Helga Forster House Aged Living

Room Amenities

Rooms – each room contains:

• Ensuite (shower, toilet and basin)
• Central heating
• Wardrobe
• Points for TV and telephone
• Grab rails
• Emergency Call buttons (in units and in ensuites) and pendant
• Light fittings and ample power outlets
• Security door and fly screens
• Ceiling fan
• Airconditioner

Residents supply all their personal items and are requested to have all of their clothing labeled.

Refrigerators

Residents are welcome to bring in a small bar fridge to store in their room, but are reminded it is their responsibility to regularly defrost and clean the fridge and to ensure stored food is maintained in a fresh, hygienic condition.

Facility Amenities

Emergency Call System

Emergency call buttons are situated in all rooms, in toilets and bathrooms. Your call for assistance is registered on a panel located in the foyer of the Hostel. The Emergency Call Buzzer System is always switched on in the Hostel.

Vital Call

This security system is located on the five main Exit Doors. A panel board is set by staff for either day or night mode. During the day, it can only be activated by a transmitter worn by an individual. At night, it will be activated if an individual opens the door. It becomes a security system for all residents and staff. Note that residents are requested to lock their security doors at night so total security is achieved. Staff is responsible for setting and resetting the system.

Smoking

in the interests of fire safety, smoking is prohibited in the resident’s room. Christophorus House is a smoke-free building. Smoking is not permitted anywhere within the Hostel. Please discuss further with the Residential Manager regarding designated smoking area’s within the Village.  If the fire alarms are triggered by cigarette smoke, the attending fire brigade is likely to charge you for a false alarm. Please advise visitors of this risk.

Ceiling Smoke Sensors

Christophorus House has a modern fire detection system based on smoke detection sensors on the ceilings throughout the building. Sensors are located in every resident’s room and are very sensitive.

Keys

Residents are issued with a key to their room, to ensure that each Residents’ Privacy is maintained and Respected.

Electrical Appliances

In the interests of the safety of all Christophorus House residents, controls are placed on the type of electrical appliances which may be used. Residents should ensure that items are in good working condition. Double adaptors and extension cords are not permitted. With televisions, radios, record or cassette players etc, residents are asked to ensure that the volume is not sufficient to disturb others. If necessary, personal headphones or earplugs could be used.

New residents should take electrical equipment to an electrician for safety checking and tagging, prior to admission, unless it is bought new and still in its packaging. Re-tagging of all electrical appliances is undertaken annually.

Lounge Room

Lounge/sitting and recreation room facilities are provided throughout the building for the enjoyment of residents and their guests.

Heating / Air-Conditioning

Central heating is provided.

During the winter months, heating is available 24 hours per day. During the autumn and spring seasons, heating is time-clock controlled and is generally available between the hours of 5am to 10am and 4pm to 10pm. Every room has its own heater. There is also a reverse cycle air-conditioner in every room.

Services

Activities

A wide range of activities including bus outings; exercise groups, bingo/hoy; indoor golf and craft. All special days are celebrated as per religious festivals, Melbourne Cup Day and St Patricks Day to name a few. Special events such as Carols by Candlelight, entertainers, visitors who give talks, weekly talks on various themes, armchair travel, happy hour and other such activities.

Cleaning

Residents’ rooms are Deep cleaned weekly, with daily spot clean. Additional Deep cleaning of any room may be arranged with the Residential Manager should this be considered necessary.

Care Services

The following personal assistance services, including individual attention, individual supervision and physical assistance, on an identified and assessed need basis are available, such as:

• assistance with bathing, showering or personal hygiene;
• assistance with dressing, undressing, or grooming, including the fitting of artificial limbs and other personal mobility aids and sensory communication aids;
• assistance with eating and drinking;
• assistance with transfers, including collecting and positioning of a walking aid or wheelchair;
• assistance with mobility, including the use of mobility aids;
• toileting;
• assistance with maintaining continence and managing incontinence;
• provision of special diet for medical or personal reasons;
• assistance with rehabilitation exercises and therapy treatments;
• assistance with treatments or procedures and supervision of medications.

Please refer to the Medication Policy included with this Handbook. Individual attention and support because of recurrent confusion including dementia and other cognitive impairments and behavioral disorders.

Laundry Service

Residents’ laundry is done Daily over night. All clothing is to be labelled prior to entry, preferably with printed and sewn name tags.

Maintenance

Staff are employed to undertake minor items of repair and maintenance.

Podiatrist

A podiatrist will visit Christophorus House when required. Appointments can be made by notifying the Registered Nurse.

Hairdresser

A hairdresser visits Christophorus House fortnightly, or as required. Appointments can be made by notifying the Personal Carer/Registered Nurse on duty at a cost to you.

Support

The support provided to residents is as unobtrusive as possible. Residents are encouraged to do as much for themselves as they possibly can.

Health & Medical

Assessment on Entry

Each prospective resident is required to obtain a report from their Medical Practitioner on the form which is supplied by Christophorus House. It is principally on this information that a profile is drawn to support the need for Hostel care, giving authority to be accepted as a resident. All Hostel Care Assessments are performed by an accredited Aged Care Assessment Team attached to the Area Health Service.

This assessment is independent of Christophorus House.

All prospective incoming residents must be assessed as needing hostel care in order to satisfy the requirements of the Commonwealth Department of Health & Ageing. All medical reports retained by Christophorus House are classified as confidential and are kept secured. Upon request, arrangements will be made for any resident to have access to their own personal/medical information file.

Medical Attention During Residency

Any accident, injury or sudden illness should be reported (phone call, personal contact or emergency button) as soon as possible to the Hostel Manager or relief assistant on duty. In the event of injury or illness, medical assistance may be engaged and, if considered necessary, arrangements may be made for relocation to hospital at the Resident’s expense.

Residents are encouraged to retain their personal preference of Medical Practitioner.

Assessment During Residency

If more personal care and/or nursing becomes necessary, the resident may be assessed by an independent Government appointed assessment authority as needing nursing home care. There are a number of highly reputable nursing homes situated in the Hornsby Shire and management will assist you and your family in the transition process.

Entry to nursing homes cannot, however, be guaranteed. A further assessment process is to be undertaken to verify eligibility for admission and you should be aware that current Commonwealth Government policy guidelines require places to subsidized nursing home to be allocated on an “as needs” basis.

Lift

Christophorus House has been fitted with a lift at the end of the building to provide access to and from the upper floor level for persons who find the stairs difficult to manage.

Pricing

Basic Daily Care Fee:

All aged care residents pay the same Basic Daily Care Fee. This fee covers day-to-day living costs such as meals, cleaning, facilities management, and laundry, and it is not means tested.

The basic daily fee amount is set by the government. It is set at 85% of the single person rate of the basic age pension. The government updates the basic daily fee in March and September each year. Currently the maximum basic daily fee is $63.57 per day. It is paid by every resident and contributes to your daily living costs.  

Means-tested fee:

The means-tested fee is an extra fee that you may have to pay towards your care. It is determined by your means assessment which is completed through Services Australia (Centrelink / DVA). It can range between $0 – $417.41 per day. 

The means-tested fee is calculated using a resident’s income and assets, including their home if they own one. Someone with over $33,735.00 in annual income and/or $59,500 in assets will need to pay a means-tested fee, which is an ongoing fee towards the cost of their personal and clinical care.

Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD):

The Refundable Accommodation Deposit pays for the cost of the room a resident is moving into and is negotiated between the resident and the aged care facility.

If a resident has income below $33,735.00 and assets below $61,500, the Australian Government will cover the RAD for their accommodation.

Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP)

If your income and assets are above the threshold for government support, but you cannot, or do not wish to pay the RAD applicable to your chosen aged care facility, you can choose to instead pay a Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP).

The Daily Accommodation Payment covers the cost of your room that you have not paid up-front as a RAD. The DAP is paid periodically (usually fortnightly or monthly) and is not refundable.

The DAP is calculated using the amount of the RAD for your chosen room x 365 days x a Maximum Permissible Interest Rate (MPIR) set by the Australian Government. The current MPIR is 8.34%

You can choose to pay for your room using a combination of a RAD and DAP.

If you would like to know more about costs and pricing, please contact us on (02) 9476 3161

Rights

ILU Clients are able to enter the residential aged care facility, Helga Foster House whether or not they have the ability to pay the bond.

If a person who is in an independent living unit (ILU / Self Care), intends to go into the Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF), CHRV policy is that a member of the community will always have access to a room, even if after undertaking the assets test, there are insufficient funds to meet the current price of entry into the RACF. For example, someone who came to the Village 20 years ago (and there are some) and paid $140,000 at the time for their bond, now the bond being at $105,000 (after retentions) will still have access to the RACF which currently is at an entry bond of $495,000 even if the bond from the ILU is all that they have. The incoming bond for the RACF would be set at $105,000. CHRV believes that it is the only retirement village in Australia that offers this retirement life capability. It gives residents Self Care peace of mind that when higher levels of services are needed, money will not be an object in staying at CHRV in order to receive the care they need.

Residents’ Rights, Obligations And Responsibilities

Each resident has a right to:

• Courtesy
• Dignity
• Privacy and security
• Be consulted (through meetings of residents)
• Have his/her wishes respected
• Maintain a sense of worth

To achieve these rights, it is necessary to have a number of rules and regulations. The rules of living at Christophorus House are designed to ensure that the residents enjoy the quiet comfort of living in a community setting and in the secure knowledge that caring staff are available to assist in the event of personal crisis. Any changes in rules and regulations may only be made in consultation with the residents.