VMCH aged care staff living in flood ravaged areas across Victoria’s Hume region have banded together to support each other – and their older clients – through the crisis.
Despite many of their own homes being under threat, and some unfortunately underwater, At-Home Aged Care (AHAC) staff have continued to work to ensure older clients are safe and well.
VMCH supports hundreds of older people with personal care, allied health, nursing, transport and meal support across the Shepparton, Rochester and Echuca regions, hit hard by devastating floods this past week.
For Shepparton resident and Rostering Coordinator Brooke Chew, ‘home’ is now a caravan in colleague Eloise Crees’ house in nearby Yabba North. Clinical Case Manager Eloise and her family offered Brooke a place to stay when they learned her home was under threat from flood water.
“My husband and I were actually on our way to Echuca testing out our new caravan but turned around when we learned flooding was hitting crisis point in Shepp,” Eloise says. “I knew Brooke lived alone so we wanted to help.”
The trio went to the nearby showgrounds and lined up for their ration of sandbags, which they took back to Brooke’s to help protect her home. Thankfully, the water only reached Brooke’s letterbox, but the whole experience was deeply unsettling.
I’m ok now, because I know, at the moment, my house is ok,” Brooke says. I’ve been very up and down all week but having the support of Eloise and her family has been great. The caravan was like a luxury. I would have been happy sleeping in a tent or on Eloise’s driveway at one point! It was a difficult situation.
