Category: Uncategorized

Some seniors with higher level care needs may require nursing services if they’re recovering from an injury, surgery, or have a long-term illness. In-home nursing gives seniors the clinical support they need from the comfort of their own home.

In-home Nursing may include:

*Wound management

*Medication Management

*After hospital care

*Continence management

*Personal Care

*Assistance with toileting

*Palliative care

Nursing services in the in-home aged care setting are undertaken by enrolled nurses and registered nurses depending on the type of services required.  

Gratitude In-home Care provides nursing services from enrolled and registered nurses, so feel free to contact us for any inquiries.

🌐 http://www.gihc.com.au/
📞 1300 912 155, (03) 9863 6149
📧 info@gihc.com.au⁠

Keeping track of which medication to take at specific times can be difficult to manage, regardless of age or ability, and taking incorrect amounts can have serious consequences. As we age, we will need to take more medications which can increase the risk of contradictions, undesirable effects, and dosage errors. So, to make sure medicine intake is being managed properly, it is important to track it by having a list of medications with dosages for each one. Then it is important to organise medications into time and day which can be done with the help of medication dispensers/organisers.

It is also very important that medicine intake is reviewed on a yearly basis to make sure that they are suitable. It is possible that things can change, for example:
* side effects from the medicine can develop.
* health conditions can become more serious.
* additional medicines may be required.
* treatment guidelines for conditions can change.
* some medication may no longer be needed.

Gratitude In-home Care provides medication assistance services help take the stress and worry out taking medications by tracking exactly which medication needs to be taken and when.

Feel free to contact us for any in-home aged care services.

🌐 http://www.gihc.com.au/
📞 1300 912 155, (03) 9863 6149
📧 info@gihc.com.au⁠

At all stages of life, it’s important to eat regular and in a balanced meals to stay healthy. Benefits of a healthy diet include higher energy levels, improved ability to cope with chronic health problems, improved mental alertness, increased resistance to illness and disease, and faster recovery times. A healthy diet can also help you maintain a positive attitude and balance your emotions.

Shopping for ingredients and making healthy meals is something that can become more difficult as we age. This can lead to a dependence on simple and easy foods that may be lacking necessary nutrients.

We offer personalized grocery shopping and meal prep services by our experienced staff to help you prepare delicious and nutritious meals.

Feel free to contact us for any in-home aged care services.

🌐 http://www.gihc.com.au/
📞 1300 912 155, (03) 9863 6149
📧 info@gihc.com.au⁠

As we age, personal Care activities can become increasingly difficult to maintain. It is common for seniors to be resistant to assistance with personal care activities but maintaining personal care is important for them to maintain their health and well-being.

Personal care activities include:

*Bathing & drying

*Oral care

*Grooming & shaving

*Assistance with toileting

*Changing of continence aids

*Wound dressing

*Skin care

*Repositioning bed-bound clients

Personal care activities are important to prevent risks associated with poor hygiene such as infections, skin problems, pneumonia, cold and flu, among other risks.

For personal care activities, it is important to choose experienced personal care assistants who are trained to carry out these tasks.

Feel free to contact us for any in-home aged care services including personal care acitivities.

🌐 http://www.gihc.com.au/
📞 1300 912 155, (03) 9863 6149
📧 info@gihc.com.au⁠

It is important that seniors consider in-home care services before undergoing hospital procedures, so that services are organised and ready to commence as soon as they begin their recovery process at home discharging from hospital. It is possible that seniors recovering from procedure may need different services than usual or for longer durations such as extra personal care services, nursing services, shopping support, gardening services etc.

Seniors who may need extra help when recovering at home from a hospital procedure may be eligible for transition care funding. This additional funding pays for those extra services which reduces the duration that seniors would otherwise need to stay in a hospital. This funding is available for 4-12 weeks

For more information about the transition care funding click here.

GIHC provides after hospital care services for seniors while they recover from hospital which includes nursing services and other services they need as they heal, so feel free to contact us if you’re interested in accessing our services.

http://www.gihc.com.au/
1300 912 155, (03) 9863 6149
info@gihc.com.au⁠

Seniors’ care needs increase overtime, so it’s important to know what to do when it happens so you can be prepared.

There are many options available, which include getting more help at home, getting respite care, getting transitional care at home after hospital, transitioning from home care to residential care.

If you already have a home care package and your needs are not being met due to a lack of care hours, you have the right be reassessed for a higher-level Home Care Package (HCP) by the ACAT team after contacting myagedcare. It is also possible that individuals that have an HCP can receive additional services through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP).

In the case that an individual requires short-term specialised care upon returning home from Hospital or would like residential respite care, they can apply via myagedcare and the ACAT team will perform an assessment.

The COVID-19 situation in China, Korea and Japan is serious now, with case numbers spiking. The World Health Organization shows China to have 37,017 new cases in the last 24 hours, Korea to have 58,162 new cases, and Japan to have 104,304 new cases. These case numbers may be much higher, as lots of people are using home testing kits and not reporting positive test results to the government.

As a preventative measure, the Australia government has made it a requirement for anyone travelling to Australia from China to take a covid test within 48 hours of travelling and present the negative test result.

Smart traveller advises Australians to exercise a high degree of caution when in China.

Currently the covid cases in Australia are continuing to decline, however a new more contagious variant has been detected in Australia which could pose a significant threat to us, but time will tell.

The Transition Care Program (TCP) is a short-term care program that seeks to reduce the number of elderly patients who spend unnecessarily long periods of time in hospitals or are prematurely admitted to nursing homes. TCP helps seniors to finish their restorative process by providing case management, low-intensity treatment, and personal support, which can be provided in a home setting or nursing home.

The target group for TCP services includes:

• Seniors in hospitals who need longer time to regain their independence in terms of their physical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning
• Seniors in hospitals, for whom the goal is to maximise functionality while helping them and their family or carers plan for suitable long-term care.

TCP services:

• nursing support
• personal care
• physiotherapy and other allied health services
• medical support
• case management.
• In-home respite
• And more..

The average duration of participation in the programme is four to six weeks, with a 12-week maximum.

The person’s initial eligibility will be determined by the Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS).

Seniors can self-refer to the TCP or have a referral made on their behalf by hospital staff.

The majority of the costs of the TCP are covered by the subsidy provided to Victorian health services by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments.

For more information, head to the department of health’s website here.

As of mid-next year, all residential aged care homes will be required to have a registered nurse on duty 24/7 and each resident will get 200 care minutes per day, 40 minutes of which must be from a registered nurse.

Some residential aged care providers have found a ‘loophole’, by firing enrolled nurses, as there are no minimum minutes for enrolled nurses, only registered nurses. These providers are beginning to replace enrolled nurses with personal care assistants that have lower salaries, which helps them to be more profitable at the expense of the level of care they provide. Providers exploiting this say that there is inadequate funding for enrolled nurses under the new reforms, and so they have resorted to firing these staff.  

One proposed measure to prevent this loophole from being exploited is for the government to allocate minimum care minutes for enrolled nurses, like they did with registered nurses. Aged care minister Anika Wells is considering this idea seriously because she knows that enrolled nurses play a very important role and if they’re lost, a lot more pressure will fall on registered nurse.

A new drug called lecanemab developed by Biogen is the first Alzheimer’s medication found to slow the cognitive decline on Alzheimer’s disease. It works by attacking the buildup of amyloid protein which is one of the main reasons for cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease, while other medications have only helped boost brain chemicals but don’t slow cognitive decline.

Lecanemab is reported to cause brain inflammation known as ARIA-E in 12.6% of people which has the potential to be lethal but is treatable if taking Lecanemab is stopped or the dose reduced. Brain scans can detect ARIA-E in most people. 

Lecanemab has yet to receive FDA approval but could be approved as early as January 2023. This medication is most effective for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Lecanemab is not a cure but can slow the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease by 27% as was shown in an 18-month study.

When the medication gets FDA approval and released to the community, we will better understand its benefits and side-effects. People with prescriptions will require regular MRI scans to ensure they keep on top of brain swelling side-effects.