Caregiving in Australia – a labour of love
Australians enjoy one of the highest life expectancies in the world. With older Australians forming a growing proportion of the total population, there comes a need for a robust and easily accessible healthcare system to care for our loved ones.
As a working adult, it is likely you already have caregiving duties for loved ones at home, or are beginning to be concerned about the welfare of your ageing parents. The COVID-19 pandemic has also further accelerated the demand for home-based caregiving services, especially when live-in carers are away or in the immediate post-hospitalisation period where more acute care is required.
In general families are also choosing to keep their elderly at home for their overall health and safety and also to avoid situations for further infection.
With increased pressure on carers to provide for their loved ones, many turn to external solutions for help. Home-based care platform Homage offers a holistic range of non-medical and medical care solutions, including disability assessments, personal care assistance, skilled nursing care.
Having seen significant growth in 2021, Homage sets up its operations in Melbourne, with the mission to make home care accessible to all. Most recently, Homage has also clinched Series C funding round of USD30 million, backed by Sheares Healthcare Group, a wholly owned healthcare enterprise of global investment firm Temasek.
Founder and CEO Gillian Tee has this to say, “Our mission is to make everyday care for older adults and the chronic-ill personalised, accessible as well as cost-effective.”
How Homage makes home care accessible to all
Established in 2017, Homage matches professional support workers and clinicians to families through a proprietary mobile app, enabling holistic care and wellness to older adults wherever they are.
To do that, Homage works with local nurses, support workers and healthcare professionals across greater Melbourne to deliver personalised care through its platform. All care professionals are put through a rigorous process of background checks, training and vetting to ensure the quality of care is never compromised.
Besides home care, Homage also works with institutions like hospitals and care facilities to provide professional resources and support.
Families can choose from a wide variety of services, such as home care and nursing care. Care visits can also range from as short as 1-hour to a maximum of 24-hours, depending on the care needs of the individual.
Why Australians choose Homage
Homage occupies a niche in the space of care, in that it offers a bridge between primary carers and their elderly loved ones who prefer to remain at home instead of being sent to institutions like aged care homes and hospitals. This allows carers to strike a balance between work and providing care, without having to sacrifice one or the other.
Personalised Care Plans
The personalised care plans developed at Homage also cater to the unique needs of each individual, ensuring the continuity of care without disruption to their everyday routines. Compared to a one-size fits all care process, families can also access detailed care report summaries after every visit that also serve as a way to keep other family members involved in the care journey of their loved ones.
Flexible Scheduling
Get care only when you need it. Instead of having a live-in helper or having to send your loved ones to a aged care facility, Homage allows flexible scheduling on an ad hoc or regular basis to best suit your schedule. Care can also be arranged within 24-hours, which means you need not worry about last minute changes to your schedule.
Homage also complements situations such as post-hospitalisation discharge or respite care when the individual requires greater attention or when the primary carer is unavailable. Our support workers can step in to provide the necessary care required without additional burdens on the family.
The best part – you only pay for the care hours you need. Homage provides both a la carte and package payment options so care remains affordable to all who need it.
Booking Care On-The-Go
Getting care is easy when you can do it at the touch of a button. Homage has a dedicated mobile app that allows users to book, manage and pay for care in a single touchpoint. Users can also review past and upcoming visits, alongside care visit summaries and details of their assigned Care Professional.
The mobile app also allows users to manage multiple profiles from one main user account, enabling personalised care and tracking for multiple individuals.
Care Wherever You Are
Finding the right support worker is an important and highly personal process. To help you with the caregiving process, Homage offers a zero-commitment consultation with its Care Advisors to better understand the care needs of your loved ones and offer some clarity on the services that Homage can provide.
Homage also offers care packages that can help you save up to 20% of the caregiving cost. Alternatively, you can consider a la carte service options to better suit your care needs.
