At Rural Northwest Health, elevating the health and well-being of our local community is at the heart of what is most valuable to us. With an aim to be responsive in most circumstances, we provide a large variety of health services to support the needs of community members across Warracknabeal, Beulah and Hopetoun.
Community Health and At-Home Services at RNH
In the increasingly fast-paced world, the value of quality healthcare and support services cannot be overstated. Access to comprehensive care, especially in rural areas, is a critical factor in ensuring the well-being and dignity of individuals and communities.
Rural Northwest Health is known for healthcare excellence in the northwest Victoria region.
We work closely with all our clients and their families to provide personalised care and fulfilment of individual needs. Our goal is to make high-quality health services affordable and accessible to all members of our local community so they are not restricted by their medical conditions in any way.
The focus of our community care programs is to educate and provide quality services, to promote good health and greater wellbeing within the local community.
What is Home and Community Care (HACC)?
HACC is generally offered to clients under 65 years of age.This includes younger people whose health conditions may affect their ability to live independently.
The purpose of home and community care services (HACC) is to empower people to stay independently at home while recovering from an injury or illness. This can be short-term or long-term, depending on the condition and medical requirements.
This encompasses a wide range of healthcare and support services, directed towards meeting the diverse needs of individuals of different ages and backgrounds. Such as cleaning, meal prep and other everyday chores.
All our community care staff are equipped with appropriate training to respond to the needs of our HACC clients.
Those who require day-to-day medical assistance during the recovery period, our registered and enrolled community nurses can provide clinical care to these clients at their homes or at one of our campuses. This includes wound care, pathology collection, medication management, palliative care, PICC and port management.
Rural Northwest Health offers the following services to our HACC clients:
- Domestic assistance
- Property maintenance
- Food services: meals on wheels, center-based meals (Hopetoun)
- Living at home assistance
Rural Northwest Health’s home and community care services empower individuals to continue living independently. The services are tailored to enhance their autonomy, dignity, and overall quality of life.
What is CHSP? (Commonwealth Home Support Program)
CHSP provides support to older people, who require assistance while staying in their own home.
Providers of this service assist clients through a range of daily tasks, home modifications, transport, social support and nursing care.
The degree of care given through CHSP is only entry-level. The aim of the program is allow and empower older people to stay independetnly in the comfort of their own homes and communities.
The CHSP workers help the client in remaining as independent as possible, their aim is to work with the client and build their capacity rather than doing things for them.
It enables the clients to stay safely at home and get accustomed to the age-induced adjustments/requirements with slight support from CHSP workers. This further allows the clients to delay high-level care such as moving into an aged care, as well as stay socially active and connected to their community.
Most CHSP clients require help with only one or two acitvities on regular basis. This allows the program facilitators to provide small amoount of help to a large amount of people.
CHSP is generally offered to Australian aged 65 years and above who require support to live indepedently at home or have functional limitation and thus, require assistance. Under some circumstances, it is also offered to individuals who have aged prematurely on low income (agead 50 years and above) such as in the case of homelessness.
This program also provides respite to CHSP recipients, when the carers require a break from their duties.
Rural Northwest Health offers the following services to our CHSP clients:
- Domestic assistance
- Meals: at home or at the centre
- Personal Care
- Sucial support (indvidial): shopping assistance and medical appointments in town
- Social support (group): no group activites
- Home modification and maintainence
- District nursing and allied health services: occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, dietician, etc. (if the relevant practitioner is available). Podiatry and OT services are available in most cases.
- Flexible respite: in-home, limited to a few hours, to provide rest to primary carers
Rural communities often face unique challenges in accessing healthcare, with geographical distance, limited resources, and sparse healthcare infrastructure being common obstacles. However, Rural Northwest Health has successfully bridged this gap through their comprehensive home and community care services.
We are dedicated to providing exceptional community and at-home care services that have transformed countless lives.
To book an appointment for any of the above, please contact our community nursing team on 03 5396 1288.