A husband and wife team, John Schmuttermaier a Sociologist and Catherine King a Clinical Nurse Consultant, set up LINCS Healthcare in May of 2007.

John and Catherine share a common view that they both wanted to work in an area that allowed them to bring together their unique skills and experiences. They also wanted to do something that would be of benefit to others, was personally rewarding and, of course, would make a positive difference to the way healthcare is delivered in the home.  

Catherine never wanted to stop being a nurse, as nursing has always been something that she is dedicated to and passionate about. Catherine’s experience as a nurse and nurse manager, spanning 30 years in the public and private health sector, meant that she was well placed to run a private community nursing service.

Although John does not have a background in nursing, he also has a passion - a passion for inequality and justice issues. John’s role as a Sociologist, having lectured, researched and published in the area of human behaviour at the University of Queensland, and at Monash University in Victoria, meant that he could add his unique skills to those of Catherine’s.

And so, between them they were in a very good position to start up a business like LINCS Healthcare.

Catherine runs the operational arm and manages all staff. Her role also includes, human relations, relationship management, marketing and the development of the business. 

John's expertise is in setting up and developing the organisational structure, marketing, human resources and change management, research and development, communication, funding through various sources including successful tenders for government services and, general management and oversight of the company.

Together their skill sets have proven to be a unique and successful combination.

One of John’s major achievements since starting up the company was having LINCS Healthcare’s exceptional Case Management Model published in a Journal in the U.S. You can access a copy of his paper and read all about our model by clicking here.  

So, how did they come up with the name LINCS Healthcare? they both wanted a name that embodied a linking process, one that described how they would operationalise the company, by linking healthcare from the hospital setting to the community setting, and which incorporated caring for people in their own homes - a ‘linking’ model.

Catherine was the one to first suggest the name LINCS, although it was initially spelled as ‘LINKS’ we needed it to be an acronym as well, and so LINCS - meaning Leaders IN Care Solutions - was John’s contribution.

When Catherine first suggested the name, John was stunned, as 'LINX' was a name he had considered some years ago during his PhD studies, when he was thinking of starting up his own consulting business, but had since completely forgotten about. You can imagine his reaction when Catherine suggested the name. 

A Short Story from Catherine:

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that while working in the hospital system for approximately 20 years, I hardly gave much thought about home healthcare. It was not until I sought a sea change with my career about 10 years ago, that I ‘stumbled’ across the remarkable world of community. I remember, from my very first day, being wowed and amazed by what was happening in the home environment! I was also inspired by the potential of what could be experienced there.

One of my first clients was a young woman, ‘Tracey’ (not her real name) who had the extreme misfortune of being accidently set alight. Tracey had over 70% burns to her face, torso and all of her limbs. The nurses would visit her each day and assist with her rather complex wound care and application of her pressure garments.

And so, here we were, on a hot summers day, in the middle of her lounge room, a beautiful old Queenslander home, cat curled on the armchair, music playing in the background, chatting about this and that, her mother offering assistance and a cool drink to me after attending her cares. What amazed me the most was Tracey’s positive, relaxed manner and that her pain appeared to be minimal? I remember thinking at the time, ‘this was unusual, nothing at all like nursing in a hospital setting’. I was pleasantly surprised. 

The next little lady I saw that day was Laura (again, not her real name) who was in her late 80’s. Laura still lived in the home that she was born in. Laura had advanced memory issues - short-term memory of less than 1 min - and was a diabetic. She lived on her own, had never married. Her next of kin was a niece who lived in the same city. Yet, here she was greeting us at her door bright and happy, keys around her neck to open the door. Her house was as neat as a pin. ‘Everything has a place and everything in its place’ she used to chant.

Laura was well presented and still cooked the majority of her meals. Although there were some issues she found difficult, such as managing her gas oven – that had been disconnected. The nurses would visit her each morning and assist with her regular medications and insulin. Her medications were kept in a locked box to prevent any risk of accidental overdose.

At times, it took a while for Laura to unlock the door. She could not find the keys that were hanging around her neck, and the bath had overflowed a couple of times onto the downstairs landing. Nonetheless here she was, against all of the odds, living with dementia on her own, and having a happy and active life!

Ever since that day I was ‘hooked on home,’ and believe firmly that people need to be in their own home to recover - recover physically, mentally and spiritually. Since that day, I have met and cared for thousands of people in their own homes and it never ceases to amaze me about what ‘being at home’ means - and how empowering this can be for people. 

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