Taine Usher languished on a waiting list for four years before getting a bed at Ballan Nursing Home two weeks ago.
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The 68-year-old was born with an intellectual disability and four years ago was diagnosed with dementia.
After a major psychotic episode in 2012 Ms Usher was forced to move from the Geelong group home she had lived in for more than 20 years to a secure facility in North Melbourne.
She was on the waiting list for Ballan Nursing Home from the time of her episode until this month, when a bed unexpectedly became available.
Her sister Tor Roxburgh, who lives at Ballan and works at the local hospital, said moving to Ballan was the closest Ms Usher had been to living with family since going into care at 12 years old.
“I can visit her several times a week, if there’s any problem this is my home community,” Ms Roxburgh said.
“It means that I personally know the doctors, and I know the staff members, they’re my friends and neighbours.
“She’s visited and she’s treated like a community member, an important community member and I can’t tell you what a difference it makes for me just to be able to see her. It’s the first time since she moved to Geelong that I live in the same city as her.”
The move to Ballan was the third for Ms Usher this year after the North Melbourne nursing home she lived in closed, giving the family just six weeks to find an alternative.
She moved to a home in Prahran but suffered a seizure which her sister thought could put her on the brink of another mental health episode.
“I had a difficult decision to make because that would be two moves in one year for my sister but at the same time it meant that if she’s here, I live one block away,” Ms Roxburgh said.
Prior to Ms Usher moving to Ballan her family, which includes another sister at Barwon Heads, were only able to visit sporadically.
“I felt terrible,” Ms Roxburgh said.
“To visit your sister once every six weeks, it’s not really good enough because she’s like a child and she adores seeing family and I feel really ashamed that I saw her so infrequently.”
Ms Roxburgh said local aged care services were vital for the well being of elderly people in regional and remote communities.
“People maintain their likes and dislikes and their culture when they move into aged care so why should you have to be sent off somewhere where they’ve got no emotional relationship with the location.
“People I believe do better in terms of their health and mental well-being if they can continue their aged care in their own community.”