Celebrating ‘home care’ success

Seniors lifestyle care provider, IRT Group, will celebrate 20 years of providing in home care services next week.

IRT Group’s chief executive, Nieves Murray, was instrumental in the establishment of the in home care and community aged care packages (CACP) pilot program in 1992.

Ms Murray was recruited as the former Illawarra Retirement Trust’s community services manager at the time when the federal government had identified the need to shift away from residential care to an in home care model as many older people preferred to stay living in their own homes.

“My role was to set up our internal systems and put in place sustainable structures, as well as recruit and train qualified staff and connect them with the people who required care in their own homes,” Ms Murray said.

IRT saw the in home care model as a way to expand the organisation’s services and presented a new option to seniors – to have care and support in their own home.

“At the time, the then Illawarra Retirement Trust was very much about bricks and mortar, so this was a huge step away from what we were doing and it challenged the organisation’s way of thinking on many levels,” Ms Murray said.

IRT Group client numbers have doubled in the past two years to 4,720, compared to 20 home care clients when the service was first launched.

Other in home care highlights for Ms Murray included setting up the Adopt a Grandparent program with the University of Wollongong.

“This was fabulous to see the young children, particularly those from overseas who did not have contact with their grandparents, relating to our clients and forming strong bonds.”

Looking to the future, Ms Murray believed social isolation may be the next challenge for in home care.

“I think this could be the unintended consequence of providing in home care,” she said.

“It’s a big risk for the future. However, if we plan for what’s coming, we can address these issues and ensure older Australians have a good quality of life while remaining in their own homes.”