HammondCare's Batehaven home care team on the NSW South Coast welcomed new clients and team members when another provider ceased operation in October this year.
This news was music to the ears of client Amy and team member Deb who joined HammondCare; the swift transfer of services causing minimal disruption to Amy's support needs.
‘It was a massive team effort to transition the clients across in such a short timeframe,’ shares Care Team Manager Yvette. ‘We transferred 40 clients, who live between coastal towns Bateman’s Bay and Narooma, a total distance of 70kms. I supported our care managers Catherine, Rhett and Tori who were out on the road a lot then, meeting potential clients in their homes, helping them personally with the transition process.’
While the Batehaven team worked together to match their new clients with specialised carers, they found quite a few clients already knew a face or two. ‘Being a small community, it’s not unusual to have an existing connection with a local family or business,’ shares Yvette.
The Batehaven team are pleased to extend HammondCare’s range of services to their new clients.
Care Manager Tori shares: ‘Our services can flex and adapt to the person’s individual needs. It’s not just domestic assistance: there’s pastoral support, allied health therapy, nursing care, meal assistance, transport, to name a few. Being established in the region, we can provide a lot more variety of options than clients may be aware of.’
Deb, an experienced specialised carer originally from Anglicare, was also thankful for the smooth transition between employers.
‘HammondCare provides a lot of resources for clients – such as access to clinical care managers who are registered nurses, making a big difference in the way we support older people in our community. And there are a range of other support options available.
‘The help is there for team members, too. Yvette is always just a phone call away, and so is Davina, our workplace coach. I was given training days at the start – it was really thorough. There are other ongoing training opportunities as well. HammondCare invests in their people; I feel valued.’
Deb enjoys a special friendship with client Amy, and lives only a short drive away. ‘I’ve been supporting Amy for four years. She doesn’t have any family nearby. I’ve seen her today already to provide domestic support and will go back later to help her with the weekly grocery shop.’
Each visit to Amy’s house starts with Deb putting the kettle on, and the pair have a chat before the housework starts. ‘Amy jokingly said she wanted to move in with me when her family stays for Christmas. I’ve put her tree up for her; apparently, I had it on a bit of a lean last year! Amy supervises me from her favourite chair. We always have a laugh or two.’
We asked Amy how she found the move to HammondCare, and being able to continue her relationship with Deb: ‘It was smooth going from the start. What I like about Deb is that she takes me as she finds me. She’s very patient, very caring. And we share the same sense of humour.’
Deb also frequently visits another client on her rostered workdays. ‘It feels like I am looking after my own mum, that’s how personal the relationship is. It’s nice to know that I can keep on supporting my regular clients, sharing their stories, their family histories.’
And a final word from Amy: ‘It is such a pleasure to share my experience with HammondCare for this story - it’s a way for me to give back for the time, patience and care my new support team have given me.
‘Thank you, HammondCare team!’
