CHSP Social Support, Aged Care Assistance at Home, Commonwealth Home Support Program, Veterans Home Care, CHSP Garden Maintenance, and Aged Care Domestic Assistance in Launceston

Our Services

Our core business is the provision of entry level, community aged care services for people over 65 years of age in our community – be they veterans or non-veterans. We also provide similar services for a very small group of clients who are under 65 years of age and who live with some form of disability, though this is not our core target group.

Both the Government programs that we are funded for and the service types that we are contracted to provide within those programs, are detailed below.

The Programs we provide that are Government funded

Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)

CHSP is the new name for entry level home care or HACC services for people who just need basic support at home. Over the last several years, the Federal Government has been making changes to the Aged Care system to ensure that the system will be robust and able to cope with the large flow of Baby Boomers into care in the 2020’s. Generally, the plan is to make the system easier to navigate and more efficient to use. For more information on how the system works and how to access it, see our FAQs page.

We have been funded providers of Aged Care since 2001 and our service has changed and adapted over that time.

We are funded to provide eligible CHSP clients with a number of entry level services aimed solely at enabling them to continue living happily and safely in their own home and in their community.

For a more detailed description of these service types, please see the listing below. Clients will require a referral code issued to them by My Aged Care or the Regional Assessment Team before we can accept them as clients. My Aged Care can be contacted by phone on 1800 200 422 and on their website www.myagedcare.gov.au See our FAQs for more details on how to get CHSP services.

The Services we provide are:

Domestic Assistance
Individual Social Support
Home and Garden Maintenance
Short-term Domestic Assistance

Veteran's Home Care - DVA

Veteran's Home Care (VHC) is an entry level aged care program for veterans who need basic support at home. This program is funded by the Department of Veteran's Affairs and has been in existence since 2001. Helping Hands Community Care have been contracted to provide services within this program since it’s very beginning.

This program was set up to assist DVA Gold Card holders with tasks they were struggling with because of either advancing age or disability.

We are funded to provide eligible veterans with a number of entry level services aimed solely at enabling them to continue living independently and safely in their own home and in their community.

The Services we provide are:

Domestic Assistance
In-home Respite
Home and Garden Maintenance

For a more detailed description of these service types, please see the listing below. Clients will require a referral from the Veterans’ Home Care Assessors before we can accept them as clients. VHC can be contacted by phone on 1300 550 450. See our FAQs for more details on how to get VHC services.

State HACC Program for people under 65 years of age living with a Disability

Pre-NDIS the State HACC Program provided entry level home care services to younger people up to the age of 65 who live with a disability. As NDIS has rolled out the number of clients in the State HACC Program has decreased, but the program will continue to exist to support those younger people with disabilities who are not eligible for the NDIS.

We have a very small amount of funding to provide services within this program. As our core target group is people aged over 65 years, the clients we accept in the State HACC Program tend to be older people over the age of 45.

We are funded to provide eligible clients with a number of entry level services aimed solely at enabling them to continue living independently and safely in their own home and in their community.

For a more detailed description of these service types, please see the listing below. Clients will require a referral to be issued to them by the Tasmanian Community Care Referral Service before we can accept them as clients. They can be contacted by phone on 1300 769 699. See our FAQs for more details on how to get State HACC services.

The Services we provide are:

Domestic Assistance
Individual Social Support
Home and Garden Maintenance

Brokerage to the Aged Care Sector – use us in your Home Care Package

With over 20 years of working with the elderly in the community-based care sector, we are knowledgeable and experienced in working closely with older clients in their own homes. Our Support Workers are well trained, caring and passionate about the work that they do.

Whilst we are not a provider in the Home Care Package area, we are available for brokerage agreements within the community aged care sector. This means that your Home Care Package provider can use us to provide services within your package if that is what you want to do. We have existing Service Agreements with a number of providers within the Launceston area and a number of our long-term Commonwealth Home Support clients have already taken us with them when they have moved up to a Home Care Package.

Through our sister company, The Active Effect, we are also available for brokered Exercise Physiology in the home services. In many ways it is easier to help a client to set up a home-based exercise program whilst in their home with them, as it enables us to show them exactly where in their home they should do the individual exercises and how to set up any equipment needed. The client is then able to replicate this without being overwhelmed by the details.

We know how the funding and overall sector works and the obligations that must be met.

The Service Types available within the programs we offer

Domestic Assistance

The ultimate goal of any community based aged care is to provide the support that you need so that you can stay safely in your own home for a long as you want to. Some household tasks are quite heavy and may become difficult for you to manage safely. A Domestic Assistance service will help you by doing the heavy tasks for you or with you and supporting you to continue doing the lighter chores on your own.

Examples of the kinds of services available include:

Vacuuming - your vacuum cleaner will be used
Mopping the floors - your mop, bucket and cleaning products will be used
Sweeping floors - your broom and dustpan will be used
Cleaning the bathroom and toilet - your cleaning products will be used
Laundry - your wet washing will be hung out for you
Linen changes - clean sheets will be put on your bed
Ironing - basic ironing of shirts and trousers
Light meal preparation - peeling and cutting up of vegetables only
Shopping and errands – only on your behalf under domestic assistance

Short-term Domestic Assistance

We offer Domestic Assistance on a short-term basis when funding allows. The help available is the same as listed above for the ongoing domestic assistance but it is offered for a limited time – usually 6 to 12 weeks.

This type of service can be used to help you while you recover from surgery or if you have had a setback in your health or circumstances and just need a little help to get back on your feet. However, the majority of people on our short-term program are people who are waiting for ongoing domestic assistance to become available and who are happy to take some short-term help in the meantime.

Some clients see it as an opportunity to help them get caught up with chores that have been left undone before their permanent help begins. Someclients are recovering from surgery or some other setback right now and really are unable to do any of this work at all, but may be able to manage some chores in a few weeks or months whilst they wait for their permanent help.

Whatever your situation, it is worth contacting us to have a chat about what we can offer to help you get through the wait.

One on One Social Support

Social support services can help you to maintain an active life outside your home by assisting with taking you shopping or by arranging visits and outings in the community. Social support and activities can help you feel part of your community and can help prevent loneliness and isolation.

Social support services can include:

Companionship visits to your home
Taking you to the shops and helping you with shopping and other related activities
Helping you to access community and recreational groups

If you are feeling lonely or isolated but you are a little nervous about getting involved in social activities, then social support services could help you stay socially active.

Home and Garden Maintenance

Many of our clients take a real pride in their homes and gardens but the heavy tasks can become a problem as you get older. We understand that the home and garden that you have worked so hard to build is important to you.

We offer the following types of Services:

Window cleaning
Minor home maintenance such as cleaning gutters and pressure cleaning
Garden maintenance, pruning, mulching and spraying weeds
Keeping pathways clear
Removing green waste
Lawn mowing

The Programs we offer in partnership with our sister company, The Active Effect, that are not funded by Government

Healthy Ageing

Did you know that, on average, our physical peak occurs at around the age of 27, but for the average person, we don’t really start to feel the decline until we hit somewhere around the 40’s.

Endurance (in terms of physical activity or sport) tends to last a bit longer and peaks somewhere in your mid 30’s.

Those facts are a little sobering given we live, all being well, into our 80’s and should motivate us to stay active and strong right throughout the span of our lives because most of it is lived after the peaks. However, as most people don’t realise this, the motivation is not stimulated until they struggle with the daily activities of living.

It takes less exercise than you might think to make a noticeable, positive difference to your functional capacity and independence. And the exercises don’t have to be hard or scary.

Strength can be regained, balance can be improved and your ability to walk and the confidence to do so can be won back. The longer you leave it the more of your independence you give up.

You don’t need to join a gym. You can do this at home or in a group. Whichever you are more comfortable with.

Group Classes

Group classes are great! They are social and fun, and we get a surprising amount of exercise done without even really noticing. Its also a chance to learn new things and make new friends.

We will shortly be restarting our 3R’s Group Program for people with Type 2 Diabetes. This will be run as an hour of exercise and half an hour of education each week for 8 weeks. GP Referrals will be required.

We also run some aged care specific Exercise Groups (no GP referral required). These groups are, mostly done seated – except for balance exercises, they run for an hour and work all the major muscles.

New eligible clients are welcome to join the group at the Italian Day Centre on Tuesdays at 11am. You will need to be over 65 years of age and register with the Day Centre, but you don’t need to be Italian. Once registered you can participate in all their activities and join them for a midday meal on the day. Contact the Day Centre for more information.

Australian Italian Club 414 Westbury Road Prospect 7250

03 6311 1801

info@italiandaycentre.com

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