BarbCare was formed after visits to Louises' mother, Barbara, had left us feeling estranged from a lady who had previously been an intricate member of our family. We felt she had become isolated from our daily lives.
We experienced a disconnect with her carers and professional support. They weren't available at the time of our visits and information we gave wasn’t always passed on. We understood that this was probably due to the busy nature of Aged facilities but we were sad that she was no longer a real part of our lives.
We were aware that many of the staff had developed a relationship with Barbara but they were just names to us as we were to them. We knew that people cared for Barbara but without faces to names we couldn’t develop a trusting relationship.
We firmly believed that Aged Care residents needed something that could support open honest communication so that relationships between the resident and their family, carers and professional support could flourish.
This is why we developed a system -BarbCare- that supports this concept and gives peace of mind to families
Our idea initially was a communication App for Barbara and others, to send videos, photos and generally chat. We then decided that this communication should include relevant professionals who cared for her ( we had attended appointments with Barbara for many years as an extra ear).
After discussion with other families we realised that realtime updates in medication, accident reports, meals and a variety of other important information would also help keep the connection and improve care and communication.
It was important that this information was able to be accessed in real time and therefore our original idea grew into the development of an operating system to enable this to happen.
We believe
We operated a successful family company for over 10 years. Our primary interest was in Early Childhood initially as our professions were in that arena.
Personal experience in Aged Care quickly brought into focus the similarities, and that families at both ends of life rely heavily on professionals in the care of family members.
Trust and a warm relationship developed through respect was always our focus and was the reason our business was largely successful in a very competitive market. We strived to compliment the families’ care, not overtake, so the combination of client, professionals and family produce the optimal support for the client.
Each of our company directors offer unique skills which have allowed us to develop our business through the common goals
Our founding members consist of husband and wife, David and Louise, and two of their children Lauren and Zac
Barbcare Founder
In her teenage years Louise was often a volunteer in community projects. She undertook a leadership course for Cubs and met her husband. When they moved to a semi-rural town Louise got involved in committees to press Council to organise playgroups and preschools in the area.
While raising their three children Louise became a volunteer at one of these preschools supporting children with additional needs. Her passion for inclusion drove her to achieve her degree in Early Childhood.
Louise has worked in private, community managed and local government services. She moved into supervisory roles managing numerous services including, Aboriginal Access of Preschools, Out of Hours care for children with disabilities and a support service funding initiated by the Federal government.
Louise held the position of Authorised Supervisor of the Child Care service.
Barbcare Founder
David started work as a hand and machine compositor moving into Graphic design. His hobbies were surfing and scouting. He achieved his Queen Scout Award and he took on the role of Scout Master for a few years, it was there that he met his wife Louise. They have been married for 47 years.
David worked on a number of newspapers and magazines over the years before retiring. Retirement didn’t last long, and David completed an OHS course moved into a position of Maintenance Officer and ensured the business complied with all governance and regulative guidelines.
Barbcare Founder
Zac is married to Sandie and they have two children, Keenya and Jake. They live in a rural town.Sandie runs an Equestrian business. They have 7 horses, 3 dogs and 3cats along with numerous other pets.
Zac started working towards a Law degree after leaving school. He worked part time at Sydney Casino while studying eventually moving to full time as a Supervisor.
Zac played Australian Rules and Cricket in his spare time attaining a place in a Poidevin Grey Shield for Campbelltown City Cricket Club.
After moving to Melbourne he worked in the County court and then moved into the Australian Tax Office.
Zac joined the Child Care centre, completed a course in Early Childhood and worked as our Financial Officer until we sold the business.
Barbcare Founder
While studying at high school Lauren was chosen to play soccer and travelled extensively overseas playing in a number of countries. She captained the winning side during her trip to Argentina, also seeing large areas of poverty for the first time. Lauren continues to coach Women’s soccer in her spare time.
Once she finished year 12 Lauren completed her Diploma in Early Childhood and worked in a number of services in NSW and Victoria before joining our business and becoming a supervisor of up to 75 staff, organising rosters, mentoring and arranging training.
Lauren has one daughter Madison who is currently working towards her VCE
BarbCare is a complete client data base that, along with the professional App and Family App, ensures that all relevant people are capturing the client’s wishes, and all reports, medications, routines are in the one place.
BarbCare is not
BarbCare is a simple communication tool designed to improve communication for families to keep them connected.