ALWAYS ONE OF The team at Windsor Park Aged Care Home in Carlisle worked tirelessly to help one of their residents - Lena - return to her community over a period of several years. By Gabi Mills.
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he people who pass through Hall & Prior homes’ doors come from many backgrounds, and their stories are all different. We work extremely hard to make a difference to all those who live with us, no matter how long or short their stay may be, and in the case of one of our residents - Lena - that commitment is ongoing. Lena’s story with Hall & Prior began when she was just 56 in 2019. After a stay in hospital, she was appointed a Public Advocate who was assigned to make decisions on her behalf. As such, she was admitted to our Windsor Park home after leaving hospital. Her relatively young age made Lena’s admission to our home an unusual one but nevertheless, Jayne Cummings, the home’s Executive Manager and Aboriginal Health Co-ordinator Wendy Ashwin, worked closely with Lena to improve her ability to care for herself. “The aim was that one day we would be able to return her to the community,” says
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Jayne. “So we liaised with her Guardian and began to float the idea of Lena’s return.” It wasn’t an easy process, and required ongoing updates and feedback to the Guardian regarding Lena’s progress, but eventually she started to come around to the idea, says Jayne. As the year progressed, Jayne and Wendy continued to work with Lena closely, aligning different community groups and health professionals to help Lena re-integrate with her community. “Multiple organisations worked closely with Lena to arrange for her to return to her community, liaising with the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT), the mental health team, the Aboriginal Medical Health Service (Derbarl Yerrigan), Lena’s family members and the public guardian,” says Jayne. “By January 2020, Lena was placed back in the community, a huge achievement for the combined team of health workers and those who supported Lena,” says Jayne.
ONE OF THE FAMILY: Lena (above) has thrived thanks to the team at Windsor Park, and opposite, Lena with some of the Windsor Park staff and residents.
