Care support point of the district celebrates 10th anniversary
The care support centre of the district has long since established itself in Waldeck-Frankenberg with its independent and individual care counselling and extensive support services. This year it is already celebrating its tenth anniversary.
The care support point offers people in need of care and their relatives comprehensive counselling on all topics of care, as well as on social support services in the district. Information about the benefits of long-term care insurance, the search for suitable care options, coordination, networking and application for benefits are among the main tasks. In the first contact, the employees get an idea of the need for help and care - through a telephone call, an appointment at the care support centre or also during a home visit.
"Together with the person in need of help and their relatives, we work out an individual help plan. This is often done during a home visit," explains Matthias Engel. "The people concerned decide for themselves which of the available offers they would like to take advantage of". It is important to everyone in the team that the counselling people receive is neutral and specifically tailored to their needs. "Because that is the best way to help everyone involved."
In 2022, the base will already be ten years old. Since the opening in August 2012, the number of counselling sessions has increased many times over. Last year alone, there were more than 2,000 counselling sessions, and the trend is still rising. Together with the AOK Hessen, there have been some changes in the last two years in order to be able to serve the increasing requests at the known high level of professional competence. In July 2019, the care support point moved into new premises at the main railway station in Korbach. It is now more centrally located and easy to reach by public transport.
The team at the care support centre has also been expanded. It now consists of four employees, half of whom are employed by the district and half by the AOK Hessen: Petra Schnellbächer and Matthias Engel are nursing specialists with further training in case management. Joachim Hesse is a social insurance clerk, care advisor and case manager, Kathrin Hartmann completes the team as a social education graduate. For some months now, the care support point has also been supported by four community care workers who are employed by the district. There is a contact person for each town and municipality in the district. They mediate and organise local services - and provide support in everyday problems even before a serious or chronic illness or need for care arises. This is a unique selling point in the state, as Waldeck-Frankenberg is the only district that can offer this service.
Although it is very time-consuming, individual counselling is the be-all and end-all: it ensures that everyone gets the help they need and that the offers are tailor-made. In particular, the demand for on-site appointments in the own home of those potentially in need of care has risen sharply. This can be necessary and useful in order to get a picture of the person's surroundings. After all, the goal is to be able to care for people in their familiar surroundings for as long as possible.
In Waldeck-Frankenberg - Hesse's largest district - the travel time is similar to the time needed for on-site counselling. In addition, many consultations are very short-term - for example, when older people are discharged from hospital after a fall and now need care. Against this background, the Waldeck-Frankenberg district and the AOK Hessen as a partner have decided to offer additional consultation hours in Bad Wildungen, Frankenberg and Battenberg from 1 September 2022. Details of when and where this will be possible are still to be announced.
"The anniversary of the care support point as well as the increase in space and staff as well as the constant expansion of the counselling services in recent years shows that the work of the care support point in Waldeck-Frankenberg is very welcome and desired," says District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst. "Especially the independent and individual counselling plays a central role for people who are in need of care," adds the First District Commissioner of the district Karl-Friedrich Frese. Both emphasise that the care support point is an important interface for coordinating and organising the care of people in need of help in Waldeck-Frankenberg in the best possible way.
"With the not always easy demands that the field of care counselling entails, the cooperation with the Waldeck-Frankenberg district has always worked in an exemplary manner," also says Carina Deist from AOK Hessen, the group leader of the care counsellors in North Hesse. "We look forward to filling this cooperation with even more life in the coming years - for example, by holding consultation hours in other places in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district."