Support to live and age well
Uniting AgeWell is committed to the advancement of person-centred care for older people. With a focus mental health and overall wellbeing we help you to age well and live life to your full potential.
Promoting a sense of wellbeing at every age and stage of life.
At Uniting AgeWell, we embrance an holisitic definition of mental health, as defined by the World Health Organisation.
"Mental health is a state of wellbeing in which the individual realises their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community."
Uniting AgeWell's Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework takes an integrated approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing that brings together bio-medical, emotional and social elements.
Across the spectrum of care we focus on our customers' quality of life and fulfillment, rather than simply responding to mental health problems or illness.
Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework
Uniting AgeWell's Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework is a reflection of our commitment to enabling communities to age well and individuals to live to their potential.
We beleive all elements of mental health and wellbeing are of equal importance and structure our assesment, care planning and services to meet the unique needs of each individual.
In seeking to advance the principle of person-centred care for older people, our Framework outlines the approach and measures we will take to support the mental health and wellbeing of our customers and staff.
Factors affecting mental health as you age
A range of factors may impact our mental health and wellbeing at any age. There are some factors more relevant to older people that are important to acknowledge, these include:
- Sense of identity (loss of roles and identity)
- Loss of independence (driving, needing help, sense of dignity)
- Grieving (partners, friends, privacy, pets, diet, garden)
- Leisure and recreation (loss of familiar activities)
- Social isolation, loneliness and loss of social connections
For further factors and more information read our Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework
Talking Mental Health
Ground-breaking research is underway looking at how best to support aged care staff to identify and meet the mental health needs of older people in the community.
Talking Mental Health – a research study partnership between Uniting AgeWell, Flinders University and the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) – looks at guidelines, procedures and implementation strategies to support staff and build confidence around mental health as an aspect of aged care.
The Talking Mental Health Project aims to co-design and test care protocols that will enable better identification of our customers' mental health needs and provide improved access to intervention.
How we support our customers' mental health
Taking an holistic approach to the support of our customers mental health, we adopt a mix of prevention, referral, treatment and maintenance actions across the full spectrum of care and supports.
- Social support programs: we help older people stay connected and enjoy a greater sense of community. Our programs include localised outings and community groups, lifestye activities at our residential care communities and support at home to maintain hobbies such as paiting, golf or yoga.
- Access to specialist services: Uniting AgeWell provides our customers with the opportunity to connect with social workers, chaplains and gain referals to expert mental health professionals and services.
- High level person-centred care: we take the time to get to know our cutomers and understand their individual needs. From help to maintain their independence and enjoy their favourite hobbies to high level nursing care and dementia support. Our team also work to support our customers long term treatment goals as outlined by mental health services including aftercare and rehabilitation.
Our support programs
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It’s in the cards
There’s a new set of cards out there – cards that get people talking about how they are really feeling.
They’re the Do Be Feel cards developed by Uniting AgeWell and Swinburne University that are being used in our residential facilities to encourage people to open up about how they really travelling.
The 42 cards are divided into three categories – Do, Be and Feel – and collectively depict a range of interests or hobbies, personality traits and emotions. And the feedback is that they’re working so well, plans are afoot to produce them in Braille!
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Back to the future
Playing trucks, wearing butterfly wings and reading the Three Little Pigs …
Residents at Uniting AgeWell’s aged care facilities across Victoria and Tasmania are loving spending time with children of all ages – including swapping stories with teenagers and learning that “hip” and “fully sick” don’t necessarily relate to parts of the body or medical conditions.
It’s called intergenerational interaction. But it’s not rocket science. It’s good old-fashioned wisdom that when older and younger people get together, the magic happens. And it is this back to the future approach that is not only popular but in some cases, life-changing, for older people.
Find out more how young and old are loving ‘hanging out’ -
The friendship tonic
Chatting and laughing with friends over coffee and pasta is a simple recipe for happiness.
Just ask Italian-born nonna Connie Natoli who knows first-hand that catching up with mates is more of a tonic than half the stuff you buy from the health store.
In fact, there’s one social connections client who first attended the centre so thin and unwell she had to lie down on a fold-out bed between activities. She gained weight, her health improved and when she put on a piano performance for her new set of friends there, everyone knew the camaraderie-cure had worked!
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Get in touch
We'd love to hear from you. Fill out the form and we'll be in touch soon!
Phone: 1300 783 435
Email: [email protected] -
Locations
We have offices across metropolitan and regional Victoria and Tasmania.
Find your local office