How The Donald Coburn Centre provides person-centred aged care
Finding a home that is safe, loving, and provides holistic care is one of the most important considerations when choosing the right residential aged care for yourself or a loved one. When choosing a residential aged care home, it’s important they respect and honour your routines, and support you to live your best life.
At The Donald Coburn Centre in Castle Hill, you’ll find just that: a home where you’re not only cared for, but truly valued and respected, with a team of loving staff who focus on making you feel at home and supported in the ways that matter to you.
In this article, you’ll hear from staff and residents at The Donald Coburn Centre about how holistic person-centred care is an important part of everyday life in this home.
What does daily life feel like at The Donald Coburn Centre?
At The Donald Coburn Centre, daily life is centred around Anglicare’s philosophy of care model, the Rhythm of Life. This means that we focus on what’s important to you and support you to live each day the way you choose. Carrie, a resident at The Donald Coburn Centre for 3 years, loves to garden. The team learned about her passion for gardening and how important it was to her, so they went out of their way to create a space with a watering system, so she could bring in cuttings from her own garden. “I love my gardens,” she says. “I didn’t know what I was going to do without them.”
“They’ve shown me love in just about every way they can,” Carrie says, reflecting on the staff at The Donald Coburn Centre.
Listening to residents means understanding the importance of the things that bring them comfort and what makes them feel at home. Another resident, Stella, prefers the quieter moments and having space for the simple things she enjoys. “I read the paper. I do the crossword every day. [I] do my embroidery,” she says.
She also takes part in group activities like trivia quizzes and enjoys spending time with friends. “I think this is an extremely good place to be,” she says.
Keeping your routine and independence
Everyone has their way of doing things: the way they start the day, how they like their room, and the small habits that bring comfort. At The Donald Coburn Centre, those routines are respected. Residents are encouraged to maintain their independence as much as possible and to make choices about how they live each day. “This is their home,” says Shelly, who provides pastoral care.
Family plays a big part in daily life at The Donald Coburn Centre. Residents are encouraged to stay connected to the people they love. For resident Suzanne, that ongoing connection has made a real difference. “One thing that I’m really happy about in being [here] is [my family] can come and visit.” And she knows her children feel more at ease, too. “I think they’re very, very comforted that I’m getting good care and attention.”
Staff who genuinely care
Carrie describes how supported she felt when she arrived at The Donald Coburn Centre. “I came here, and they just threw their arms around me. They loved me. They told me not to worry.”
Providing holistic care is central to Shelly’s role in pastoral care. “Some of the most important ways to love and honour the residents [...] is listening to them [and] what their needs are,” she says. Alongside the social and creative programs, there’s also support for spiritual wellbeing. “Anglicare is unique in that it looks at the whole person,” Shelly continues. “Obviously, you have the clinical [aspect] and you have the social [aspect], but we also have the spiritual. So, we have people who are employed to [...] support the needs of many residents in the spiritual realm. And I think that's unique in aged care.”
Tara, who has worked at The Donald Coburn Centre for more than 15 years, shares a similar view. “If you don’t listen, you [...] don’t know,” she says. “When [you talk to the residents], you have to really keep [your mind] open. Sometimes in the past, they have been through so much, and they want someone to understand them and appreciate them.”
Explore the Anglicare difference
Visit Anglicare's residential aged care homes to see how support, comfort and community come together, and how the right guidance can help make it all feel possible.
Follow Anglicare on Instagram and Facebook to see daily life in our homes and what care with heart truly looks like.
To learn more about the residential aged care process download our free ebook.
Information Pack: The Donald Coburn Centre
Don't miss the next article, subscribe below.
Inspired by the gospel of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, Anglicare's vision for reconciliation is a nation in which Australia's First Peoples are restored in dignity, respect, empowerment and opportunity.