“Refusing to take a vaccine is like refusing to wear a mask. If you don’t like it, then work somewhere else,” says an epidemiologist advisor to the WHO with a strong message for aged care workers. Read More

Marianne Schwartz, who is 98 and survived the holocaust, has become the oldest Victorian to have beaten the deadly COVID-19 virus. Infected with COVID-19 in July, she was in Cabrini Hospital for over a month before being released earlier this week, in time to celebrate her 98th birthday three days later. She was on and... Read More

There’s been confusion over whether reported death statistics reflect those who’ve died from COVID-19, or those who’ve died with the virus. Often it’s hard for medical practitioners to determine which of these categories a death falls into. Read More

Last month, Dr Rodney Jilek, managing director of Aged Care Consulting and Advisory Services, spent four weeks in Melbourne assisting aged care homes battle outbreaks of COVID-19. Without hesitation, he and his team made the commute to Melbourne to help his colleagues during the unprecedented crisis. He missed spending Father’s Day and his 50th birthday... Read More

  The senate select committee has handed down a damning report on the government’s bungled handling of this year’s COVID-19 crisis in aged care homes, particularly in NSW and Victoria. “The government is responsible for significant failings in the aged care sector prior to, and during the pandemic,” the report states. COVID-19 “exposed and exacerbated long-running problems” in... Read More

  In an aged care facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where visiting restrictions have been in place for months and are unlikely to be lifted any time soon, residents and their loved ones now have a new way to meet, that even allows them to embrace, providing families with important connection, and much needed reassurance.... Read More

An aged care worker recently wrote this post on our site. We have republished it here with their permission, because it reveals the deep pride they feel about their important work in aged care during COVID-19, and it also reflects the keen appreciation the community has for their care and support. We hope these words resonate with other aged care... Read More

  When Janet’s mother, 89-year-old Sylvia, moved into a nursing home 18 months ago, little could they have imagined the maelstrom that was about to engulf them. In March, as Sydney grappled with its first cases of the deadly virus that had already killed tens of thousands of aged care residents across Europe, Sylvia’s home... Read More

Rosalie and Rodney Foreman had been married for just over a decade when Rosalie suffered a stroke and was told she would never walk again. The life they had planned together seemed lost.  But with determination and perseverance, and some allies along the way, the couple have achieved what might have seemed impossible. Rather than... Read More

Physically, older people are among those most vulnerable to the coronavirus. For those isolated in residential aged care or in the community, they’re also arguably the most vulnerable socially. Reports from European and American care homes, where large clusters of residents have been infected, provide sobering reminders of the need to take precautions. But some... Read More

‘There is NO staff available – we are begging for help with regard to staffing and no one wants to place themselves in the 'hot zone'. Therefore, it is all up to our depleted staff to help, feed, bathe, medicate and attend to residents who are basically dying.’ Read More

While every household pet has its own personality, the reputation of dogs as humble and loving companions may actually be a disguise that helps to conceal their superhero-esque abilities. With up to 300 million smell receptors – compared to six million in humans – dogs possess a sense of smell that is more sensitive than... Read More