Baptcare signed a groundbreaking agreement with the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative to work together to offer culturally appropriate aged care services to Aboriginal people in the Bendigo region on Monday.
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The agreement sees Baptcare become the first mainstream aged care service provider to partner with the organisation in offering the services.
BDAC Aged and Disability Program Manager Sue Tuitupou said the agreement meant that Baptcare would be able to continue to provide in home aged care services to the Aboriginal community while maintaining cultural sensitivity.
Ms Tuitupou said the services would provide support for people to live for as long as possible in their own homes without the risk of being prematurely admitted to a nursing home.
“Baptcare staff are committed to improving pathways and service delivery to the Aboriginal community through support and guidance from BDAC,” she said.
“They’re going to work closely with us to make sure that culturally appropriate support is provided for Aboriginal consumers, which is really amazing.”
Baptcare Regional Manager – North/East Victoria and Tasmania, Michael Faneco, said it was a historic day for Baptcare and BDAC.
“The Aged Care Assessment Service identified that Aboriginal aged care clients are severely under-represented in assessment for Home Care Packages and have for the past months dedicated a resource to this area which has seen a two-fold increase in Aboriginal clients being assessed for Home Care Packages.”
Mr Faneco said Baptcare had approached BDAC earlier in the year after identifying the need to focus on cultural issues in their service delivery.
“I am honoured to sign this agreement on behalf of Baptcare today and can also share with you that we are already working closely with BDAC to support Aboriginal consumers on Home Care Packages with very positive results,” he said.
