Guest Speakers – Ralph Menchise and Tessa Davies from Anam Cara House
Anam Cara House assists people of all ages for respite care, short term care and end of life care.
It was established by Diane Wright when she saw that people preferred a home life environment to spend their last days.
However this was not possible in some homes due to expert care required and there is no respite for the carer. So due to the assistance of Father Dillon, Anam Cara House was established in the St Mary’s Parish House Geelong. Now five years later, Anam Cara House continues to providing broad-based, non-denominational care in a home environment.
The management consists of a board of 9 with Lloyd Gosling as chair. It has a small group of paid staff and approximately 80 volunteers who undergo special training in palliative care.
The house not only caters for residents which are known as guests but also provides a place of respite for the families caring for a loved one.
We at the Rotary Club of Bayside Geelong also concur and as a result President Judy presented a cheque for $500 as a contribution towards the marvellous work of Anam Cara.
Each guest is encouraged to come early in their journey through a life limiting illness. In the past this was mainly for cancer patients but now includes other life limiting diseases such as motor neurone disease. etc. All palliative care is given freely to guests with a loving and caring spirit.
The care it provides is individual, personal and flexible for each guest that enters through their doors.
Anam Cara House also provides low cost accommodation for people who have a loved one as a patient in one of Geelong’s hospitals.
Both Tessa and Ralph both said that they believe that Anam Cara House enabled guests to “live well” through their journey starting from diagnosis. As a result there is a rapport built between guest and staff and many testify and grateful for the existence of Anam Cara House.
Anam Cara House enables guests to celebrate death well with dignity and humility and exceptional care.
At present Anam Cara Geelong receives no government funding so relies heavily on the generosity of the businesses of Geelong and the people of Geelong.
This is due to change with Anam Cara seeking and being granted accreditation making some government funding possible.
We at the Rotary Club of Bayside Geelong also concur and as a result President Judy presented a cheque for $500 as a contribution towards the marvellous work of Anam Cara.