1. Healthcare

February 2015
Aspire Support Services
February Newsletter
Happy New Year to everyone,
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and had time to relax and prepare for 2015. In my last message I talked about a major organisational
restructure that was underway at Aspire, and now this is close to completion.
The first task of the organisational restructure was to appoint a General
Manager of Operational Services and a General Manager (GM) of Corporate Services. I am please to announce that those 2 positions have now
been filled, with Trevor Cowell as the new GM of Operational Services
and Mardi Weber as the GM of Corporate Services. Trevor was the General Manager at Medicare Local and he has previously held CEO’s positions at UPA and the Albury GP Network. Trevor has a strong background in health, risk management, WHS, Policy and Governance and
also managed Ambulance services across the Riverina Murray. Mardi
Weber was previously the Director of Human Resource at Aspire.
We are now in the process of finalising a number of managers positions
which will be resolved within the next two weeks. Once fully completed,
we will have a fit for purpose organisational structure that will enable us
to meet the challenges ahead under a National Disability Insurance
Scheme.
Besides restructuring the organisation, we have taken a number of
other steps to position ourselves for what lies ahead. We have set an
hourly rate for our Day Programs, a price that we believe will be
competitive in the market place. We have also made a decision not to
offer transportation to and from our Day Program services. Aspire doesn’t
see itself at this point in time as a transportation provider and we are not
able to compete with other providers that are funded to provide such a
service. Historically, organisations like Kalparrin have offered this type
service but it is no longer financially viable for Aspire to do so in the
current market.
220 Borella Road
Albury
PO Box 7374
East Albury NSW 2640
Tel 02 6058 4000
Fax 02 6058 4050
www.aspiress.com.au
[email protected]
Throughout 2015 Aspire will be working closely with the National
Disability Service and monitoring the NDIS trial sites to keep up to date
with any developments and to keep families informed of its progress. Last
year Aspire hosted a forum at The Cube in Wodonga where
representatives from NDS and DHS Victoria provided updates on the
Victorian trial site. This forum proved to be extremely popular and we will
endeavour to do so again this year to provide families with the very latest
information.
We will be aiming to work closely with families in 2015 to help provide
education around what the NDIS will mean and to help families
understand what this also means for providers.
If there are any topics or issues around the NDIS you like to know more
about please email me directly at [email protected].
Social Skills Youth Group for Children with ASD aged 8 – 15 years
Aspire Support Services is pleased to announce that we will be running
another term of the Social Skills Youth Group facilitated by Vidette Turner
from Interact Speech Pathology and Aspire Support Staff.
The program commences on January the 29th with two sessions being held
for parents/carers. These sessions will include an educational presentation
on ASD which will be delivered by Vidette. During these initial sessions,
parents will identify goals for their child to work towards throughout the group
sessions. The group sessions will start in February and will assist children in
developing social practices through games, activities and will provide
opportunities for friendships.
Aspire Support Services will now be offering a sports program to children
with disabilities between the ages of 6 - 14. This program aims to facilitate
health and fitness of the participants through a range of sports as well as
increasing social and community networks. The program will run on
Saturdays throughout the school term from 10:00am – 12:00pm. The
program commences in January and the groups will participate in tennis,
hockey, soccer and cricket throughout term one.
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RESPITE OPTIONS
The Respite Options Program provides planned, short term respite for families
of both young people and adults with a disability, and the frail and aged.
Respite is allocated based on the needs of the families and carers.
Respite Options provides support in a number of ways such as:
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1:1 respite in the community or in the clients own home
Peer Support Activities for children 6-17 years
Adult Social Groups
Teen Time (After School/ Vacation Care) for secondary aged students
We are currently preparing for the next allocation period April-June 2015. The
Respite Request forms will be sent out shortly and if you could promptly return
these to us it would be greatly appreciated. Every effort will be made to give
you the dates and times you request, however, due to increasing demand for
respite we are not always able to meet everyone’s individual needs.
We ask that you please inform the Respite Team as soon as possible if you
need to make a cancellation to any of your respite dates. Aspire is still required
to pay staff for their hours when a cancellation is made at short notice,
therefore, we ask that you provide as much notice as possible prior to the
cancellation of all respite events, so we have the opportunity to offer the time to
other families in need of respite on our waiting list.
If any families would like to renegotiate their client contributions, please don’t
hesitate to contact us.
If you need to contact someone after hours to advise of a cancellation, you can
ring the office number on 6058 4000, listen to the prompts and select the option
which will then transfer you directly to the Oncall Officer.
Please make sure you advise us as soon as possible if any of your details have
changed, such as your address, contact numbers or emergency contacts. It is
very important that our information is up to date at all times.
Thank you from the Respite Options Team.
Michelle, Scott, Gaye and Veronica.
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WELCOME BACK LUNCHEON
“Planning together for the year ahead”
Commercial Club
618 Dean Street, Albury
Friday 20th February 2015
12.00pm—2.30pm
Banksia “A” Room
Cost: Adults = $10.00, Children (5—12 years) = $5.00, Children under 5 years = Free
We invite you to join us for lunch at the Commercial Club as we welcome in a new year.
This is an opportunity to catch up with old friends, meet with new families and share with us
your suggestions and ideas for social events that you would like to see this year, for example:*
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Mother’s weekend
High Tea
Easter BBQ
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Luncheons
Carers week celebrations
Zealous kids
If you would like to attend please contact Sue Pringle at Aspire Support Services to make a
booking.
Phone: 02 6058 4000
Email: [email protected]
This is also an opportunity to meet Trevor Cowell, Aspire’s new General Manager for
Operational Services.
ASPIRE OPPORTUNITY SHOP
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Opportunities for Volunteering are available at our Opportunity Shop in
Mate Street, North Albury. Our Shop opens between 9.00am and
4.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am – 1.00pm on Saturday.
Tasks undertaken at the Op Shop include:
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Sorting clothing and household goods e.g. linen and crockery etc.
Operating the cash register and greeting and assisting customers
Pricing clothing
Maintaining the Op Shop in a presentable and tidy state
Moving donations and excess stock
We invite you to join our friendly team for 3 hours or more per week.
(Both males and females welcome)
Please contact Sue Pringle
Phone: 02 6058 4000
Email: [email protected]
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The Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Regatta 2015 is being held on Saturday 28th February at
The Gateway Lake on the Lincoln Causeway. Aspire Support Services’ ‘Aspire to Life’
program had two teams enter the event last year and everyone involved had a great time. It
was an easy decision to enter a team in this years event with the success of last year.
Each boat consists of 20 paddlers and a drummer, with a maximum of 10 male paddlers
allowed in each boat. The great thing about this event is not only showing the support and
raising the awareness of people who have suffered from or currently suffering from breast
cancer, etc. but also having the opportunity to try something new, that they may never have
thought of doing before.
The great thing about the ’Aspire to Life’ team this year is that there are only 6 people
participating that have done so in the past, all other participants either missed the
opportunity last year or new staff to the organisation.
The Community Challenge is the part of the event that ‘Aspire to Life’ will be participating
in. This event involves teams from a number of different businesses or organisations from
the local area, including the Albury City and Wodonga City Councils.
The races start from 12:00 noon and will continue to run until approx. 5:00pm. There will be
a series of heats where each team participates in 3 races. At he end of the 3 races the times
are added up and the 8 fastest teams will compete in a final. Which then crown the winner of
the Brave Hearts Dragon Boat Regatta Community Challenge for 2015. Last year ‘Aspire to
Life’ won the best first year participant award. So this year we are hoping to improve on that
achievement and participate in the Final.
We encourage everyone to make their way down to the Gateway Lake on the Lincoln
Causeway to cheer on our team. It will be a great day and we would love to see as many
people down there as possible cheering the paddlers home.
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http://earthevents.com.au/thepaleoway2015tour/
ALBURY
Monday 9th February 2015 (evening)
We have a limited number of tickets available to families at a significantly reduced rate. General admission tickets would cost $97.00 but Aspire Support Services will be subsidising a
limited number of tickets. Please contact reception to register your interest.
Phone: 02 6058 4000
Email: [email protected]
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February 2015
Family Support/Networking Meetings Times
‘Welcome back to 2015 with Aspire’
With the summer break over we are looking forward to working with you to plan a range of
supportive and enjoyable family events for the year.
With the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and local respite providers we are holding a workshop on the
12th March at Aspire’s head office in Borella Road, Albury to give you an opportunity to hear
about respite services, funding and opportunities and for you to be able to have individual
discussion with providers. We will also have respite information available. We are still to
confirm some services attending and have included the interim flyer for your information and
bookings.
On Friday 20th February we will be holding our annual Welcome Back Luncheon at the
Commercial Club which will give us the opportunity to hear from you about the Social Events
that you would like to see held during 2015.
Please let me know if you are interested in joining Steering Committees for the 2015 Mothers
Weekend and/or 2015 Social Events.
All of the Support Groups are holding February meetings. Please see details following.
Families are welcome to come along to any of the groups to meet and network with other
families in a similar situation.
Autism/Aspergers Family Network Group
Guest Speaker: Rohan Dempster—Phycologist—Topics directed by discussion on the day.
When: Tuesday 17th February 2015 —10.00am—12.00pm
Where: “La Maison” – 40 Lincoln Causeway – Gateway Island, Victoria 3690
Morning Tea - $4.00 per head
(Children welcome – large area booked)
Please rsvp for seating and catering:
Aspire Support Services
Phone: 02 60584 000
Email: [email protected]
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and/or Oppositional Defiant
Disorder & related conditions Support Group
When: Wednesday 11th February 2015 – 12.30pm – 2.30pm
Where: Lunchtime Meeting – Astor Hotel Motel, 641 Young Street, Albury 2640
Please rsvp for seating and catering:
Aspire Support Services
Phone: 02 6058 4000
Email: [email protected]
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Albury/Wodonga Down Syndrome Family Network Group
Catch up for 2015 and let’s plan for a dinner at La Maison and discuss other ideas to support
parents using our funding from the Carers NSW ‘Together Program”.
When: Monday 16th February 2015 – 12.00pm – 2.00pm
Where: Aspire Support Services – 20 Stanley Street, Wodonga, Victoria 3690
BYO Lunch – Coffee, Tea, Fruit and Biscuits provided
Please RSVP for catering:
Parent Contact: Jo McConnell
Phone: 0466 467644
Email: [email protected]
Aspire Support Services
Phone: 02 6058 4000
Email: [email protected]
Dads/Mens Group
When: Thursday 19th February 2015 – Sponsored Meal Cost
Where: Join us for dinner at the Astor Hotel Motel – 641 Young Street, Albury 2640
Assist us in planning our trip to Melbourne
Please rsvp for seating and catering:
Glenn Rowbottom
Phone: 0412 084 537
Email: [email protected]
or
Aspire Support Services
Phone: 02 6058 4000
Email: [email protected]
Should you wish to be on a contact list for any of the Support/Networking meetings, or have
any queries, please contact Sue Pringle at Aspire Support Services on 02 6058 4000.
Email: [email protected]
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Please see below the following course dates & times currently available. Listed times may vary, please call to confirm.
COURSE DATE
Monday 23rd Feb 2015
Monday 23rd Feb 2015
Tuesday 24th Feb 2015
Tuesday 24th Feb 2015
Wednesday 25th Feb 2015
Thursday 26th Feb 2015
Thursday 26th Feb 2015
Friday 27th Feb 2015
Friday 27th Feb 2015
TIME
4.00pm
6.00pm
4.00pm
6.30pm
6.30pm
4.00pm
6.30pm
10.00am
6.30pm
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