Amaranth Foundation was founded in 2009 and is based in Corowa, NSW – a small rural community on the border of NSW and Victoria.

The purpose of the Foundation is to provide support and assistance to people living in rural communities, who are living with serious and advanced life limiting diseases.

At Amaranth we employ social workers with a committment to working with not just the patient but their families and care givers – the Unit Of Care

Our social workers are experienced in grief and loss counselling, case management, care planning, generalist counselling, assessment and planned interventions for anxiety and depression. We also assist patients, their families and caregivers in understanding the process of dying and preparing for death and bereavement.

Finding or reframing Hope and Meaning when living with a serious or life limiting illness can be difficult.

It is often hard to know what to hope for, when treatment is not aimed at a cure, but rather at maximising comfort and care. Our social workers and staff understand that this asks for a new understanding of the disease process and work with patients and families in developing insights and understandings of the meaning of illness and suffering, grief and loss.

Living with a serious chronic or life limiting illness means living with uncertainty. There can be periods of being very well, and times when the disease takes the upper hand, and relapse or recurrences occur. These times can be difficult, especially if the person has been well for some time. We see our role at Amaranth as supporting people through the well times and also when there is a recurrence or relapse.

A serious chronic illness or life limiting illness can include many advanced cancers, heart failure, chronic obstructive airways disease (COPD), motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and its related forms, kidney failure and advanced dementia.

At Amaranth, we have developed an innovative model of psychosocial palliative care, utilising concepts of packaged care planning whilst emphasising the importance of a professional approach to assessment and intervention based on social work values and standards.

Our social workers are registered and accredited with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Oncology Social Workers of Australian and the AASW Palliative Care Social Work Practice Group.