Our philosophy
» Our mission
» Our aim
» Our philosophy of care
» Spirituality at Helping Hand
"Our mission is to provide an innovative and broad range of residential and community based services to older people, which enable them to have the best feasible quality of life."
Helping Hand’s mission reflects our commitment to choice for older people. We support this through providing a comprehensive range of services unequalled in aged care in South Australia.
Coupled with our range of services is our commitment to seek out innovative ways of responding to our clients' needs.
Whether our client chooses to remain in their own home or join us in our home environment, we believe that we must understand the client’s point of view and recognise their needs. Our clients and their families are provided with the opportunity to be included in their care and decision-making and planning about their care.
Helping Hand is about choice…and client involvement in all aspects of service.
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Helping Hand Aged Care responds to the needs of older Australians by providing a diverse range of aged care services.
How is this achieved?
Individualised services - we believe that the older person and their carer knows their situation best. It is important to understand the client’s point of view and recognise their needs and include the older person and their carer in all aspects of planning and decision-making about the services they need.
Services that take an holistic approach - we believe that, in order to provide what people really need, we need to take into account everything about an individual’s needs and circumstances and how these might affect different parts of their life.
Services which are streamlined - we believe it should be easy for clients to obtain the service they need. Working in partnership and with an individualised focus, we streamline access to our services and also help people access other services they may need.
Services which have a rehabilitative approach, with a central focus on wellness and the promotion of independence. We believe everyone has potential to achieve goals, to grow, to be independent regardless of age. Our services support people to strive to reach their potential.
Services in partnership - we work together with older people, carers, family and friends, other service providers and governments to make services work. Partnership is the key to individualised services and assists older people to find their way through the system.
Innovation - we are always looking for ways to do things better or differently or to fill a gap in services. Our clients have access to the most up to date approaches to service delivery and to staff who are willing to consider new ideas or better ways of working.
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These principles form the foundation of how we provide our services…
- Promote choice for older people
- Our operations and service delivery will reflect best practice in the industry, based on research and other available evidence
- We will explore to opportunities to provide new services in new ways to older people We will provide services through collaboration with other organizations where this will lead to better outcomes for older people
- The nature of services will be designed directly in response to the needs of older people Market needs will be the primary determinant of the size of the organisation and the relative volume of services delivered
- The nature and range of services will be based on the optimum returns for the greatest number of people
- We will use cross-subsidisation as a mechanism for the effective delivery of a range of services
- We will not limit delivery of services by geographic boundaries We will undertake our work in line with sound commercial and organizational principles, including a commitment to financial viability
- Services will be provided to those most in need of care irrespective of financial means
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Helping Hand strives to support not only the physical and practical needs of individuals but the areas of their life which touch people most deeply, including spiritually wellbeing. We recognise that spirituality has a number of different meaning to each and everyone of us. To focus our work in this area and achieve quality of life for our clients and residents, the Board has endorsed the following Statement on Spirituality Our Statement on Spirituality.
Our concept of spirituality encompasses those matters that are relevant to the meaning people give to their lives, especially as they age and, ultimately, reach the end of life.
These matters include but are not limited to the religious and/or philosophical beliefs held, their relationships with places, passions and causes; with themselves and/or significant others; and with groups and communities.
To develop this Statement into action involves achieving three interconnected goals:
- To create in all staff a sense of responsiveness to the spiritual needs of our clients and residents.
- To create service responses and environments where we hear from people, at the first point of contact and subsequently in all our interactions with them, about those intangible elements of their lives (places; passions; causes; religious beliefs; significant others, groups and communities) which add meaning to their lives.
- To support our clients and residents in maintaining their connection with these elements of their lives.
Religious support
As part of our overall support of individual’s spirituality, Helping Hand Aged Care caters for all religious values and works with clergy from the major denominations who are available on request.
Helping Hand Aged Care also has a resident Uniting Church Chaplain who is available to all residents and their families to offer spiritual / religious support in various ways.
This free service offers residents the opportunity to share concerns or talk through issues that are meaningful to them. This service is designed to ensure resident’s spiritual wellbeing needs are met.
Worship services, Holy Communion/Mass and small group services are also available at all sites. Please contact the Chaplain on 0414 584 050 for further information.
(Helping Hand Aged Care is an agency of the Uniting Church in Australia)
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