Home is where the heart is

Supporting North Queenslanders to remain in their homes for as long as possible during their golden years is at the heart of Everglow Community Care Links.

“Never underestimate the value of independence, of being within familiar surroundings, and maintaining contact within your community,” says Wayne Crase, CEO at Everglow Community Care Links.

Founded 30 years ago, Everglow has helped thousands of clients in Townsville, Ingham and Burdekin remain in their homes and delay, or completely remove the need for, relocating to a permanent residential aged care home or nursing home. 

“We primarily deliver in-home aged care,” says Wayne. “Our original core business, which remains our core today, is facilitation of access to services for folks who speak English as their second language.”

With roots in Ingham and Burdekin, many of Everglow’s clients speak Italian and Sicilian, however Everglow carers speak 45 languages and dialects. Of Everglow’s current clients, many languages are spoken with an increasing number of English-only speakers.

Everglow offers in-home aged care, which can vary from domestic duties like assistance with household chores, yard maintenance or making meals, to transport to appointments or assistance shopping, medication supervision, occupational therapy, personal care, dementia care, respite, and recreational support.

“Our focus is working with families to keep mum or dad in home and out of a residential facility for as long as possible. We assist them in their home so they can maintain their independence.”

For those who live in a different town to their aging parent/s, this service is a lifeline. It’s a way to support their parents to live independently, and to have someone keep them in the loop with any issues or deteriorations in ability that may occur. For those who live in the same town and care for their parents, Everglow’s service can also be a lifeline, in giving some respite when needed.

Everglow Community Care Links offers different levels of care, through government packages. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), which recipients co-contribute to payment, is suited to fairly independent people who may need some domestic duties or yard maintenance once a fortnight, or transport to monthly social activities. 

The next level of care is a Home Care Package (HCP), which is fully funded by government and provides the level of support as determined by an aged care assessment. This can include more regular domestic assistance, and also in-home visits from occupational therapists, nurses or other health professionals.

In the past 18 months, Wayne says Everglow has seen 120% growth due to word-of-mouth recommendations and people now having the power of choice. To meet demand, Everglow purchased and opened in July a new centre in Ayr.

“Up until 2017, how many Home Care Packages providers could deliver was controlled,” tells Wayne. “This meant the big providers stayed big, and the smaller providers like Everglow, stayed small. Since lifting the cap, it’s become a consumer-directed market, where people aren’t just allocated to a provider, they get to choose,” he says.

“In the past, client service didn’t’ matter so much as providers were in control. Now, if you’re not happy with your service, you can move.”