As Australia’s population ages, planners must increasingly consider the needs of older people. With a rapidly aging population and the largest aged care budget in the Melbourne Eastern Metropolitan Region, the City of Whitehorse is not only looking at improving and expanding existing services but also implementing innovative programs to foster positive attitudes in older people and about older people by the broader community.
Mayor, Councillor Helen Buckingham said that Council has a responsibility to encourage older people to continue to be active members of the community.
“At Whitehorse, we consider older people to be a valuable asset to our community, particularly to younger residents,” she said.
Council has implemented a Positive Aging Project to promote the value of older people and make them feel they can still contribute to the community. Under the Project, which is in response to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Positive Ageing, Council is funding community organisations to develop a range of programs to encourage participation by older people.
These organisations include the Community Council on Ethnic Issues, which is assembling oral histories and conducting courses taught by and for older people; the Family Access Network, which is promoting courses conducted by older people that teach life skills to young people; and the Ringwood Extended Family Services, where older people are providing friendship and new skills for young homeless students.
Another forward thinking Project, being conducted with Monash University’s Accident Research Centre, is a Falls Prevention program. Over 250 Victorians over the age of 55 die from falls each year. The cost in terms of hospital and post hospitalisation care is estimated to be $614 million per year.
The Whitehorse/Monash Project is the first project in Australia to instigate a Falls Prevention Program. It aims to identify strategies to reduce the number of falls occurring in the home. Complementing the Project is Council’s Walk with Care Project which focuses attention on pedestrian safety on footpaths, shopping centres and roads.
Peter Seamer, Chief Executive Officer, said that these programs are establishing Whitehorse as an innovator in older persons’ programs. He added that Council’s outstanding record in the provision of aged care was reinforced in recent benchmarking studies.
“The results of the studies not only reflect our commitment to providing quality services to our residents but also a strategic approach in the delivery of services to meet existing and future demand,” he said.
For further information contact Sandra Hills, Manager Community Care, telephone (03) 9262 6443.
