The Glow Worm
Message from the CEO
Hello good people,
Welcome to another Everglow newsletter.
I hope this finds you all well and in good spirits.
This month in the CEO’s message, I would like to share an article I wrote for the Leading Aged Services Australia (LASA) magazine.
30 Years of Community Care
Everglow Community Care Links Incorporated (Formally Ethnic Community Care Links Inc.) is a Not for Profit association, incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld).
Everglow began life as a pilot program in Townsville in 1988, under the Community Options Model, providing community based services to older people from Cultural and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds (CALD).
The pilot was hugely successful and the Ethnic Liaison Project was established in 1989. This project continued to grow reaching out to provide home care services in Ayr and Ingham to new Australians and first and second-generation Australians. Ethnic Community Care Links was incorporated in 1996 and by 2002, provided services to over 230 clients and employed 60 bilingual personal carers who spoke a total of 19 languages in three regional centres.
At the core of Everglow, is our commitment to the rights of our clients to understand and communicate effectively with staff and other service providers. We achieve this by using our staff who are bilingual facilitators. The Everglow staff member acts as an advocate and language and cultural bridge between clients and the service environment
For 30 years we have developed a reputation for working in partnership with our clients to provide personalised care that is dignified, respectful and focussed on maintaining individual autonomy and community connection.
In 2015, with the ECCLI brand and philosophy well established within the CALD community, the members decided to rename the association as Everglow and extend services to the broader community. ECCLI still retains several places in the Home Care Programme which are prioritised for persons from a CALD background and our ability to provide culturally appropriate services and language facilitation remains unchanged.
As with any organisation our age, we have had experienced the good times and bad. Our sector is continually challenged by changes to how Aged Care services are delivered and how funding is distributed.
Along with many liked minded organisations Everglow have been impacted by these continual changes. Some of which have been:
The Living Longer Living Better Initiative.
Active Services Model or Functional Independence Model.
The split of responsibilities between the State and Federal of the HACC Program.
Introduction of the Commonwealth Home Support Program. The commencement of Consumer Directed Care.
The complexity of these significant changes and time frames for completion has caused confusion and unrest. While these changes can be looked upon by some as having a negative impact, Everglow viewed these as opportunities to embrace change and reinvent ourselves.
We have always prided ourselves on directing the majority of our operational funding towards service delivery and additional client activities by ensuring we keep management overheads down.
We have done this by being courageous in leveraging technology to reduce redundant manual processes ensuring our team from our Allied Health professionals to our Personal Carers and Home Maintenance crews are in constant communication via online systems.
Our workforce is totally mobile, in that each staff member has an iPad linked to our client management system enabling Everglow to provide services over 100 kilometres North and South, allowing us to cover black spots not serviced by other organisations. It also allows Everglow to “push” mandatory training and topical training to staff via our Learning Management System to ensure continued compliance and professional development.
Our commitment to the early adoption of “bleeding edge” technology allows us to be lean and responsive to continuous change.
Over the past 18 months Everglow has grown our multicultural Allied Health team to allow Everglow to now provide all levels of Home Care Packages, including Nursing to our diverse client base.
Today Everglow has approximately 1,200 clients and 60 staff who speak 45 languages and dialects. Our commitment to individual and community wellness remains as strong as ever.
As always, I welcome any feedback from you in relation to your services or any opportunities for improvement.
Until next month, stay safe.
Wayne
Somatic Celtic Cross to Free Up Shoulder Tightness
Injuries, whether new or old, slow us down. How we deal with them physically is one thing… but the mental and emotional burden that comes with it can be more challenging than the physical.
TheareathatIseethemostinjuriesinmystudentsistheshoulder. From muscle strains to rotator cuff tears to frozen shoulder to bicep tendon detachment, having a shoulder injury takes time, patience and lots of internal exploration.
To help shoulders recover and build strength and flexibility, I share a helpful exercise sequence in my Gentle Movement to Music classes. It is a gentle cross and circular motion, this works into the joint capsule. If you are dealing with shoulder damage, why not join us every Friday at Everglow with movements to bring more mobility in a safe way to your shoulders and entire body.
For information contact Brooke in the Townsville office on 4725 1822.
For information on the Exercise group in Ingham contact Kiara on 4776 2296.
Whats On:
Ayr
Weekly / Monthly Activities
Crochet Corner and Morning Tea— the fourth Friday of the month- 9.30am-11.30am
3rd May – Juru Walk and Plantation Park with Connie followed by coffee and cake at the café
Small group – 6 only – Gold coin Donation. Supported by CHSP Funding.
11th May — Mother’s Day at Billabong Sanctuary
The Ranger will join us for an hour of “animal interaction” at the Melaleuca Centre where we will enjoy our sausage sizzle for lunch (See Invitation)
18th May — Stardust Gardens Morning Tea and Tour through the Secret Garden with Kym.
Small group – 6 only – Gold coin Donation. Supported by CHSP Funding.
31st May — Visit to the Nature Display with Suzzi.
Small group – 6 only – Gold coin Donation. Supported by CHSP Funding.
6th June — Information Morning and Morning Tea – 9.30am—11am
Topic :- Services Available and How to Access Them
(Information relating to Home Care Packages and CHSP Funding)
8th June — Bus Trip—Visit the Museum of Tropical Qld followed by Lunch at Cowboys
Cost of entry— Gold coin donation – (Everglow will cover the cost ‘ local ‘ admission) More information in the May Newsletter re cost of lunch. RSVP as soon as possible as limited seats.
15th June— Mystery trip with a mystery worker
Small group – 6 only – Gold coin Donation. Supported by CHSP Funding.
21st June — Multicultural Day Luncheon— Mexican at the Stardust Drive-in
More information in the May Newsletter
27th June — Information Morning and Morning Tea – 9.30am—11am
Topic :- ‘Incontinence and the Perfect Pee’ An amusing and informative morning with Jill Morice.
Ingham
Weekly / Monthly Activities
Gentle Exercise and Morning Tea:- every Tuesday 10am — 11.30am
Bingo, Morning Tea and Lunch:- every second Thursday of the month 9.30am — 12.30pm
Craft:- every first Wednesday of the month 9.30am — 11.30am
Hoy and Cent Sale:- twice per month from 9.30am — 11.30am
May — Wednesday 16th & Wednesday 30th
June — Friday 8th & Wednesday 27th
Country Songs:- 9.30am — 11.30am on Friday 11th May & Friday the 29th June
Italian Songs:- every third Friday of the month 9.30am — 11.30am Trivia:- every fourth Friday of the month 9.30am —11.30am
Townsville
Weekly / Monthly Activities
Gentle Exercise and Morning Tea every Friday—Class 1 – 9.30am / Class 2 – 10.45am Colouring Therapy and Morning Tea every Tuesday 10am—11.30am
Italian Group— Last Friday of the month 2.30pm—3.30pm
*New* Making Memories—every fourth Wednesday 9.30am—11.30am
9th May – Mother’s Day at Sizzler 12noon –2pm (see invitation)
14th May — Information Morning and Morning Tea – 9.30am—11am Topic :- Services Available and How to Access Them
(Information relating to Home Care Packages and CHSP Funding)
30th May — Bus Trip to Billabong Sanctuary
Bus leaves Townsville 9.30am and returns approx. 2pm
Cost: $24 (includes lunch and entry )
Ranger will join us for an hour of “animal interaction” at the Melaleuca Centre
where we will enjoy a light lunch RSVP as soon as possible as limited seats.
14th June — Visit to the Museum of Tropical Qld Meeting at the museum at 10am
Cost of entry— Gold coin donation – (Everglow will cover the cost ‘ local ‘ admission) More information in the May Newsletter
20th June — Multicultural Day Luncheon
More information in the May Newsletter
28th June — Information Morning and Morning Tea – 9.30am—11am Topic :- ‘Incontinence and the Perfect Pee’ with Jill Morice
To obtain further information regarding activities, venues and costs:-
Townsville or Ayr clients phone 47251822
Ingham clients phone 4776 2296
Transport may be arranged for eligible clients.
We would love to hear from people across Ayr, Ingham and Townsville. Please send in and share with us your stories, ideas, jokes, recipes or information which may benefit and support others in our community. If you caught the biggest shark this week-end send us a photo. We would like the “Glow- worm” to be informative and fun.
