Getting Started

Before you visit any aged care home, think about what is important to you. You might like to consider the following:

• Is it important to you that there are registered nurses available 24 hours a day?
• Do you need any specialist care?
• Are you happy to fit into a routine, or do you want care that fits around your lifestyle and preferences?

• What is your ideal location? You may want to be close to where you live now, or close to family and friends.
• What looks and feels like home for you?
• Is home-made food important to you?
• Do you want a private room or a shared room?
• Do you have any furniture or special items you want to bring?

• What are your favourite activities and entertainment, e.g. do you have a favourite game? Do you enjoy exercise classes? Do you enjoy art or music?
• What daily activities do you still want to do? Does the home support you to maintain your interests?
• Do you want to continue to participate in a local community club or group?
• Do you have a pet you want to visit you regularly or bring to live with you?
• Do you need flexibility so family and friends can visit you at times that suit them?
• Do you have any particular cultural or language needs?

‍When we first welcome you to visit us, we’ll ask questions to help us understand your individual situation. Please be as open as you can be – the more we learn about you, the better we can assist you. We also encourage you to ask questions about our home, our lifestyle and care. Every question is a good question and it’s important you tell us what matters to you. After the tour, you’ll no doubt have more questions. So, feel free to get in touch via email or call us to ask further questions, or take another tour.

When you take a private tour at Holmwood, we’ll ensure you have clear information about the costs of care. These vary depending on individual circumstances so we may need to ask you some questions to give you accurate information. If you have completed your Services Australia Assets and Means Test, this will help.

We encourage you to take away the information on costs to review and consider. You are welcome to call us with any questions you have and come back in to discuss the costs in person.

You can apply to Holmwood Aged Care, or any other aged care provider, using the Government application form.

If you decide to apply, once we receive your application form, we will contact you to confirm the rooms we have available suit you and your needs. One we have a suitable room available; we will commence our pre-admission process.

‍We’ll invite you into the home to discuss your resident agreement in more detail. At this time, we will prepare an individual agreement for you based on your personal needs and financial assessments.

We will follow up on critical paperwork and assessments with you so that we can ensure your fees and charges are accurate. You will be welcome to take the draft agreement and paperwork home to read in more detail and we will answer any questions you have.

It’s a legal requirement that your residential care agreement must be signed before we can proceed further. Once it is signed, we will arrange your pre-admission day.

We invite you and your loved ones to come in for a pre-admission day. Our goal on this day is to complete our assessments and paperwork so that we can provide the best care for you from the day you move in.

You will meet our team, including the registered nurse who will be responsible for your care, and a member of our lifestyle team. Our care team will spend time with you completing the resident admission pack including resident details, clinical and care needs, and lifestyle preferences.

We will provide you with an orientation of the home. During your orientation we will let you know some of the important aspects of life in the home, such as our laundry service and clothing labelling. We then invite you to enjoy a coffee, afternoon tea or even a meal before you go home.

‍When you begin to prepare to move in, we encourage you or your loved ones to organise some of your personal preferences ahead of time. This way your home is ready for you to move into and you can settle in with ease.

This varies depending on the person, but examples may include:

• Arrange for clothes to be labelled.
• Move any special items such as pictures or furniture into the room to set it up.
• Bring in any electrical items and ensure they are tested and tagged, ready to use.
• You are welcome to discuss all of this with us and we’ll provide whatever support we can.

As you can imagine, we receive a lot of questions from prospective residents and families. So take a look at our most common queries – we might have even answered some you hadn’t thought of yet.