Australia Day awards bestowed on three Spiritus volunteers highlight the valuable contribution that volunteers make to the community as well as the many personal benefits enjoyed by those who become volunteers.

Karen McClure and husband and wife team, Carol and David Malcolm, received Certificates of Appreciation at the awards ceremony from the Federal Member for Griffith, Kevin Rudd.

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Twins Doris and Jean Clarke have just celebrated their 101^st birthday making them the oldest identical twins in Australia.

They have been residents at Spiritus’ Symes Grove aged care home in Brisbane for the past eight years and celebrated their birthdays with staff, fellow residents and friends in a quiet way – but with lashings of cake and candles.

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For most of us, Christmas time means getting together with family and friends, enjoying good food with all the trimmings, going to Church, decorating a Christmas tree, and wrapping and unwrapping gifts.

Within our multicultural community, this time of year is different, with a rich variety of traditions and food proving central to celebrations. Anyuon Liai, a member of the Spiritus Multicultural Team, has lived in Australia for twelve years and originally came from Sudan.

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Queensland aged care and social services provider, Spiritus, today announced it would change its name to Anglicare Southern Queensland – taking effect from March 2012.

The name change more clearly describes the caring nature of the organisation and best reflects its role in the Anglican Church and the broader community.

The decision comes after extensive consultation that included seeking the views of staff, clients, funders, donors, community groups, the national Anglicare network and the broader Anglican Church community.

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The Association of Queensland Nurse Leaders (AQNL) bestowed its 2011 Outstanding Achievement in Nursing Award to an aged care nurse, Karen Crouch, in a ceremony last week during the annual AQNL Conference.

Ms Crouch is Group Manager, Practice Development and Quality at Spiritus, a Queensland-based not-for-profit community and residential care provider, and received the peer-nominated award for her leadership and professional achievements in this position.

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Spiritus’ Social Services clients will benefit from the co-location of four services groups into a single premise on Logan Road at Buranda in Brisbane.

Centrally located in close proximity to public transport, the new building provides ease-of-access for clients seeking a range of services including Counselling and Education Services, Child Protection and Youth Services including TRACC South (Foster Care), Positive Directions (a co-ordination, information and referral service for People Living With HIV/AIDS in Queensland), and Homelessness Services for Women and Children.

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Spiritus is looking at new ways of communicating with men, often a difficult group to reach with health advice.

The innovative Spiritus Pit Stop program was showcased at the recent Australian Men’s Shed Conference in Brisbane as a means of communicating about the major issues affecting men’s health such as blood pressure, smoking, skin cancer, alcohol intake, obesity and fitness.

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Homeless people will be the beneficiary of the studies Malissa Johnson is undertaking to become a Nurse Practitioner (NP).

Currently in her final semester of study towards a Masters Program of Nursing Science (Nurse Practitioner), Malissa is a Spiritus nurse who works as part of the Spiritus Homeless Outreach Program in Brisbane.

“As a Nurse Practitioner, I will have the opportunity to provide support in a more holistic fashion rather than referring them on for treatment and tests. There are gaps in the way health care is provided to homeless people and they often find it difficult to function in a clinical system.”

A Nurse Practitioner is able to provide a broad range of services, is given a Medicare Health Provider number, and may prescribe medication under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, order diagnostic investigations and pathology, refer to specialists, and assess and manage clients.

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A new report on ‘The State of the Family’ says unaffordable housing for low income people is being exacerbated by the nation’s multi-speed economy and community values that prize housing as a commodity for wealth creation rather than an essential and universal good.

The 11^th ‘State of the Family Report, Staying Power, launched today at the start of Anti-Poverty Week, highlights affordable housing and completing a Year 12 education as crucial gateways for Queenslanders in-need to reconnect with society and achieve greater social inclusion.

Spiritus, a caring arm of the Anglican Church in Queensland, has joined with Anglicare Australia in releasing the report, analysing the social damage done by a multi-speed economy in which the disadvantaged are left further behind and requiring additional support from not-for-profit services.

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Leading not-for-profit social services provider, Spiritus (a caring arm of the Anglican Church) said today increased funding was urgently needed to train essential services workers to recognise the early signs of individuals and families at risk of mental ill-health.

Welcoming Queensland Government announcements this week focussing on improved investment for mental health education, Spiritus said more needed to be done to assist people working at the grassroots level with individuals and families in our communities to provide support and promote early intervention.

Spiritus Group Manager, Counselling and Education Services, Dr Shane Farmer said workers who were likely to be in initial contact with at-risk groups should be trained and resourced.

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The Spiritus minibus doesn’t look much like a time machine but for the seniors who are regular passengers it takes them back through the years and can even find and reunite old friends separated by the decades.

84 year old Ivy Cashin is one of the regulars and looks forward to going places she has not seen since her youth and to meeting others who have a lot more in common than they might have first thought.

It was on a Spiritus trip to the Glasshouse Mountains that Ivy discovered mini-bus time travelling.

“It was after morning tea and we were waiting for the bus and because everyone is so friendly we introduced ourselves and one chap said his name was Skinner,” recalls Ivy. “I grew up in Paddington in the 1930s and after more of a chat it turned out that his sister and I went to Ithaca State School together.”

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North Coast region Foster and Kinship Carer Excellence Award winner, Narelle Green with Child Safety Regional Executive Director, Peter Ryan and Channel Nine presenter, Heather Foord.

Narelle Green has been a carer for 32 years taking her first placement in 1980 and since that time caring for more than 35 children. She currently cares for seven young people, five teenage girls ranging in age from 11 to 17 years and two boys aged 10 and 12 years old.

Narelle is a strong advocate for the young people in her care and supports them to have their opinions heard and considered.  She is proactive in accessing supports and services for the young people, to ensure their emotional, physical and educational needs are met.

Narelle in particular works well with the families of children in care, promoting and supporting the children and young people to maintain positive contact with their family, and community of origin and supporting reunification where appropriate.

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"Hard work" lies ahead says Ian Yates, Council on the Ageing chief executive, despite yesterday's (Monday, 8 August 2011) much anticipated release of the Productivity Commission's final report, detailing recommendations on ways to create a sustainable Australian aged care sector.

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9 August 2011
Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers described the release yesterday of the Productivity Commission’s final Caring For Older Australians report as a landmark in the development of aged care in this country.
“The Productivity Commission has proposed a scheme to give everyone access to a choice of high quality care as they age” Ms Chambers said today.
“It is based on making it easy for people to find out what care is out there. It gives everyone an entitlement to the care that they need, in aged care facilities and – especially – in their own homes.
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Media announcement

Thursday, August 04, 2011

More than $620,000 for Roma’s services to families

The Bligh Government is investing more than $620,000 over three years in support services for families, children and young people in Roma.

Child Safety Minister Phil Reeves said $624,819 will be provided to Spiritus TRACC’s Roma Family Intervention Service.

“This service provides support to vulnerable children and young people aged up to 18 years, and their families,” Mr Reeves said.

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Spiritus, the Anglican not-for-profit organisation which provides care and support services predominantly across Southern Queensland and also provides services in Far North Queensland, has appointed Della Warren as its new Executive Director.

Ms Warren moves from her position as Spiritus’ Director of Community & Aged Care to lead the organisation.

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Nearly two-thirds of elderly people in the north Brisbane area who live in their own homes are at risk of suffering life-changing falls, data collected by community and aged care specialist Spiritus has found.

Spiritus is taking a proactive approach to healthcare because in many instances these falls can be prevented.

Spiritus Occupational Therapists assessed nearly 100 elderly clients during March – June. In most instances, this was the first time these clients had been seen by an Occupational Therapist

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Three months of intense work has transformed the lives of nine young people who had dropped out of school. They have just graduated with a Certificate II in Adult Education for Youth, a certificate which gives them the equivalent qualification to completing Year 12 at high school.

The program was initiated by Spiritus Jobcare at Labrador and Manager Julie Byrne has watched each student since day one.

“I am so proud of them and what they’ve achieved. They’ve all come from troubled backgrounds and haven’t been able to stay at school for a whole variety of reasons,” she said.

The students attended classes three days a week acquiring high level proficiency in English and Maths as well as a variety of useful living skills such as budgeting and work protocols.

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Aged care workers in the not-for-profit sector play a vital and often unrecognised role in detecting and reporting abuse of elderly people living in their own homes.

In the lead up to World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June, leading not-for-profit community and aged care provider, Spiritus, says the sector not only provides daily care to many thousands of elderly Queenslanders living independently in their own home but also monitors their well-being including personal safety, and medical and emotional health.

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The Anglican Church in Brisbane has offered its support to residents affected by the catastrophic Queensland floods.

Brisbane Archbishop Phillip Aspinall said the church was ready to help and teams are now in place working with Brisbane’s Lord Mayor’s Office and Red Cross.

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PEOPLE have been meeting others with similar interests at social clubs, night clubs and sports clubs for eons -- and now we have leg clubs.

We're not talking long, lanky models' legs here but legs with chronic ulcers and other long-term conditions. Leg clubs were the brainwave of community nurse, Ellie Lindsay of England, who in 1995 recognised the need of long-suffering patients to have holistic treatment.

Click here for the full story from the Brisbane Times