As a resident of a remote community, Marilyn faced logistical challenges in accessing home care. After five years of struggling to find adequate support, she finally overcame those hurdles by self-managing her Home Care Package with The CareSide. Here’s her story.
Marilyn K., 71, lives in a very rural part of Queensland.
Her region is home to seven fishing villages, each separated by roughly 50 kilometres. It’s a peaceful setting, but far from easy—especially for older people who need support to live independently at home.
‘Distance is tyranny,’ Marilyn tells us during an interview.
Marilyn began seeking home care services six years ago, only to quickly realise much of the responsibility to coordinate care would fall on her because home care providers simply don’t exist where she lives. Even when she found providers who promised to support her, distance remained an insurmountable hurdle.
‘Oh, they were absolutely hopeless getting caregivers to my area,’ she recalls. ‘I’d have to pay for four hours of housecleaning even though most of that was travel time.’
Exorbitant costs, unreliable caregivers, and inefficient services eventually forced Marilyn to make a change. She decided to self-manage her Home Care Package and conducted extensive research to find the right provider for her unique situation.
Self-managed Home Care Packages Explained
Marilyn didn’t just stop at surface-level details, though. When she found potential providers, she delved deeper to learn everything she could about their ownership and background.
‘I wanted to join a family-run organisation,’ she says. ‘They have more understanding, and that strikes a chord with me.’
Ultimately, Marilyn’s decision came down to The CareSide and another provider—but the team at The CareSide made it an obvious choice. Marilyn raves about the onboarding process not only because it was easy, but also because the staff members made it such a delightful and stress-free experience.
That includes her personal Care Manager, Tineal.
‘Tineal is a sweet, loveable girl who understands my situation well,’ Marilyn explains. ‘She always returns my calls and is very empathetic.’
Marilyn officially joined The CareSide in January 2024, and things have gone more smoothly than she’d ever imagined.
Marilyn sources and selects support workers in her region, and The CareSide handles the necessary background checks on her behalf. That includes verifying the workers’ Australian Business Numbers (ABNs), police clearances and insurances, and ensuring they have the necessary skills to provide her with effective care. Marilyn’s experience demonstrates that individuals living in remote areas can overcome logistical challenges to access the home care they need and deserve.
‘The CareSide has been absolutely brilliant,’ Marilyn says. ‘It’s just so easy, everything runs so smoothly and I get so much help…it’s all just beautiful.
These days, if there’s one concern on Marilyn’s mind regarding home care, it’s the fact that people her age in rural communities aren’t receiving proper support—and many don’t realise they have options, such as self-managing their Home Care Packages.
According to Marilyn, many older Australians in her region don’t have access to the internet, and even those who do have access don’t know how to research and vet home care providers as carefully as she did when she found The CareSide. Many of them, she adds, are also chronically ill and in pain, often leaving them reliant on unreliable providers or outdated church groups delivering subpar services.
‘I hope [The CareSide] can find more people like me, because we are out there,’ Marilyn says. ‘For five years I struggled to find a provider, and with The CareSide, I’ve found a home.’
