9 October 2020
Meet Carli, Client Services Manager at Regis Home Care Mildura.
“I joined Regis in August 2017, originally working in Regis Advice. It was a great starting point for me in this industry as I had exposure to residents/clients, healthcare professionals, families, contractors, and other aged care personnel. It gave me a great insight into many aspects of the aged care industry. Regis Advice is the first point of contact for many people who are starting their aged care journey and it was a privilege to be a small part of that for our clients and their families. I then decided that I wanted some ‘frontline’ experience – I was studying Masters of Social Work and felt that my skills and experience could be of value in a lifestyle role. I spent 9 months working at Regis Blackburn where I used my musical skills to start a resident choir. I had a group of incredible residents who were so passionate about music and it was a joy to rehearse with them each week and to perform at events in our Home. From there, I had the opportunity to move into a role that was more closely linked with social work which was case management at Regis Home Care Mildura. This meant moving from Melbourne to Rural Victoria in December 2019 and this has been a great experience.
I’m currently the Client Services Manager at Home Care Mildura. I look after a caseload of 35 seniors who are living independently in the community. I feel I have truly discovered my passion for assisting older Australians to live a full and dignified life in their community for as long as possible.
I love working with my clients to identify their goals, and create a plan and strategy to work towards achieving those goals. Our clients have access to a case manager who has the ability to put together a full package of care and services directed by their needs and goals in order to support their independence and, in many cases, improve their overall quality of life. For me, there is no such thing as a typical day and that is one of the reasons why I love my job. When you work with people there is no such thing as ‘typical’ because human nature is all about change and growth.
I have faced the personal challenges of living 6 hours away from my family and with COVID-19 restrictions I haven’t been able to come home since June. However there is always a way to make things work – my family uses Zoom every Tuesday night for a family catch up where we connect and play games. I also bought my Nonno (grandpa) an iPad last year and he has used it to video call me every week. I’m so impressed with his ability to use technology and I treasure our chats every Sunday.
I am grateful for the incredible team of professionals I work with every day here at Home Care Mildura. I continue to learn from my colleagues and feel motivated to work with a team that has passion and integrity. I am so proud of our Home Support Workers who go out into the field every day, regardless of the health risk it poses to them in order to continue delivering high quality care to our clients.
I have a client who was living with her daughters in their home. She was struggling with a loss of independence, through working with Regis she was able to self advocate and chose to move out of her daughter’s house and live in an ILU (Independent Living Unit) village in Mildura. The client and Regis worked together to facilitate her move, and ensured she had the support she needed to settle into her new environment. We now assist this client with social support, domestic assistance and personal care. The change I saw in this client when she was able to self advocate and feel independent again was inspiring.”
Find out more about our Home Care services in Mildura here.
