Former teacher and nurse Maureen Smith knows where she wants to spend the rest of her life – with husband Tom in their home of 20 years by the Aldinga scrub, just a short walk to the beach. Mrs Smith, now 79 but most days feeling 18, plans to be around for a long time yet with her husband, a former merchant marine engineer, 81. They’ve been together 58 years, but when their final breaths do come, the Smiths want them to carry the scent of the bush and sea. “I would walk into the ocean, if I was still capable of it, before they would put me in a nursing home,” she says. “Tom is definitely the same. Who would want to go into a nursing home? Too many of my friends go into nursing homes and, to be perfectly honest, don’t last very long.” The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s final report this week was a mixed bag of missed opportunities and important changes, experts say. But if the Federal Government accepts the thrust of the proposals, it could be good news for most Australians such as the Smiths, who want to live out their lives at home. Dr David Panter, chief executive of aged-care provider ECH, says while surveys show 70 per cent of Australians want to die at home, only 10 per cent of people over 70 do. He says this is the lowest rate in the developed world because “we’ve got a…

The Alberton Art Trail has won the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Australia Day Award for Best Event. The joint project from The Pear Coffeehouse and leading South Australian ageing care provider ECH (Enabling Confidence at Home), features a walking trail of art created with Alberton residents exploring the meaning, experiences, memories and future of ‘HOME’.

Leading South Australian ageing care provider ECH (Enabling Confidence at Home) has today announced that accomplished Adelaide business leader and Board Director, Rosina Hislop has been appointed Chair of the organisation.

In an innovative step for the industry, Leading South Australian ageing care provider ECH (Enabling Confidence at Home) has acquired one of Australia’s leading aged care start-ups, Billy. Read more...

IT has taken the COVID pandemic to enable telehealth to be recognised as a key part of a modern health care system. Read more...

ECH Chief Executive Dr David Panter recently talked to The Wire explaining the importance of technology in aged care and how the new Billy technology enables older people to stay living independently at home.