Chairman John Beks introduced our guest speakers, Helen and Christi, to speak about aged care at Mercy Place. Helen and Christi filled us in on the history of Mercy and the philosophy of care. Mercy is a not-for-profit facility with all funds going back into the facility. At Mercy residents care is fore-most and a high standard of care is provided, catering to individual needs of residents. Helen talked about the importance of good nursing support in aged-care and the complexity of caring for people with high needs, particularly residents with dementia. Christi gave an overview of the costs of care: Daily care fees, Accommodation payments, Means tested care fees, asset thresholds. This is a complicated system which is managed by Centrelink. Standard accommodation fees are set by the facility but these are means-tested and the final payments are determined by Centrelink. Helen then talked about what to look for when looking at facilities. How to determine if a facility is providing good care, activities, meals, etc. John thanked Helen and Christi for their presentation. |
