Indigo

In this edition of Indigo's eNews read about:

• Indigo's New Board Members
• Equipment for Living (EFL) Grants
• Tiara's Journey to a Powered Wheelchair
• NED: Almost Ready for Relaunch
• Lenore's Occupational Therapy Driving Assessment Journey
• Coronavirus Pandemic Update
• Meet our Team
• Regulars

  Indigo's New Board Members

At this month's Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on Wednesday 28 October, Indigo farewelled long serving Chairperson Mel Bramley and Board Members Kay Cox and Jane Ensor, whose dedication and experience assisted Indigo greatly during the last couple of years of business evolution due to changes to the disability and aged care industries.

Wayne Stone was voted in as the new Chair for a term of two years, and three new Board members were sworn in at the AGM:

• Dr Claire Cooke brings more than 12 years' experience working in the disability sector and has a strong background in the management and governance of complex projects.
• Evan Salt has a diverse range of business industry experience having worked in financial services, HR, marketing, and consulting roles.
• Wayne L Belcher OAM brings more than forty years' experience working in the health and aged care sector of industry.

Each Indigo Board Member serves for a term of two years and provides significant contributions to monthly Board meetings where they offer expertise in decision making and ensure decisions align with the strategic plan of the organisation, governance practices, financial position and legal obligations.

Read more about our Board

  Equipment for Living Grant Funding Available

   Did you know? EFL is still available!*

Independent Living Assessment (ILA) has Equipment for Living (EFL) grant funding from the Department of  Communities (formerly Disability Services Commission)  until 30 June 2021.

EFL grants are available to assist eligible people to obtain vital equipment not currently available through the Community Aids and Equipment Program (CAEP) or other support programs.

What types of assistive technology (devices and equipment) are available?

• Wheelchairs for community access or as an alternative to a primary mobility device
• Specialised car seats and occupant restraints
• Electrically adjustable beds or specialised beds. e.g. bariatric beds
• Alternative seating or seating to facilitate transfers
• Standing frames where CAEP funding is not available
• Environmental controls and other emerging technologies
• Assistive communication technology or mainstream technology with inbuilt accessibility features
• Equipment for alternative living arrangements e.g. shared custody
• Items to support client safety outside the home
• Small home modifications where CAEP funding is unavailable.

How do I apply?

Fill in the application form here: https://bit.ly/EFLGrants

*The EFL grant is available to people with a permanent disability and individuals or sponsor organisations can apply. Participants in the NDIS or HCP are not eligible.

Tiara’s Journey to a Powered Wheelchair

Recently our range of hire equipment has been reduced to Augmentative and Assistive Communication devices and tablets, meaning we have had excess items to re-home through sales and donations.

One lady received a temporary wheelchair from the Hire team so she can be comfortable while she waits for a new, purpose built powered chair.

Cornwall House Occupational Therapist (OT) Marion White had been working with 42 yr.-old Tiara who lives with Cerebral Palsy and her mother June, who is also her primary carer.

Read more about Tiara's journey 

National Equipment Database Relaunch

Australia’s biggest AT database, NED (the National Equipment Database) has undergone a major redevelopment and is almost ready to be relaunched.

The NED team are currently running consumer and stakeholder testing of the site to capture user feedback that can be applied before the go live date.

NED will relaunch with a completely new and more streamlined experience that includes powerful and real-time search functions, and for the first time, e-commerce capabilities.

These improvements will see NED continue its mission to provide people with greater tools and knowledge in researching, selecting, and identifying the assistive technology solutions they need.

Last year NED recorded approximately one million unique visitors to the site that engaged with more than 15,000 products across 4,500 suppliers.

We invite you to keep an eye out for the relaunch and explore the NED improvements.

If you have questions about NED please contact: sacha.marchant@askned.com.au  or Visit NED

Lenore's Occupational Therapy Driving Assessment Journey: Two years on and the lessons I have learnt

On the 18 January 2018, Lenore Hudson-Taylor’s life changed.

A culmination of symptoms, and concerns raised by her Optometrist had led Lenore to her doctor’s office, several tests later and Lenore was again in her doctor’s office being told she had a cricket ball sized benign brain tumour and she would require surgery.

Lenore underwent brain surgery and woke with a groovy, new half-shaved head, an epic scar, and a challenging road to recovery.

Read more about Lenore's journey

Coronavirus Pandemic Update

In a live conference on Monday 19 October, Premier Mark McGowan up-dated Western Australians regarding changes to our COVID-19 roadmap. He advised that the WA Government would be operating under a modified and extended Phase 4 restrictions which commenced on 24 October.

Selected venues that predominantly hold seated and ticketed events are exempt from the 2 square metre rule and will be permitted to reach up to 60 per cent of their usual maximum capacity.

 Specific venues include:

• Theatres
• Concert halls
• Auditoriums/amphitheatres
• Cinemas
• Comedy lounges
• Performing arts centres.

 These venues are deemed ‘low risk’ as they are seated and ticketed.

WA hard borders, restrictions accessing remote Aboriginal communities and strict quarantine measures will remain in place. No new tentative date has been set for the move to Phase 5 at this point, due to WA's strong health and economic standing.

Western Australia has been fortunate to have more than six months with no community spread of the COVID-19.

What you can do to help keep our community safePlease follow the advice from the Department of Health. This includes:

• Download the COVIDSafe app
• Stay at home if you are unwell
• Practise social distancing
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, or hand sanitiser
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or use your inner elbow
• If you have arrived from overseas or interstate, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

For any changes to Indigo’s service delivery or business operations due to the global pandemic you can  visit  the News page of our website to keep up with the latest information.

If you don’t already follow us on social media we also put out news on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Meet the Team: Administration and Corporate Services #Together

There are many cogs needed to make an organisation run well. Some are bigger, some are more visible, some are smaller, and some are less visible, but every cog is essential.

In this edition’s feature of 'Meet the Team' we embrace one of our values; “Together” and take a wider focus to provide an overview of all our people who provide administration and corporate services support to the organisation.

These members of our team are diverse professionals who work in the background for the most part, and each one of our people completes essential actions to keep Indigo running smoothly. While you may not meet these people on your next visit to our Experience Centre in Nedlands, they wanted to share some of their thoughts and let you know they are here, working behind the scenes and helping to make your time with us go smoothly and easily.

Read more about Indigo's Administration and Corporate Services

 Regulars: Upcoming Events

ATSA Independent Living Expo Dates

Due to the ongoing coronavirus global pandemic, the dates of the Perth ATSA Independent Living Expo have been rescheduled to Wednesday 26 May-Thursday 27 May 2021 8.30am-4pm, 

1 Graylands Rd, Claremont WA 6010.

The expo features a free seminar program and will feature more than 100 different exhibitors showcasing different products and services in assistive technology, mobility solutions, pressure care, employment support, accessible recreation/holiday ideas, and modified motor vehicles.

Register now or call 1300 789 845 or email info@interpoint.com.au   www.atsaindependentlivingexpo.com.au

People with Disabilities WA (PWdWA) State Conference

Indigo is proud to be a sponsor for the inaugural People with Disabilities WA (PWdWA) State Conference, which will be held at the Bendat Centre in Wembley from 19-20 November 2020.

 first for WA, this pioneering conference will become a biennial event and focus on the perspectives, voices, and input of people with disability. It will provide disability information, resources, and opportunities to organisational and peer leaders, and share the lived experience of people with disability.

We will be part of a panel where we share our learnings and experience around the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Register now.

The Niche, Suite A, 11 Aberdare Road, Nedlands WA 6009

Phone: (08) 9381 0600 or 1300 885 886 (the cost of a local call from anywhere in WA) | Email: general@indigosolutions.org.au

Click here to manage your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Copyright © 2020 Indigo, all rights reserved.