A new Wollongong startup developing innovative ways to help people age in their own homes is growing steadily and expanding its territory.
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Since starting in July 2017 allcare has employed 22 people and introduced new practices to its rapidly increasing client base.
Founded by UOW commerce graduate Christopher Murphy and Deanne Maunsell allcare is located at the iAccelerate building where it graduated last year. It also has a satellite office in Nowra.
The in-home aged care service provider received institutional investment from Artesian Capital Ventures to help it get started.
Mr Murphy said allcare not only provides a cost effective, innovative and flexible service to its elderly clients but has been developing an app to make it more efficient.
"We are building a technology layer that enhances client experience, and improves client health outcomes," he said.
"Part of our vision is to build a system that allows us to communicate with the care centre workers remotely and the clients to be able to tap in to easily access their own information.
"We are recruiting for developers at the moment".
Mr Murphy said the idea behind allcare was born after he returned from Sydney and San Francisco where he worked in finance for a startup. His job included capital raising and investor relations.
His mother Carol Murphy was a community service worker and the government was deregulation the in-home care package market
Ms Maunsell was a family friend and told Mr Murphy how she wanted to start her own service provider that is both nimble and flexible.
After a six month process gaining accreditation with the Department of Health allcare ramped up in February 2018.
It has since employed 22 people who are working in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands.
allcare is now looking to expand into South West Sydney and Canberra.
"We are scaling up very very quickly," Mr Murphy said.
Ms Maunsell said with the changes in the sector she realised there was an opportunity to run an efficient flexible business that gave clients more hours for far less cost. And have more control.
"We sat down with clients before we started to ask them what was important to them," she said.
They raised things like pet care and flexible transport options.
Wellness is a priority and allcare works with Savvy Fitness to develop a program that clients can do one-on-one or in a group.
"allcare is creating an environment which is flexible and reliable," Ms Maunsell said.
Consistency was a identified as a priority for clients who want to keep seeing the same person.
"We have also been using professional cleaning services, Ms Maunsell said.
"Care centre workers are trained to do really great work but can spend four or five hours a day cleaning. We actually have professional cleaners come in. The care centre workers are happier because they are able to spend the time doing medication monitoring, social support and the showers".
allcare has six office staff, 18 care centre workers and is recruiting more. It looks for people who are the right fit for such work and provides its own training to successful applicants who have a minimum of a Certificate III. The training includes things like how to do the work while making a difference in someone's life.
"We are currently providing around 2000 hours of care a month which equates to about 66 hours of care every day," Mr Murphy said.
"We are looking at how we can maintain quality assurance and grow in size without compromising the quality of care".
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
