Elizabeth bowled over by Transition Care Program

Elizabeth Jackson could be forgiven for sporting a t-shirt that says “I’ll get over it. I just need to be dramatic first”.

The 76-year-old from Alkimos spent nine weeks in hospital over the festive period and had to miss the entire season of her beloved sport of lawn bowls.

“I went from being fully independent around the home to needing supervision,” Elizabeth said. “It was a bit of a shock to the system.”

Thanks to Juniper’s Transition Care Program (TCP), which provides short term care for up to 12 weeks for customers needing additional support at the end of a hospital visit, Elizabeth now has a clear pathway to making sure she is back on the bowling green next season.

“I am itching to get back to playing bowls,” said Elizabeth who plays with the North Beach Bowling Club. “It’s my social outlet”.

Elizabeth sustained a painful fracture of the femur when she tripped over a bench at the local shopping centre at the end of last year. She spent a week at Joondalup Hospital followed by eight weeks in rehabilitation before becoming a TCP customer.

TCP’s focus is to help people transition from hospital to live independently at home. The program focusses on providing supports that will help people meet their individual goals, like medical, social and therapy support along with personal care, domestic assistance and transport to and from medical appointments.

“It’s really nice in the early days if there’s someone there,” Elizabeth explained. “I am very independent and have my own way of doing things and this allows you to be an individual in your own home while getting the support you need.”

The support Elizabeth receives includes help with showering, managing loads of washing and other housework and collaboration on achieving a set of clearly defined goals.