An Easter reflection — by Asher Kirby, Spiritual Care Supervisor, Residential Aged Care
- 25 Mar 2024
One of my favourite Easter traditions is the Easter Egg Hunt. In my extended family gatherings, the young children are sent into the garden in the afternoon to find hidden chocolate eggs. One year, the egg hiders decided to save time by hiding the eggs early in the day. As the grandchildren ran around discovering lovely shiny foil-wrapped packages, we quickly realised that the day was hotter than anticipated, so the children were collecting foil-wrapped pools of melted chocolate!
I love Easter for the holidays, celebrations and traditions (even when they don’t go quite as planned). I also love it for the meaning it holds for me as a Christian — the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus. I draw deep meaning from this story, but I also draw meaning from the themes I see in the Easter events that I believe are common to us all.
For Christians, Good Friday is a day associated with grief, loss and uncertainty about the future, because it remembers the unexpected death of Jesus. We can all identify with the loss of a loved one, or grief over some aspect of life that has not gone the way we expected it to. We know the feeling of being unsure about the future, and we reach out to others for support.
Easter Sunday, by contrast, is for Christians a day connected with hope, celebration and new life, as it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. For most of us, we can easily identify with these feelings of celebration and new life. We look for hope in our relationships and our work, and we offer hope to one another when we bring all of who we are into those spaces.
While each of our experiences is unique, there is commonality in the journey we are on. This Easter, may you find hope and celebration as you go through the weekend, even amidst any grief or uncertainty you are carrying.
(And if chocolate eggs are your thing — may yours be non-melted and delicious!)
Community news
-
Personal Alert Victoria | Enhancing safety and independence
Personal Alert Victoria (PAV) offers eligible Victorians a free personal monitoring and emergency response service. This important service is funded by the Victorian Government and helps people continue to live independently at home, safe in the knowledge that help is only a button press away.If you or someone you know is frail, elderly and isolated or who is living with a disability, you may like to consider applying for the PAV program.What does the PAV service involve?The PAV service responds to calls for assistance 24 hours per day.Clients wear a pendant around their neck or wrist which is designed with a button that, when pressed, dials the PAV hotline connecting the caller with trained staff ready to provide assistance. For example, if you fall or suddenly feel unwell, you can press the button and be connected with someone who can speak with you through the pendant.PAV hotline staff will talk with you to determine whether a call should be placed with emergency services, one of your nominated contacts (usually family members, friends or neighbours) or whether you simply require some reassurance about your situation (in the event of a non-urgent issue).How does my pendant connect me to the PAV hotline?A receiver unit sits next to your telephone and is plugged into your telephone line. When it receives an alert from your pendant (after you have pressed the button), the receiver unit automatically dials the PAV hotline.Who is eligible for the PAV service?Eligibility is determined via an assessment conducted in your own home.There are two sets of eligibility criteria to meet – Part A and Part B:Part A:You must meet all three conditions set out below –Daily monitoring – you consent to daily monitoring.Wearable pendant - you are capable of using and willing to wear the PAV pendant at all times.Living situation – you live alone OR are alone for most of the day or evening OR live with a person who would be unable to get to the phone in an emergency (or is unable to use the phone).Part B:You must meet two of these criteria –You have had at least one fall that needed medical attention in the previous six months or be at risk of falls.You suffer from a major medical or chronic condition that puts you at risk of medical emergencies or has some ongoing effect on your health or wellbeing.You are taking six or more different medications on a permanent basis that are prescribed by your doctor / medical specialist.Who conducts my eligibility assessment for PAV?Eligibility assessments for the PAV service are usually conducted by your local council, community health service, aged care assessment service, district nursing service and some publicly funded community rehabilitation services.You can either contact your local service provider directly (for example, by enquiring with your local council’s aged care program) or be referred to an assessment service by your doctor or local community health service.It’s worth noting that there may be a waiting period involved until a PAV unit becomes available for installation at your home.For more detailed information on the PAV program, please refer to the PAV program and service guidelines provided by the Victorian Department of Health.
- 29 Jul 2024
-
Faces of Baptcare | Meet Durham Smith
Personal Alert Victoria (PAV) offers eligible Victorians a free personal monitoring and emergency response service. This important service is funded by the Victorian Government and helps people continue to live independently at home, safe in the knowledge that help is only a button press away.If you or someone you know is frail, elderly and isolated or who is living with a disability, you may like to consider applying for the PAV program.What does the PAV service involve?The PAV service responds to calls for assistance 24 hours per day.Clients wear a pendant around their neck or wrist which is designed with a button that, when pressed, dials the PAV hotline connecting the caller with trained staff ready to provide assistance. For example, if you fall or suddenly feel unwell, you can press the button and be connected with someone who can speak with you through the pendant.PAV hotline staff will talk with you to determine whether a call should be placed with emergency services, one of your nominated contacts (usually family members, friends or neighbours) or whether you simply require some reassurance about your situation (in the event of a non-urgent issue).How does my pendant connect me to the PAV hotline?A receiver unit sits next to your telephone and is plugged into your telephone line. When it receives an alert from your pendant (after you have pressed the button), the receiver unit automatically dials the PAV hotline.Who is eligible for the PAV service?Eligibility is determined via an assessment conducted in your own home.There are two sets of eligibility criteria to meet – Part A and Part B:Part A:You must meet all three conditions set out below –Daily monitoring – you consent to daily monitoring.Wearable pendant - you are capable of using and willing to wear the PAV pendant at all times.Living situation – you live alone OR are alone for most of the day or evening OR live with a person who would be unable to get to the phone in an emergency (or is unable to use the phone).Part B:You must meet two of these criteria –You have had at least one fall that needed medical attention in the previous six months or be at risk of falls.You suffer from a major medical or chronic condition that puts you at risk of medical emergencies or has some ongoing effect on your health or wellbeing.You are taking six or more different medications on a permanent basis that are prescribed by your doctor / medical specialist.Who conducts my eligibility assessment for PAV?Eligibility assessments for the PAV service are usually conducted by your local council, community health service, aged care assessment service, district nursing service and some publicly funded community rehabilitation services.You can either contact your local service provider directly (for example, by enquiring with your local council’s aged care program) or be referred to an assessment service by your doctor or local community health service.It’s worth noting that there may be a waiting period involved until a PAV unit becomes available for installation at your home.For more detailed information on the PAV program, please refer to the PAV program and service guidelines provided by the Victorian Department of Health.
- 27 Jul 2024
-
Enjoying the comforts of home: Lynette and George
Lynette is 75 and her husband, George, is 70. With a little help from home care, they're able to live healthily and happily together at home.
- 21 Jun 2024
