Functional Living presents to RBA/CBA retirees association

On 16 July 2012, Functional Living presented to an enthusiastic audience of RBA/CBA retirees.  The focus of the talk was "Functional Living - Ageing in Place" and included tips and tricks on ways in which a home can be made more functional and easier to live in.  Functional Living's director also provided a Function Checklist, which met with some great discussion from the audience. There were some who pondered deeply over whether they would stay in their own homes and how far into the future they have planned this.  The surprise topic was " how much will my care cost?". Functional Living would like to thank Ian Harris and those retired bankers for extending the invitation to speak.   

Functional Living talks at Seniors Festival - Melbourne Town Hall

Functional Living's Director and Occupational Therapist/Ergonomist will speak this Tuesday 4th October (2.30pm) at the Melbourne Town Hall on Making Life Easier at Home - Stay where the Memories were created.

Stephanie will provide valuable advise on what to consider if you are intending to stay living in your own current home into retirement . If not, she will provide a great list of resources and avenues by which you can explore your options.  Stephanie welcomes all who can make it. She also take this opportunity to thank her co presenters and suppliers, BLUM and Aidacare. It should be a great hour of power!

Your will find the embedded link to the presentation in the Functional Living website, under "For the Architect, Builder or Designer tab".  Enjoy.

Productivity Commission – Ageing in Place gets the tick

A lot of you would have seen the PC report in draft and various multiples of contributions to the Productivity Commission (PC) since the onset of what is now called the “Caring for Older Australians” report, published on 8 August 2011.

If you haven’t read it, then Functional Living would like to point out a few key considerations and a few of the stats that might influence you to think about your future care closer to now, than in the future.

Let’s cover a few stats: most of us now know that Australia faces an ageing demographic.  Have you thought about who is going to care for you when you get older?  Have you factored it into your retirement funds? Have you had the discussion with the family on what you want? Based on Functional Livings research and experience, most of you, if healthy and approaching or in retirement will say “no” to most of these questions. Now, can I scare you with some numbers from the report? P18 of the Summary: right now 1m Australians receive care, by 2050; 3.5 million Aussies will need care.  If that’s staggering, then also pay mind to the number of people around who will take on caring roles, to allow you to stay in your own home and ‘age in place’. The demand for care will occur at the same time as an “age induced” tightening of the Australian Labour Market. So, if we have the same model of care in place now, some people needing care at home will miss out. Or look to expensive private arrangements in care. I liken this very much to having a child that needs child care. If you miss out on a government subsidised spot in care, or if those care arrangements don’t work for you, you pay for a private nanny and fund this completely yourself and at your own risk, as there are no accreditation requirements for nannies.

Overall, the PC report does recommend a big overhaul of current care arrangements, luckily seeing the needs of Australians as they age to be a priority (they want more variety and control over the care they receive). To summarise into one sentence, if you want to age in place, you will be assessed via a “gateway agency” and then recommended for levels of care.   There will be a greater number of care packages available to you, and you will have a choice of provider. Of course, with growing wealth in future retirees and with exercised choice there will be a price to pay.  You will make your own contributions to care based on the income assessment completed as part of your “Gateway assessment”. The report also proposes a new way of funding a change in accommodation, which will protect the persons assets (allowing for example a spouse to remain at home) if you move into supported care. They also propose to make it a bit easier for you to find out about all of this information.

One thing the PC report addresses, albeit, a mere smattering, was ‘enablement’ of older Aussies. Often, it is the families of older folks who ‘worry’ and are ‘concerned for the welfare of Mum and Dad if they stay at home as they age”. They want peace of mind and some want less burden; especially if they are a part of the intergenerational sandwich (ie they have kids and ageing parents). One key intervention that is often missed by everyone concerned with an older Australian ageing in place is the combination of “Enablement” and “Home Modifications/ Visitable Design of their home. The result of these two interventions could mean Mum or Dad can stay where they are and their supporters can feel a sense of relief.   Functional Living exists to enable older Australians to “age in place” and hopes that Aged care providers and allied health professionals alike, along with key builder/ renovators/designers pay attention to the combination of “enablement and Visitable design” which will reduce the need for reliance on care packages.

And last but by no means least, the key underlying theme not addressed by the PC report, that in my view needs enormous focus in Australian society is the “your old, so you are redundant” view of younger Australians. Let’s face it; with more competitive markets in aged care, which is essentially the PC reports recommendation, there will be a greater focus on marketers having to beef up campaigns to persuade older Australians that they are better than anyone else at caring.  Likewise the providers themselves are going to have to work extra hard to attract staff. This war for talent is going to be made tougher if the views of younger Aussie’s remain as they are now. Let’s hope the ‘ageist views’ of younger marketers and HR professionals alike, get this message right. Functional Living would love to see the Australian government break down ‘redundancy views’ of younger generations, and see older Australians have far greater avenues by which they remain active, working or non-working citizens, that can impart their learning’s and make major community contributions for generations to follow.  

Staying at Home - Life Made Easier

It's now official. The service put in place to meet a need for Older Australian's by Functional Living has now met a need.

Functional Living – making Life easier for Older Australians at home

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95% of people over 65 years of age interviewed by Occupational Therapist, Stephanie Cassidy, in 2010 have voiced they have no intention of moving from their home of 45+years. In their words: “Í will be carried out of here in a box”. Their biggest identified need was to stay in their house and in the communities in which they live.

80% of children of parents over 70 years of age, thought the first (and some the only) option when Mum/Dad’s health started declining was to, and in their words: “Put them into a Nursing Home”. Their two biggest concerns, Guilt- that they could not spend more time caring for Mum and Dad (whilst juggling their own kids and their own lives) and Worry - for the safety of Mum and /Dad.

All referrals to Ms Cassidy have occurred when there has been a health crisis (hospital admission or a fall), and intervention is a must. So far, Functional Living’s OT interventions have resulted in 100% of clients referred, to remain at home. 100% of clients have reported their lives at home are now easier and safer and 100% of children of clients interviewed feel more confident and less guilty about Mum and Dad staying at home.

Aged Care - The Labyrinth

Aged Care – The labyrinth. Which way do I turn?

 Mum or Dad’s critical health event has found you stumbling through the labyrinth of information on Aged Care. It all sounds promising, but you really are not sure which way to turn.

And you need help fast!  Just as much for yourself as you do for your ageing/ ill Mum or Dad. Whether it be a fall, a stroke, a heart attack or other diagnosis that has seen you watch Mum or Dad decline, you have now been forced to ask questions for now and the future that you had ignored to date. 95% of the people over 66 years of age we have researched have told us they plan a maximum of 5 years in advance when thinking about what their lifestyle/health and living circumstances will be. It’s a different story when it comes to finances; they plan as far as 10 years then.  This is a little worrying; given most people we speak to daily will live at least another 15 years, if we consider average life expectancy.

At Functional Living we are about to embark on a fabulous journey of providing the employees of large corporates a series of seminars on Well-being in retirement.  Functional Living will focus on the “Work to Home Transition” namely preparing you and your home for retirement. In addition, we will provide critical care planning facilitation to ensure that employees know how to negotiate the myriad of options available to them or their parents in terms of care. But for those of you who are not lucky enough to have your employers pay for your future planning or you have already retired, read following.

Women (and men) are having their children later in life and elderly people are living longer, and so there is a higher chance that new parents today will face a period in which both their parents and children will need support.  This poses a pretty big issue. The people who feel they should be providing care to their parents, are possibly already caring for their own kids, maybe even grandkids, they are working and are also having to care for their own parents. That is a tough gig, even if you are super human!

Many have not considered options to assist them in caring for Mum and /Dad. On average, Australians will live until they are 81 years of age and this will increase with time.  Only 1 in 20 older people live in a nursing home or hostel. More than 75% of older people own their own home and remain in the community where they have lived and worked.

A lot of people we see say: “Mum doesn’t want to go into a Nursing Home, but we may have no option”.  They often say this without knowing all of the options available. Not all people will go through the same living arrangements as they age (we know this can be diverse), but here are a few other steps that need to be considered before the need for ‘nursing home care’ discussions (which we know most people who are facing do so with dread):

1.  Facilitated family discussions about Care Planning. Know the options and using a trained facilitator. This can take the ‘heat’ out of conflicting family opinions. It also provides the facts on what is available. There is nothing worse than going around in circles and coming to no agreed plan.

2.  Modify Mum and Dad’s home (or your own home), to i) make it easier for you and ii) easier for Mum and/dad and iii) any future carers to assist you if needed. This can be everything from a minor tweak here and there (security doors, ramps, grab and hand rails), gadgets that provide peace of mind (like personal alert buttons, shower stools) to a major renovation ( a remodelled bathroom that allows a seated shower and provides a non-slip floor).

3.  Get some assistance at home: private and government assistance can be provided to give peace of mind to the family and Mum/Dad and provide a greater level of safety and enjoyment at home. There is so much available.

4.  Look to downsize.  We are constantly keeping our eye out on new accessible living options to suit many needs. If we don’t know your area, we will do some basic leg work and narrow down options for you.  Occupational Therapists and Ergonomists will assess“down size” options that are most suitable for a specific functional need. Not all facilities advertised as “accessible” and/or "functional"will be, even if they are compliant with new Building codes and Australian standards.

5.  Look for Care: When coping at home, even with support is just too much for everyone.  Residential /aged care facilities and options can be explored. Have trained expert’s tour sites, narrowing down options according to your families wishes.

It could be one or all of the above options that sees you feel peace of mind, and Mum and Dad regain independence and integrity once more.

Preparing and Recovering from a Total Hip Replacement (Mum's story) - Functional Tips Included

This is a long blog, but there are some key tips for anyone wanting a Functional Recovery from a Total Hip Replacement:

·        Ask for material at your pre-admission appointment to guide you on your needs post-surgery

·        Buy and have delivered as much equipment you need pre –admission, but before you do, call an Occupational Therapist (OT) to complete a pre admission visit to your home. They can provide you with education on how to best approach things when you get home (and point you towards extra community supports if you think you are going to need it). Although Functional Living is only in Melbourne, we can provide interstate links to  Private OT’s

·        Make changes permanent – of the advice given you by an OT makes life easier post-surgery, keep it that way, preserve your joints so it frees you up for the fun stuff in life

·        Follow post-surgical advice from your Doctor and allied health professionals

Following is a Case Sudy on my own Mum, who has just had her hip replaced.

A bit about Mum and I:

I am a 40 year old white collar professional. I live in Melbourne with my husband and daughter of 4. I am self-employed, the Director of Functional Living.  My Mum, still working, is 66 and lives by herself in our family home of 40 years in Perth WA.  Mum, recently had a total hip replacement, 4 weeks ago. I found myself in Perth “looking after Mum”. Because my new business directly relates to Mum’s current situation I decided to write about Mum's experience in a case study.

Some Background

Mum has had Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) for 8 years now. She manages her RA with prescribed medication and ‘being sensible and careful’. From what I can gather, without wanting to pry into Mum’s medical records her wrists are completely fused, as are most joints in her feet, or they would have considerable degeneration at the very least.  She also now has RA attacking her ankles, knees and hips.   More recently, Mum’s ability to ambulate without considerable pain diminished. She went from being a lady who could walk to the beach and swim most days, went to the gym most nights, worked 4 days per week in an office based role, takes walks along the coast, fishes with mates, holidays with mates and takes long walks with friends etc (ie generally lead a very active life), suffering sleepless nights and being reliant on panadol 4 times daily for pain relief. She gave up the gym, walking to the beach (she did go on a holiday to Egypt and surrounds, but found it tough going).

Mum eventually convinced her GP to refer her to an Orthopaedic Surgeon and underwent a Total Hip replacement on Saturday 14^th May 2011. At her pre- admission appointment she was given a patient information pack, which included a list of equipment that could be hired from the Hospital pharmacy as well as details of an OT that contracted to the Hospital.  

7 days after surgery Mum was discharged and I arrived at her house within a half an hour of her arriving home from hospital.

Pre Surgery

Luckily, I am an Occupational Therapist and could recommend some equipment for Mum prior to her going into hospital. Even without my input Mum had information given to her by the hospital (private) that she could contact the OT if she needed to know what to get.   Although tracking down most of the equipment Mum required was easy, my familiarity with Perth’s equipment suppliers had diminished somewhat having relocated to Melbourne some 10 years ago.

Day One at Home

On the day she arrived home we soon realised the hired chair was both uncomfortable and cumbersome and UGLY!!  With a wedge cushion on the kitchen chairs, Mum was able to sit quite comfortably (and they were far less ugly than the chair).   For those of you who don’t know, the hip replacement Mum had did not allow her to bend her hip much at all post surgically (you are supposed to keep your hip at an obtuse angle). Some surgical approaches are different, and people’s abilities are different, this is a unique case, I am sharing just so you can get an idea of what is involved in assisting someone with a TEMPORARY LIFE HURDLE.

And even better, Mum was a fit and slender lady, so she was ambulating with one crutch from Day One of returning home, and could get in and out of bed, on and off the toilet and in and out of the shower with no problem at all.

The Bathroom

We did install some ‘suction’ hand grips in the shower (which I was a bit reluctant to do because they sometimes lose their suction) but Mum convinced me that she would just use them as a support, not putting full weight on them.   Mum also said the suction mat on the shower recess floor was great. Mum had already hired an over toilet frame with arm rests and that was in place. I noticed the bin was on the floor and raised it onto a small occasional table. Mum was just so lucky that she and Dad had thought that a second bathroom with flat access to the bathroom and shower might help them in the future. They did not have the extra funds however, to widen the door to that room (which was an old study).  This door, would render this room totally useless if Mum ever needs a wheelchair, or assistance from a carer to get in and out of the bathroom was required (it is just not wide enough for a carer to assist). It has got the width for a wheeled commode to go into the bathroom and shower if needed.

The Bedroom

My brother and I were going to set about putting bricks under the ‘spare room bed’ which Mum had decided to use as it was closer to the bathroom than her own bedroom was to her usual bathroom.  Instead we came up with the idea that the bed would be just the right height if we put Mum’s mattress from her room onto the spare room mattresses and removed the castors from that bed.  This, combined with a bed rail, saw Mum very nicely get in and out of bed without compromise to her hip joint/replacement sight.

The Kitchen

Mum had been very organised and had prepared and froze a bunch of meals prior to surgery. Problem is, the freezer is too low. How do we get around this? 

Our Functional solution to a bottom door freezer: when Mum had mates come over to visit she would ask them to take the food from the freezer.  Thanks goodness Mum had an amazing group of mates, who were very active. Mum had also labelled all of the food clearly, sticking the labels on the top each container, so that when she asked me or her mates to grab something out, we would know what we were looking for eg Steaks, or Vege Soup, or Cheese Scones.

Some other easy Functional Solutions in the Kitchen (to overcome this temporary hurdle):

Mum’s kitchen is all cupboards and small drawers.  So there are plenty of very difficult to reach spots. Over 50% of the kitchen storage was pretty much rendered useless, in the short term.

The Functional Solution: I went through all cupboards and rearranged them so that most frequently used items were placed at knee height or above. Mum also told me of the wonderful new kitchen she had been planning, complete with 100% draws. Great stuff Mum!  I have yet to have a look at Blum’s products installed into a kitchen, but once I have I will be passing on to Mum the wonderful findings made and giving her some more ‘freeing up function’ in the kitchen tips.

The Bin was small and at ground level.  The Functional Solution:  A temporary solution, bench based bin.

The Pantry had a plastic bag recycling (behind the bin.  The Functional Solution:  moved to above knee height for easier access.

The Oven - All good, it is wall based.  Thank goodness.

The Laundry – Mum’s ancient laundry has a ‘chute’ that opens toward you and it drops the dirty washing to below knee level. You then open a low level cupboard to empty the cupboard.  The Functional Solution: don’t use it. Place dirty washing in a laundry basket at knee or above in height (keep it hidden behind the laundry cupboard away from visitors eyes or course!), or throw heavier items straight into the machine (eg sheets) and the rest use your long handled pick up stick.

Here is Mum’s equipment list (you may need more or less depending on your level of fitness post op and the design of your home and the amount of assistance you can get).

·        Elbow crutches

·        Wedge cushions (she had 2) – it’s handy to have one for the car

·        Adjustable Over toilet frame

·        Long handled shoe horn

·        Frame for Pressure Garments (lower limbs)

·        Bed rail

Other things Mum found out:

As a private patient and someone who still works, Mum found there was no government assistance available to assist with cleaning post op. She managed to get 2 hours of assistance per fortnight from Silver Chain.

Mum was given details of a private carer’s organisation that may have been able to help, at a cost.

The Outcome

Mum’s was a ‘text book’ recovery. She is a new woman!

If you are in Mum’s boat, give us a call at Functional Living, we may be able to assist…..03 9346 7553.

The Cost of Aged Care - who pays? Impact on the Sandwich Generation.

Whilst preparing for an Ageing Workforce presentation, I was pulling together figures on the cost of aged care. Of course, I contacted a few Aged Care agencies who found it difficult to come up with and range of costs as there are a number of variables impacting the level of care someone might need.


However, whilst "googling" for information I came across some information that was helpful.  In this day and age, Financial Planners are in the perfect position to provide advise to pre and post retirees. However, some may or may not be focusing on the Cost of Aged Care when they discuss calculating your retirement costs with you. 


ipac however, seem to have put a deal of thought into the impact aged care may have on Sandwich Generation (see Blog dated X for more information). And have a look at what ipac have to say.  http://www.ipac.com.au/preparing-for-our-parents-care.aspx,  In the next Functional Living Blog I am going to bring you a rough estimate of the cost of the average renovation and/ home modifications I see, that can see independence and confidence restored to an otherwise concerned resident and family.  I will include in this a case study the costs of in home Private Care (no funding provided by the government) so you will have an idea of what private care might cost you.   There is a nice little aged care action planner ipac provide too.   http://ipacagedcare.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ipac-financial-care-action-planner-WEB-Jan10.pdf  Be aware, ipac's action planner is focused on seeking government funding.  Some families I see have seen have a preference for privacy and prefer not to have an ACAT assessment , opting for Private agencies who provide in home care.   http://ipacagedcare.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ipac-financial-care-action-planner-WEB-Jan10.pdf

Usually of course, families are looking for this information when there is 'an immediate need' and not necessarily preventing 'urgency' and hasty decisions when it comes to caring for their ageing parents. I hope this comes to you in the planning vs reacting phase.