a community-based business that thrives on being part of the broader community—and it was this community spirit that helped it rise to the challenge of lockdowns. “We exist to help our clients live independent and purposeful lives at home, and we do this by demonstrating kindness, empathy and compassion,” explained RangeCare CEO, Greg Mannion. “With everything we do, our aim is to build strong relationships with our clients and their families to offer person-centered care. “When lockdown happened, we swung into action, because we knew people would need support.” When the initial COVID-19 lockdown was announced in March 2020 and prior to the availability of Government assistance, RangeCare needed to find a way to keep its 150 staff members employed to support 2,000 clients. Faced with the challenge of employees needing to stay at home for an extended period of time, RangeCare made the decision (regardless of cost) to call every single client to find out directly from them what support they urgently needed in the changing and high-risk environment. It became apparent that many clients were going to be isolated at home with little or no family support, and many others were significantly impacted. In response, RangeCare promptly introduced the following new services: •
a meal delivery service where local café and restaurant meals were delivered to people’s homes—helping local businesses stay afloat and ensuring people had a wide variety of choice at mealtime;
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a butcher meat and a fruit and vegetable pack delivery service to people’s homes;
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an in-home haircut and beard trimming service; and
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an iPad loan service including free Internet access and tuition to ensure people could stay in touch with loved ones and other members of their local community, which later expanded into an in-home technology support service.
“We helped local businesses stay afloat and we constantly strived to help every client live their best life,” Greg explained. “We have continued to deliver meals to our client’s homes, and have now delivered well over 10,000 meals across the Sunshine Coast since the pandemic commenced. “In response to border restrictions and our client’s fears of venturing into the community, we developed an iPad loan and technical support service. This enabled older clients to stay connected with family and friends via video chat applications. “We can proudly say that we have enabled hundreds of older Australians to stay in contact with families afar and provided local community contact, which was vital for people with physically distant family members.” Following on from the success of RangeCare’s iPad and technical support service, RangeCare has adapted this model to offer a Virtual Reality Program and now, Apple Watch pilot. To date, 12 clients have participated in the virtual reality offering, which allows elderly clients to experience more of the world from the comfort of Gemma Webster, RangeCare Kitchen their homes. Coordinator
