WEBVTT
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:06.000
Hello and welcome back to Age Compass, where we're navigating aging and dementia together.
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:15.119
I'm sharing this episode today because I really want to bring some awareness to the aged care work sector just for a moment.
00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:24.960
In Australia at the moment, there's over 450,000 aged care workers, and that industry is growing significantly.
00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.640
And so this is what I want to reflect on today.
00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:41.280
Because this morning I saw a young man who was providing aged care support to an older lady, and he was doing this by means of a social outing.
00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:53.439
Just quickly though, for anyone that doesn't know about the aged care sector, there are basically aged care workers and they provide care within aged care homes.
00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:57.759
And there are also community support workers.
00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:03.759
And they provide care and support for people that are still living at home.
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:09.200
And what this does, it enables that person to stay at home longer.
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:19.280
And that's beneficial because there really aren't enough places in aged care for someone to move into at the moment.
00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:27.760
So support at home for community support work can look like all sorts of different things.
00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:40.159
And that can be from providing personal care such as showering or dressing to cleaning, assistance with cleaning bathrooms or vacuuming.
00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:45.760
And it can also be social outings.
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:55.760
You know, community support can even mean taking older adults to all sorts of appointments, and that's including doctors' appointments.
00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:10.800
And I know of three occasions through people I know who work in this role, they have been the one present in the appointment when an older adult has been given news of a cancer diagnosis.
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:13.120
Now just imagine that for a sec.
00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:20.000
So there are older adults in our community that, you know, no longer have friends or family to support them.
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:29.599
So in these times, it's a community support worker that's there to help help make sense of all sorts of different appointments and diagnosis.
00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:34.080
So it's a lot more than a lot of us realise, hey.
00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:37.120
Okay, so back to this morning.
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:39.840
That's what this young man was doing.
00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:43.840
So he was providing support for a social outing.
00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:51.439
And I was actually waiting at a register, because I like to do my shopping incredibly early, so it's out of the way.
00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.360
But I had the chance to watch these two for a while.
00:02:55.599 --> 00:03:01.919
So the young man had ordered this lady a cup of coffee and they had sat down at a table together.
00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.960
Then he picked up his phone.
00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.000
I thought, that's cool, he must be looking up something to show her on his phone.
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:15.840
But for the next little while he he actually didn't look up from his phone at all.
00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:23.120
So this lady was just sipping on her cupper, just looking around at people as they were going about their business.
00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:38.879
Right, so I understand there could be a million explanations, but to me, I don't think he understood how important his company and conversation could be for this lady.
00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:48.639
You know, these social visits, they they're quite often the only social outing that some of our older adults have all week.
00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:54.479
And for some people, that hour or two might be the longest conversation they have all week.
00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:05.599
You know, it might be the only opportunity they have to share a story that might have happened to them or laugh with someone, or just feel truly seen by another person.
00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:11.919
You know, I I really wanted to go and just thank him for doing this work.
00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:19.040
And then I've just really wanted to let him know that if he is doing this work, why not invest in it?
00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:23.759
So maybe he doesn't know how valuable his conversation can be.
00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:36.480
Maybe he he doesn't understand that the the mental health, the brain health, and the cardiovascular health of this lady that he was with could be improved simply due to him.
00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:38.399
And you know what?
00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.480
I I actually think that's true for so many of our aged care workers.
00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.920
They they under mess underestimate their own value.
00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:55.680
I just don't think they realize that they themselves can hold a magic potion to make someone's day so much brighter.
00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:14.319
And this isn't through anything huge or gifts or anything fancy, it's just through their presence because they're listening and because they're taking a genuine interest in another human being, that it that is pretty incredible.
00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:22.560
You know, I actually think many people might not realise the value of community support workers.
00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:28.639
You know, sometimes we underestimate the impact of these just seemingly ordinary outings.
00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:46.720
You know, a simple conversation over coffee, it might be easy for one person to forget, but to the person who's receiving the support and the receiving the care, that might be the moment that they think about for days and weeks afterwards.
00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:48.240
It matters.
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:53.680
You know, community support work, I feel it's a privilege to work in it.
00:05:53.839 --> 00:06:09.199
And I understand it's not paid well, but anyone that does this work really and truly does have the ability to change a life, you know, to uplift someone's day, to genuinely be the highlight of someone's week.
00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:18.319
You know, we often think of healthcare, we think of it in the way of like clinics or doctors or hospital settings.
00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:34.480
But sometimes healthcare can look like a cup of coffee, along with a genuine conversation or you know, conversation whilst walking through the shops, or just taking the time to truly ask, How have you been?
00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:46.879
Sometimes the most important thing that we can give another person, it's not advice for this or that, or here's a treatment or an ointment, or this solution will be for you.
00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:53.759
It's just giving someone our presence to sit and listen.
00:06:55.519 --> 00:07:06.959
So if you're a community support worker listening to this, or you know a community support worker or someone in aged care, I really want to say thank you.
00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:11.519
Never underestimate the value of your presence.
00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:22.240
You might just think you're helping someone out by getting their groceries or driving them to their appointment or just getting them a coffee.
00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:27.759
But I'm telling you, you are doing something much, much bigger.
00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:34.639
You are helping someone feel seen and you are letting them know that they matter.
00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:36.959
Thank you so much.
00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:38.480
Take care.
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:06.000
Hello and welcome back to Age Compass, where we're navigating aging and dementia together.
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:15.119
I'm sharing this episode today because I really want to bring some awareness to the aged care work sector just for a moment.
00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:24.960
In Australia at the moment, there's over 450,000 aged care workers, and that industry is growing significantly.
00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.640
And so this is what I want to reflect on today.
00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:41.280
Because this morning I saw a young man who was providing aged care support to an older lady, and he was doing this by means of a social outing.
00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:53.439
Just quickly though, for anyone that doesn't know about the aged care sector, there are basically aged care workers and they provide care within aged care homes.
00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:57.759
And there are also community support workers.
00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:03.759
And they provide care and support for people that are still living at home.
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:09.200
And what this does, it enables that person to stay at home longer.
00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:19.280
And that's beneficial because there really aren't enough places in aged care for someone to move into at the moment.
00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:27.760
So support at home for community support work can look like all sorts of different things.
00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:40.159
And that can be from providing personal care such as showering or dressing to cleaning, assistance with cleaning bathrooms or vacuuming.
00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:45.760
And it can also be social outings.
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:55.760
You know, community support can even mean taking older adults to all sorts of appointments, and that's including doctors' appointments.
00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:10.800
And I know of three occasions through people I know who work in this role, they have been the one present in the appointment when an older adult has been given news of a cancer diagnosis.
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:13.120
Now just imagine that for a sec.
00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:20.000
So there are older adults in our community that, you know, no longer have friends or family to support them.
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:29.599
So in these times, it's a community support worker that's there to help help make sense of all sorts of different appointments and diagnosis.
00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:34.080
So it's a lot more than a lot of us realise, hey.
00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:37.120
Okay, so back to this morning.
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:39.840
That's what this young man was doing.
00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:43.840
So he was providing support for a social outing.
00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:51.439
And I was actually waiting at a register, because I like to do my shopping incredibly early, so it's out of the way.
00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.360
But I had the chance to watch these two for a while.
00:02:55.599 --> 00:03:01.919
So the young man had ordered this lady a cup of coffee and they had sat down at a table together.
00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.960
Then he picked up his phone.
00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.000
I thought, that's cool, he must be looking up something to show her on his phone.
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:15.840
But for the next little while he he actually didn't look up from his phone at all.
00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:23.120
So this lady was just sipping on her cupper, just looking around at people as they were going about their business.
00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:38.879
Right, so I understand there could be a million explanations, but to me, I don't think he understood how important his company and conversation could be for this lady.
00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:48.639
You know, these social visits, they they're quite often the only social outing that some of our older adults have all week.
00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:54.479
And for some people, that hour or two might be the longest conversation they have all week.
00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:05.599
You know, it might be the only opportunity they have to share a story that might have happened to them or laugh with someone, or just feel truly seen by another person.
00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:11.919
You know, I I really wanted to go and just thank him for doing this work.
00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:19.040
And then I've just really wanted to let him know that if he is doing this work, why not invest in it?
00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:23.759
So maybe he doesn't know how valuable his conversation can be.
00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:36.480
Maybe he he doesn't understand that the the mental health, the brain health, and the cardiovascular health of this lady that he was with could be improved simply due to him.
00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:38.399
And you know what?
00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.480
I I actually think that's true for so many of our aged care workers.
00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.920
They they under mess underestimate their own value.
00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:55.680
I just don't think they realize that they themselves can hold a magic potion to make someone's day so much brighter.
00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:14.319
And this isn't through anything huge or gifts or anything fancy, it's just through their presence because they're listening and because they're taking a genuine interest in another human being, that it that is pretty incredible.
00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:22.560
You know, I actually think many people might not realise the value of community support workers.
00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:28.639
You know, sometimes we underestimate the impact of these just seemingly ordinary outings.
00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:46.720
You know, a simple conversation over coffee, it might be easy for one person to forget, but to the person who's receiving the support and the receiving the care, that might be the moment that they think about for days and weeks afterwards.
00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:48.240
It matters.
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:53.680
You know, community support work, I feel it's a privilege to work in it.
00:05:53.839 --> 00:06:09.199
And I understand it's not paid well, but anyone that does this work really and truly does have the ability to change a life, you know, to uplift someone's day, to genuinely be the highlight of someone's week.
00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:18.319
You know, we often think of healthcare, we think of it in the way of like clinics or doctors or hospital settings.
00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:34.480
But sometimes healthcare can look like a cup of coffee, along with a genuine conversation or you know, conversation whilst walking through the shops, or just taking the time to truly ask, How have you been?
00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:46.879
Sometimes the most important thing that we can give another person, it's not advice for this or that, or here's a treatment or an ointment, or this solution will be for you.
00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:53.759
It's just giving someone our presence to sit and listen.
00:06:55.519 --> 00:07:06.959
So if you're a community support worker listening to this, or you know a community support worker or someone in aged care, I really want to say thank you.
00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:11.519
Never underestimate the value of your presence.
00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:22.240
You might just think you're helping someone out by getting their groceries or driving them to their appointment or just getting them a coffee.
00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:27.759
But I'm telling you, you are doing something much, much bigger.
00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:34.639
You are helping someone feel seen and you are letting them know that they matter.
00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:36.959
Thank you so much.
00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:38.480
Take care.
