Broadbent Welcomes Aged Care Funding

BROADBENT WELCOMES FUNDING FOR PROM COAST AGED CARE

The Member for McMillan, Russell Broadbent, has welcomed the announcement of a $9,000,000 capital funding grant from the Federal Government for Prom Country Aged Care for the development of its proposed facility at Foster.

“This is a wonderful outcome for the Prom Country Aged Care Association and a just reward for the years of hard work they have put in to planning and fund-raising for this project.

“It will enable them to go ahead with the construction of a purpose built facility that will consolidate existing aged care facilities at Foster and Toora onto the one site.

“It will guarantee long-term availability of appropriate care for the aged in an area of demonstrated need.”

“I congratulate all of the people who have worked so hard on this project.”

Media Contacts:

Kevin Carmody – 03 5623 2064 or 0408 545 349

10A Napier Street, Warragul, Vic 3820 – Tel: (03) 5623 2064 Fax: (03) 5623 2509 Toll Free: 1300 132 581

Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 – Tel: (02) 6277 4233 Fax: (02) 6277 8485

New Aged Care Facility To Open In Foster

MEDIA RELEASE

PROM COUNTRY AGED CARE SCOOPS THE POOL WITH FUNDING FOR NEW AGED CARE FACILITY IN FOSTER

Prom Country Aged Care (PCAC) has been awarded $9 million from the Federal Government’s Capital Grant’s program to build an $11.7 million, 60-bed residential aged care facility in Foster.
It is thought to be the largest-ever capital grant to be awarded to a regional aged care facility, and is the second largest capital grant to be approved in Victoria this year.

Robert Knight, Prom Country Aged Care’s President is thrilled. “This was PCAC’s first attempt to secure such a grant. It is wonderful news for our residents and their families – and a tremendous boost for the entire Prom Coast district,” he said.
The new facility, which has received strong support from the community, will provide 30 high care and 30 ‘ageing in place’ places.

This means that as residents become more frail and their care needs change, they can continue to live in the same place and be saved the distress of having to move to the unfamiliar surrounds of a nursing home.

“The future of aged care services in the district is now secure, and tomorrow’s residents will be ensured absolute continuity of care and comfort.
“We will not only be able to offer the most modern, purpose-built facilities, but will operate so much more efficiently within a single facility. It will provide the cost savings we desperately needed to secure our long-term viability,” he said.
PTO

Mr Knight added that while the location of the new facility is still to be nailed down, the Board’s preferred location is on land currently owned by South Gippsland Hospital.

“This would position us at the heart of the health precinct, adjacent to the Hospital and Medical Centre – and close to Foster’s bustling town centre.
“Discussions between the PCAC and South Gippsland Hospital Boards are continuing.”

Mr Knight said that he expects the Board to let contracts in the next 6-9 months and anticipates that the aged care facility’s residents and staff will move into their new premises by 2012.
“This project will create a significant number of jobs and boost local businesses in the process. We are excited and very thankful,” he said.

For more information contact:
Robert Knight, President
Prom Country Aged Care
Mob: 0429 703 905

Joanne Stringer, General Manager
Prom Country Aged Care
Mob: 0419 573377

New Aged Care Facility Planned

MEDIA RELEASE

NEW AGED CARE FACILITY ON THE CARDS FOR CORNER INLET

A new, state-of-the art residential aged care facility could be built in Foster if a Federal Government funding application being submitted next month is successful.

Prom Country Aged Care (PCAC) President, Robert Knight, said the proposal would see the two existing homes – Prom View Lodge in Toora and Banksia Lodge in Foster – combined into a single new 60-bed facility that would care for the needs of all residents, regardless of whether they needed low or high levels of care.

The proposed changes emerged from a strategic planning process that the PCAC Board undertook earlier this year with the help of aged care expert, Dennis Boyd of DRB Strategic Management Essentials.

“We conducted an in-depth review of our facilities to see how they could meet our community’s future needs and expectations bearing in mind predicted shifts in demand for aged care services and changes to government funding”, he said.

The review revealed that over the next few years demand for low care hostel accommodation, such as at Banksia Lodge, will decrease, while the need for high care nursing home accommodation, such as at Prom View Lodge, will grow.

Mr Knight said that this shift in demand presents PCAC with a major problem because the current facilities cannot provide the flexibility needed to accommodate a changing mix of residents, from low care to high care.

Prom Country Aged Care is faced with three significant challenges:

1. Banksia Lodge was never designed to accommodate high care residents and it doesn’t meet the necessary high care building certification standards. The cost to modify the premises to bring them up to high care standard would be prohibitive;

2. Prom View Lodge is old, the cost of maintaining it is high and it cannot meet modern-day expectations; and

3. Providing residential services from two geographically distant sites means there is limited ability to share resources and the subsequent duplication of services leads to higher than necessary operating costs.

Mr Knight says that PCAC’s high cost structure is putting the organisation’s long-term financial viability at risk.

“We are currently losing money on our daily operations and the only thing that keeps us afloat is the interest we earn on residents’ bonds. This means we’re seriously vulnerable. If we’re not profitable, we can’t invest in the future and we won’t be here in five years”.

The review identified that cost savings of more than $200,000 a year could be achieved through reduced duplication in areas such as information technology and communications systems, maintenance, accreditation costs, meals and laundry services, management systems and travel time, if the two operations merged.

“It’s clear to the Board that we need to make some big decisions now to ensure we are able to meet our community’s future needs”, he said.

Mr Knight said that combining low care and high care services in one flexible facility would have profound benefits for residents and their families.

“A recent trend in residential aged care is the introduction of ‘ageing in place’, which enables people to receive low-level or high-level care in the same place of residence.

“It’s especially beneficial for couples with different care needs who, under the current system, might need to be separated. Ageing in place spares residents the distress of having to move from a familiar low care hostel to an unfamiliar nursing home when they become more frail and their care needs change.

“This is a really significant issue for our residents and their families, and we now have an opportunity to remove that cause of stress and anxiety from their lives”.

The new facility is expected to generate job opportunities in a number of areas, including nursing, lifestyle and activities and personal care.

A search for potential sites is currently being discussed, with an emphasis on finding one close to Foster’s hospital and medical centre.

Proximity to a range of other community services, including the Senior Citizens Club, library, theatre, shopping and allied health services contributed to Foster being the preferred location.

“If our funding application is successful and we are able to secure suitable land, we would expect the new service would be up and running in around three to five years”, Mr Knight said.

For more information contact:

Joanne Stringer (Prom Country Aged Care) Mob: 0419573377