Our Stories

Getting back to what you love

10 Apr 2025

Getting older shouldn’t mean giving up activities you love or losing your sense of self. However, recovering from illness, injury or feeling like things aren’t as easy anymore, can make it challenging to maintain independence.

Supporting you to live well

At the heart of what we do in Juniper Home and Community Care is a focus on wellness and reablement, helping you regain or maintain your independence for as long as possible. This holistic approach isn’t just about health; it’s about looking at your whole life and what truly matters to you. By supporting positive ageing, we’re helping older West Australians stay active, engaged, and living well on their own terms.

Wellness and reablement sounds wonderful but – what does it mean?

Wellness is about promoting overall well-being and includes physical, emotional, social, and mental health.

Reablement is a short-term, goal-focused approach. It helps individuals regain, improve, or maintain their ability to perform daily tasks. All of which improve overall feelings of wellness.

We focus on the whole person, not just symptoms

Wellness and reablement is a holistic approach that addresses all aspects of our life and isn’t just about treating symptoms. This approach considers the way various factors in our lives influence well-being, promoting balance and long-term health.

Why is a holistic approach to health important?

Everything in our lives is connected.

When our physical health suffers, it can become too difficult to clean our house or see loved ones and we find ourselves isolated which is not healthy for social or mental wellbeing.

Using a holistic reablement approach, our customers have been able to return to the activities they love the most:

Attending weekly book club at the local café or library.
Feeling confident enough to use public transport.
Being able to attend grandkids’ sport on the weekends.
Playing lawn bowls again.
Going to the beach on a lovely sunny day.

Which healthcare professionals does reablement involve?

Everyone plays a part in reablement at Juniper. Juniper’s healthcare professionals work together as a multidisciplinary team to understand your goals and create a care plan to support you to achieve them, so you can have as much independence as possible.

Occupational Therapists (OTs) can support you with strategies to maintain or improve cognitive function as well as assess and improve an individual’s ability to perform daily activities, such as dressing, cooking, or bathing. OTs also recommend adaptive equipment or modifications to the home environment to support independence.

Physiotherapists focus on improving mobility, strength, balance and coordination. They set achievable goals and guide people through exercises that assist in regaining essential skills, physical function and reducing risk of falls.

Nurses both Registered and Enrolled nurses provide medical care, monitor health conditions, and assist with medication management.

Support workers and Carers provide day-to-day support that is in line with the achievements our customers and clinical team set. These could be related to personal care, household tasks, and other activities that help individuals regain independence while promoting wellness.

Multidisciplinary teams improve aged care

How reablement and multidisciplinary teams improve Aged Care

Better Health Outcomes – Early intervention and coordinated care prevent complications.
More Independence – Reablement-focused approaches help people regain function.
Personalised Support – Each person receives care suited to their unique needs.
Stronger Family Involvement – Families are an important part of your care plan.

Juniper customer, Peter Dunlop is a great example of reablement in action.

After breaking his ankle, Peter was discharged from hospital with instructions to avoid putting weight on it and wear a moon boot. Determined to regain his mobility, Peter worked closely with our allied health team. His goal was to walk up the stairs at home to access his bedroom and bathroom independently.

Physiotherapy sessions and prescribed mobility equipment helped Peter build his strength and we’re happy to report that he can now safely navigate his stairs and dance with his wife.

Read more about Peter’s reablement story.

Wellness - according to our customers

Spending time with family, socialising, exercising and meaningful hobbies are the things that keep older Western Australians happy and in a state of wellness.

Read more about the pursuit of happiness and wellness.