Christy Lam is an Occupational Therapist who has been working within residential aged care since 2020, joining Plena via the graduate program in that year.
Christy has a special interest in supporting ageing Australians to manage their activities of daily living (ADLs), supporting with equipment prescription, and providing education and training to care staff to assist in the effective care for residents.
From an occupational therapy perspective, the Plena Care Pathway allows therapists to focus on understanding the activities that residents want to do (including ADLs, social, and lifestyle activities), assessing their ability to perform those activities, and developing a tailored treatment plan to achieve them.
Christy worked closely with Physiotherapist Victor Yao in piloting the Plena Care Pathway within residential aged care facilities in 2021 and shared with us her experience providing occupational therapy services as part of the Plena Care Pathway.
“The Plena Care Pathway puts residents at the centre of decision making about their goals, interests and treatment options. By understanding personal goals, and assessing the existing ability to complete activities, we are able to work together and we can then plan an achievable treatment plan. Ensuring the treatment plan is interesting and keeps them motivated makes a huge difference when it comes to achieving their goals!” said Christy.
Plena Care Pathway offers flexibility to the resident, and the facility they call home, with the ability to look beyond medical, mobility, and function focused treatments. With options including tailored treatment and group activities, and lifestyle programs, it allows the resident to choose the program that meets their needs. The program is reviewed and amended at any time, depending on the condition of the resident at each session.
When asked what is most enjoyable about working with senior Australians, Christy shared, “The best thing about working with our residents is hearing their stories. As such a multicultural country, I often hear stories from residents about their backgrounds around different parts of the world – and sometimes those stories are about my home country as well”.
