Central Highlands gets dedicated Community Care Coordinator

Central Highlanders will be able to get access to more support with the addition of a dedicated Community Care Coordinator at CentacareCQ Emerald and Blackwater.

In addition to the organisation’s local teams of support workers, Community Care Coordinator Georgina Sutton will be on the ground in the Central Highlands region, working out of the Blackwater and Emerald offices.

Her role will focus on assisting new and existing clients with case management with a range of support services including Home Care Package, Queensland Community Support Scheme (QCSS), Commonwealth Home Support Programme and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

A former resident of the Central Highlands for more than 10 years, Georgina said she was excited to return to the region to help the community.

“For me I feel it’s important that we serve the community, from within the community. I think our clients will really appreciate that they are dealing with someone in and from the region and not just calling through to Rockhampton,” Georgina said.

Georgina has become a local favourite among CentacareCQ clients – her passion has been expressed by many clients who have been supported by her.

One particular client, Shirley Andrews, is very impressed by the help she has received from Georgina and the CentacareCQ team.

If not for the assistance of the CentacareCQ team, the Home Care Package client would not be able to remain living at home – a notion she is values very strongly.

Earlier this year, Shirley was taken to hospital with a fractured hip after an accident in her bathroom.

During her recovery in hospital, she told her family that she would not be able to live safely and comfortably in her home without CentacareCQ’s assistance and care.

Meanwhile her Case Manager organised an Occupational Therapist from CQ Health to perform a home visit to check the rooms and implement rails along the wall of the bathroom and toilet.

 “I feel much safer at home now,” Shirley explained.

In addition to the new rails, Shirley has also acquired a new light-weight wheelie walker to move around the house with confidence.

Shirley said she had she had been a client of CentacareCQ since 2009 under the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP); in 2017, she became a Level 4 Home Care Package client.

Shirley Andrews and Georgina Sutton

In a 12 month review, conducted by Case Manager Georgina, Shirley explained how much she enjoyed the company of the staff who assisted her in her services.

“Without them, I would not be able to remain at home,” she said.

Shirley said she received a range of services including domestic assistance, support services, home and yard maintenance and minor repairs.