Anam Cara House Geelong is a specialist palliative care hospital and day hospice. We welcome referrals for all people with a life limiting illness over the age of 16. Some exclusions appl, but each referral will be assessed individually and discussed with the referring party. 

Living Well Day Palliative Care Program – flexible day palliative care for adults of all ages. 

Overnight Palliative Care – overnight inpatient care for people living with a life-limiting diagnosis.

End of Life (opening February 2024) – overnight care for people with life limiting diagnosis at the end of life.

Community Outreach – assessment and referral, advance care planning, care navigation, support and education, equipment loan.

A roster of qualified palliative care physicians is available 24/7.  Should a physician be uncontactable the Registered Nurse will contact the Medical Director. 

Medical Workforce:

Director of Medical Services

Director of Palliative Care

Palliative Care Physicians 

Nursing Workforce

Chief Operating Officer / Director of Nursing 

Associate Directors of Nursing 

Registered Nurses

Medication endorsed Enrolled Nurses 

Education Manager

Quality and Risk Manager 

Access and Resources Nurse 

Allied Health Workforce

Pastoral Care / Spiritual Care

Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work 

We will continue to liaise and work closely with your General Practitioner or specialist consultant, they will be kept well updated whilst guests are admitted under our care. 

Referrals can be made by any medical practitioner, nursing staff, allied health, family, friends and yourself. Contact the Director of Nursing referrals@achg.org.au or Community Outreach communityoutreah@achg.org.au.

Not all people with a life-limiting diagnosis are linked in with services, know what services are available or what services they are entitled to access. That is where the Community Outreach Nurse can assist.

The Community Outreach Nurse assesses the needs of the person with the life-limiting diagnosis. They then refer to the most appropriate service. These other services may include allied health (physio/OT/speech therapist/dietetics), counselling, community nursing, community palliative care, in-home palliative care services such as Complete Care through Multicultural Community Services Geelong. Anam Cara House Geelong has a small equipment loan bank.

The nurse can refer to Community Palliative Care, liaise with your Doctor for referral to Barwon Health Palliative Care Services for admission or refer to Anam Cara House Geelong. The Community Outreach Nurse can assist/advise re access/paperwork for other services.

During the assessment and referral process the Community Outreach Nurse will liaise and collaborate with you, your Doctor and other services to achieve the most appropriate outcome for you and your carer.

Our new home is located at Zone 4, Nicol Drive South, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds. 

Anam Cara House Geelong is non-denominational and accepts people of all faiths or social circumstances.

The nursing staff will be monitoring your condition just as they would in a hospital, in fact several of our nursing staff work at both an acute hospital and Anam Cara House Geelong. Should there be any changes in your condition noted, the nurses will contact your Doctor and advise them of your condition. The Doctor’s orders will be actioned; this could be a change in medication or transfer to an acute hospital.

Anam Cara House Geelong has an escalation policy and depending on the patient’s condition, will follow the appropriate protocol. Which could include Emergency Ambulance transfer to Barwon Health Emergency Department or liaising with your Doctor to arrange transfer to the hospital of your choice.

As a palliative care provider, Anam Cara House Geelong does not have a resuscitation team, but our nursing staff are competent in CPR and can continue this and other emergency care until the paramedics arrive and takeover your care.

Yes they will be. Please advise the nursing staff on admission to the organisation and provide a copy of your advance care plan/directive. This document guides your care and ensures that your wishes are respected and followed.

Bed-based overnight and end-of-life care will commence in February 2024, made available to those guests with private health insurance or who are self-funded. Anam Cara will continue in its advocacy to the State Government for recurrent funding, aiming to progress as soon as possible for the bed-based services to be freely accessible to all, regardless of their life circumstance. A fee schedule will be available from February 2024.

Bed-based overnight and end-of-life care will commence in February 2024, made available to those guests with private health insurance or who are self-funded. Anam Cara will continue in its advocacy to the State Government for recurrent funding, aiming to progress as soon as possible for the bed-based services to be freely accessible to all, regardless of their life circumstance.

In order to provide the best end of life care, for everyone who needs it, we rely on ongoing philanthropic support and community funding. It’s imperative that we see further investment in Palliative Care services to ensure that everyone has equal access.

Private and Self-funded care options:

If we have a contract in place with your private health insurer you will not be required to pay a co contribution payment.

If we do not have a contract with your private health insurer you will be required to pay a co contribution payment. The amount the payment will vary depending on the amount your fund will cover. This amount is expected to be around $200 per day, but will be fund by fund dependent.

Informed Financial Consent (IFC) will be provided prior to all admissions to Anam Cara House Geelong. This is a process that involves our team and guests (patients) working together to ensure that patients understand the costs and benefits of their admission options, charges, and out-of-pocket costs before admission to our facility.

It is a collaboration between doctors, hospitals, and health insurers to provide information to patients about the costs associated with treatment and the private health insurance benefits payable. 

If you do not have private health insurance we can assist you to access appropriate treatment at Anam Cara House Geelong through our ‘self-funded care’ option. If you are self-funded we will provide you with a financial estimate and all the required information for self-funding prior to your admission.

There may be some circumstances where the cost of your care is different to the amount you were estimated and paid upfront prior to admission. This could occur if your needs change or if you require additional or less time at Anam Cara House Geelong.

We will outline all expected and potential costs prior to admission. Any additional costs will be discussed with you, including the reasons these costs were incurred and the options for payment.

*A co-payment is a fixed amount that you are required to pay for each day you stay at Anam Cara House Geelong. It is important to note that co-payments are different from excess payments, which are the amount you pay towards your admission before your insurer pays anything – an extra out of pocket expense. If you have any questions about your policy, it is best to contact your health insurance provider directly.

If your circumstances don’t allow for a co-payment, we will review your situation on a case-by-case basis. You will be asked to provide evidence to accompany your financial position.