Nohan Dhalayatar knows that every day he makes a difference with his Home Caring business.
“What motivates me most is the smiles on clients’ faces,” he says. Seeing the progress in how clients live at home, safely, is very satisfying, he adds.
His colleague and fellow director, Priya Nathan, believes Australia’s senior citizens deserve the best, but sees there is a growing gap in services available to support the aged care sector.
This is motivating her to supply much-needed services which allow seniors to remain at home, which in turn reduces the strain off the aged care residential sector.
Experienced nurses join forces in a franchise
Nohan and Priya are two experienced Registered Nurses who joined forces to open their Narre Warren, Victoria, franchise.
The pair are long-term colleagues from Monash Health. Nohan has more than seven years’ experience in healthcare organisations, while Priya has worked extensively in rehabilitation and aged care. She switched to the home care sector to spend more time with aged care clients.
Priya believes in treating people with dignity and respect, a philosophy that’s serving her well as a Home Caring franchisee.
With her commitment to first class, individual care, Priya has a dedicated team working hard to hire the correct care worker to match the client’s needs. It can take time for clients to adjust to new routines, so it is crucial there is clear communication between clients and staff.
Premium client care
“I meet with my clients individually and take the time to get to know them, I care about hearing their stories and understanding their needs and goals for their lives,” says Priya.
She goes above and beyond to ensure clients receive the best advice and care possible.
“One social worker in a hospital said to me that he had never met a director who would come and ensure their clients were receiving the best care possible,” she reveals.
Priya’s commitment to client care has even meant missing family appointments and festivities. And with her team, she has supplied services when a support worker, domestic aid or nurse has been unavailable.
Home Care Narre Warren provides services that range from life skills, community participation, behaviour support, domestic assistance and simple care to complex care, dementia care, disability care, palliative care, respite care and 24/7 support. The business is also a registered NDIS provider.
The key to top quality care starts with the finding the right care worker for the client.
Nohan says “Matching clients with support workers is never easy but I love a challenge. We always get the preferences from our clients of what they are expecting and wanting from a support worker.
“We then shortlist our support workers and organise a meet and greet before starting any shift. This helps our client and support worker feel comfortable. We have had great success in this process and have had amazing results.”
Home Caring helps people live independently
The pair were designing a range of services to suit a client, Loretta. In the process they discovered Loretta’s service provider fee was too high.
“They explained they only take 20 percent from my package, while my previous provider was taking 35 percent,” says Loretta. “They were very upfront and honest with me, which I appreciated.”
Today, Home Caring helps Loretta with keeping her house clean and tidy, shopping for essentials, and ordering nutritious meals. The team also arranged for someone to mow the lawns, installed an in-house emergency button in her house, and provided much needed transport.
“Loretta is wonderful, and it’s a joy to provide for her needs,” says Nohan. “She’s actively involved in her care, and we do our best to make sure that she has everything she needs to live independently, in the way she wants.”
Loretta loves her carers’ dedication to her care, which has helped her regain her confidence at home.
“What they’ve told me they will do, they do,” she says. “My whole place is clean and manageable; I don’t have to worry. I get online shopping, I don’t have to worry about getting from A to B, I know everything will be done properly, the way I like it. They also take an interest in you personally, which is important as we’re all different.”
Going the extra mile
Nohan and Priya were also able to organise overnight care for Loretta after her eye operation – much to her relief.
“Even though my operation was cancelled twice because of Covid, they arranged to have someone stay overnight after the operation and showed no hesitation in doing this for me. They really went above and beyond,” says Loretta.
“I’m happy that I made that phone call to Home Caring Narre Warren, and I’ve been very happy with their service!”
And for Nohan and Priya, having happy clients is a true reflection of the value of their services. It is why these two franchisees are keen to drive their Home Caring business forward, to help even more vulnerable Australians.