Resthaven Home Care Worker, Kim, Has Some Advice

Being an aged care Home Support Worker isn’t Kim Long’s first job, but it is her most fulfilling. An experienced massage therapist and hospitality worker, Kim experienced a change in direction aged 25, when her grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

"As my grandpa deteriorated, I started looking after him more and more," says Kim. "I realised how fulfilling it was to look after someone in their own home.

Kim enrolled in Certificate III in Aged Care/Community Services, and began working with Resthaven Marion as a Home Support Worker last year.

"It’s the best decision I’ve ever made," she says. "I visit older people in their homes, and we work together to do all those little things that aren’t so easy anymore."

"Sometimes, all they need is a bit of support and encouragement, and they can continue to live independently at home. They have really interesting stories, too – I love hearing about how Adelaide was, ‘back in the day’."

Kim loves hearing the stories her home care clients tell her about horse-drawn carts and the old appliances they used to use.

"Preserving the dignity and independence of older people is the most important thing. That’s why I chose to work for Resthaven," says Kim.  

Additional government funding means that if you are looking for a career assisting older people to live independently in their own homes, Resthaven Community Services has opportunities right now.

New positions for Home Support Workers, Coordinators, and Registered Nurses are listed on the Resthaven website careers page www.resthaven.asn.au/careers.

Like Kim, applicants must have respect for older people, and demonstrate affinity with Resthaven’s core values of trust, dignity and choice.  

Established in 1935 and proudly South Australian, Resthaven aged care and home care services extend across metropolitan Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills, Limestone Coast, Riverland, Murraylands and the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Pictured: Home Support Worker, Kim Long, with Frank Williams.