BarbCare

BarbCare – Keeping Families Connected

BarbCare was formed after visits to Louises’ mother, Barbara, had left us feeling estranged from a lady who had previously been an intricate member of our family. We felt she had become isolated from our daily lives.

We experienced a disconnect with her carers and professional support. They weren’t available at the time of our visits and information we gave wasn’t always passed on. We understood that this was probably due to the busy nature of Aged facilities but we were sad that she was no longer a real part of our lives.

We were aware that many of the staff had developed a relationship with Barbara but they were just names to us as we were to them. We knew that people cared for Barbara but without faces to names we couldn’t develop a trusting relationship.

We firmly believed that Aged Care residents needed something that could support open honest communication so that relationships between the resident and their family, carers and professional support could flourish.

This is why we developed a system -BarbCare- that supports this concept and gives peace of mind to families.

Our idea initially was a communication App for Barbara and others, to send videos, photos and generally chat. We then decided that this communication should include relevant professionals who cared for her (we had attended appointments with Barbara for many years as an extra ear).

After discussion with other families we realised that realtime updates in medication, accident reports, meals and a variety of other important information would also help keep the connection and improve care and communication.

It was important that this information was able to be accessed in real time and therefore our original idea grew into the development of an operating system to enable this to happen.

We believe

• Every stage of life is valued and offers opportunity to overcome challenges
• Everyone has the right to determine their own pathway.
• Constructive feedback is a means to improve our business
• Respectful exchange of ideas creates better outcomes
• We operated a successful family company for over 10 years. Our primary interest was in Early Childhood initially as our professions were in that arena.

Personal experience in Aged Care quickly brought into focus the similarities, and that families at both ends of life rely heavily on professionals in the care of family members.

Trust and a warm relationship developed through respect was always our focus and was the reason our business was largely successful in a very competitive market. We strived to compliment the families’ care, not overtake, so the combination of client, professionals and family produce the optimal support for the client.

Each of our company directors offer unique skills which have allowed us to develop our business through the common goals improving the lives of individuals, enhancing community involvement and working together to create sustainable solutions.

Our founding members consist of husband and wife, David and Louise, and two of their children Lauren and Zac.