Nursing Home – Information Sheets
Members of the community who seek admission to St Nicholas Nursing Home or Hostel must meet certain criteria. Admission cannot occur unless the government body, the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) has undertaken assessment, which determines if admission can occur at all. If so, it will give written approval for residential care on a permanent or respite basis. This assessment will indicate if LOW or HIGH level care is required.
The ACAT assessment will take place in the applicant’s own home (or hospital) and can take up to four or more weeks to occur. You (the applicant) or your family can request this assessment from ACAT and it is common for your doctor to make this referral on your behalf.
When assessment by the ACAT has taken place, this is the time to contact St Nicholas’ Executive Director of Nursing, Wendy Bryce, to discuss the admission procedure in detail, as well as financial details relevant to your individual situation. St Nicholas will mail out an Application and Information Package. This package contains an information booklet and three forms for completion. These forms are the Application Form, Medical Form and an Assets Declaration Form. Your treating doctor must complete the Medical Form.
These forms must be returned to St Nicholas as early as possible, along with a copy of the ACAT assessment and a copy of an Enduring Power of Attorney if one is available. The applicant’s name is then placed on the waiting list of St Nicholas for the appropriate area, that is, Nursing Home or Hostel.
The length of time it takes for admission to occur cannot be advised at any time and waiting lists can be very lengthy. This may cause anxiety for many, because St Nicholas is the only facility in Brisbane catering specifically to the Greek aged in our community. It is common for Greek applicants to St Nicholas Nursing Home to be admitted to other Nursing Homes in Brisbane while they wait for a vacancy to arise at St Nicholas. Almost all applicants are unable to converse in any language other than Greek and therefore all have an urgent need to come to St Nicholas.
Persons admitted to St Nicholas Hostel cannot assume that they will automatically be admitted to the St Nicholas Nursing Home when they require it. Vacancies rarely exist in the Nursing Home when there is an urgent need.
If residents care needs are beyond that which can be catered for in the Hostel, alternative placement may need to be sought in a facility other than St Nicholas Nursing Home. If this is required, it  is done with full consultation with the Resident (if able) the Resident’s Family, usually the Enduring Power of Attorney and the Resident’s Doctor. Saint Nicholas has criteria it must meet under the Aged Care Act 1997 if a transfer to a Nursing Home is required. If a resident is admitted to another Nursing Home other than St Nicholas, their name will remain on the Nursing Home waiting list and admission will occur when an appropriate vacancy occurs.
Currently, Saint Nicholas has a 30 single room bed Hostel and a 43 high care bed Nursing Home, with 13 single rooms.
Saint Nicholas has an exemplary reputation in the Aged Care Industry and achieves 100% at all audits.
For further information:
Contact St Nicholas on telephone 3844 6063.
