After a number of recent health-related setbacks, both Stefania and Ohannes realised that they needed some help at home.They found the process for organising home care particularly complicated, especially as English was their second language. This confusion led to them having to wait an extra 18 months for their home care packages.
Stefania and Ohannes came to Australia separately in search of a better life. After a chance meeting, they discovered that life was better together.聽
Stefania moved to Australia from Poland with her first husband at age 45, they were refugees seeking protection and a better way of life. 鈥淲e came with nothing, just our suitcases. I did not speak much English, we had no money and I wasn鈥檛 young, so finding work was hard. I finally found a job working in an electrical parts factory, where I stayed working and saving for 14 long years. Sadly my husband got sick with cancer and passed away.鈥澛
Two and a half years later a friend of Stefania鈥檚 persuaded her to get out and meet new people, so apprehensively, she joined her friend at a Latino Dance. The Club Marconi where the dance was held, is an international club, and was predominately frequented by people from European backgrounds.
鈥淚 see from a distance that all the men were very nicely dressed, I look again and see one man in particular and I think to myself that he looks like an old playboy.鈥 Stefania giggles. 鈥淗e gestures to me to come over to him and I say, 鈥楴o way, you want it, you come here鈥, and he come over and asked me to dance. I refused, but he persisted and eventually won me over. That was in 1997and we got married seven years later in 2003.鈥澛
In 2009 Ohannes went into Liverpool Hospital for a heart operation 鈥 秀秀直播 was the organisation assigned by the hospital to provide six weeks of aftercare in-home support, covered by the government, to help the patients recovery after surgery.
鈥溞阈阒辈 were great, but after only six short weeks the services finished, and I had to rely on Stefania to help with my recovery.鈥 Ohannes recalled
To help with the recovery, Ohannes was advised to go out every day to get some exercise.聽
鈥淥ne day I went out for a walk and I received a call from Stefania, 鈥楯ohn I鈥檝e collapsed鈥, she had slipped on the floor and couldn鈥檛 get up.鈥 Ohannes shares
After the operation on her broken hip, Stefania was in the hospital for three months for rehabilitation. During this time Ohannes knew that they needed to get out of their townhouse which was no longer suitable for either of them, as they could no longer get up and down the steep steps.
鈥淎fter a couple of weeks of looking at places that weren鈥檛 suitable, I got a call from a place that we loved in Casula, and we put our deposit on it straight away. The week that we were due to move I had a heart attack, thankfully my brother and his son were able to help move everything in for us whilst I was in hospital. It was then that I realised that we were going to need some help at home.聽
鈥淚 asked around others in the village and I was told to call My Aged Care. I contacted them but was given the runaround. Every time we talked to them it was like we had to start from the beginning again. Finally, I remembered how helpful 秀秀直播 had been, so I called them to see if they could help us again.聽
"Catherine who is the Home Care Specialist came to our house and sorted everything out. Without her, I still don鈥檛 think we would have any services provided.鈥 Ohannes said
Catherine recalls the day she met with Stefania and Ohannes, 鈥淪tefania had just had another fall, this time hurting her shoulder, and they were in desperate need of some in home support. I asked them about how far they had gotten through the My Aged Care process and they showed me a letter, but they weren鈥檛 sure what it meant.鈥
"Ohannes produced the letter that they had received from My Aged Care, 'We received this letter, we read it, but because English isn鈥檛 our first language, we didn鈥檛 understand the meaning of the letter. It wasn鈥檛 clear what they were asking for, so we put it aside and eventually forgot about it.' When I looked at this letter, I realised that it was their approval letter for a Home Care package, but it had lapsed鈥.聽
What Stefania and Ohannes didn鈥檛 realise was that they only had 56 days to contact My Aged Care, provide them with the activation code that was printed in their letter and they would have had their home care services start straight away. Catherine was devastated to find that the contact period had lapsed and Stefania and Ohannes would now have to go to the back of the queue and wait up to 18 months, with thousands of others, to receive their home care services.聽
鈥淪adly, this happens more often than you think. 秀秀直播 has been trying to help a lot of seniors get registered with My Aged Care, because it鈥檚 a very complicated system and it has made a lot of seniors all over the country anxious. Especially when they need help straight away and they are waiting for services for up to 18 months."
鈥My recommendation to all seniors is not to wait. As soon as you need assistance at home聽give 秀秀直播 a call on 13 18 19and we can help you understand the My Aged Care application process and help you apply for a Home Care package,鈥 Catherine comments.
Thankfully for Stefania and Ohannes, 秀秀直播 was able to provide them with some volunteer and private care services while they were on the waiting list for their Home Care package. When asked if they would recommend 秀秀直播 after this experience, Stefania answered confidently.
鈥溞阈阒辈 is a great organisation, they really understand and want to make sure that your services are good. Thank you to 秀秀直播 for looking after us.鈥
秀秀直播鈥檚 Home Care Specialists really care and have a good understanding of the My Aged Care System. Call our friendly team today on聽13 18 19. We're here聽to support you through every step of the process.
Next Steps?Call our friendly team on 13 18 19 or contact us online and we can arrange for one of our Home Care Specialists to come and visit you at home to talk you through the process. Our Home Care Specialists are experts at helping you navigate the My Aged Care system. It doesn't matter where you are in the process, 秀秀直播 is here to assist you every step of the way.
If you're looking for answers to any of the above questions call our Client Care Team聽on 13 18 19, or book a home visit appointment with one of our friendly Home Care Specialists today! We're available 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday. Make an appointment for a friendly Home Care Specialist to visit you at home. Other information that may interest you: |