$30 million aged care proposal

A $30 million aged care development is part of a grant application being developed by Neerim Health in an effort to continue to deliver residential aged care services.

A community meeting last week heard residential aged care was costing the health service $126 per resident per day compared to the sector average of $10.90 per resident per day.

With residential aged care no longer financially viable, 14 Tarago Views aged care residents were told before Christmas they would have to find alternative accommodation by the end of June.

Plans for Neerim Health’s $5 million community health hub were finally unveiled at last week’s community meeting after a government confidentiality clause was lifted with signing of the grant contracts last month.

The community was assured Neerim Health would continue to do what it does best and the board and management hoped aged care respite would be a part of the new community health hub.

With its aged care facility, Tarago Views, running at significant financial losses, board chair Sean Dignum said the board had been exploring other options for 10 years but had no choice.

“We have survived with some terrific donations and bequests - we have limped along...we have no buffers anymore.”

Treasurer David Wells described it as a “one way spiral” that no one else wanted. “No one can afford to take it on,” he said.

But chief executive officer Andrea Linden said the board was preparing a grant application for the next round of the federal government’s aged care capital assistance program for a new aged care facility.

“There’s no guarantee we will get it but we will do our best. We have a very strong case for reintroducing aged care in a new build,” she said.

While warning it will take four to five years to deliver if the grant was successful, Ms Linden said the plans were for a 100 bed facility, private and couple rooms, designated memory support units (dementia areas), staff accommodation, hydrotherapy, cafe, hairdressing and underground car parking.

“We are trying to line up all our ducks. There are no guarantees but it’s our only real option for re-introducing aged care to Neerim Health - we will keep trying,” she said.

Ms Linden said there had been many efforts over the past 10 years to improve facilities but “the biggest hurdle is our ageing infrastructure.”

She said the strength of Tarago Views was its “homely, welcoming and comfortable feel.”

“Our problems are behind the scenes - it’s in the infrastructure, things that haven’t been touched in the past 10 years,” she said.

Ms Linden said the growing list of challenges they faced for the 57-year-old facility included plumbing, sewerage, hot water, heating, uneven floors, stormwater and a rear timber emergency stairway that was not fire proof.

“It does not meet national aged care design principles. Previous boards and management have tried to fix the issues but we do not have the resources without going into significant debt,” she said.

Director clinical services Lauren Mucic said Tarago Views was licensed for 25 beds but had averaged between 14 to 17 residents in the past two years.

She said six of the rooms had ensuites and the remaining residents shared bathrooms.

Often, she said, the feedback from prospective residents and families, was shared bathrooms was not desirable.

“Increased costs with limited bed space means we can no longer support running aged care,” she said.

Ms Mucic said aged care was something Neerim Health did well and the board and staff were keen to transition to home based care.

“There is a gap there that our staff are adequately trained to provide and we can fill that gap by using the strengths of the staff who know the community and providing respite care in hospital beds,” she said.

Community Health Hub

Plans for Neerim Health’s community health hub, being funded by the Federal Government’s $5 million Priority Community Infrastructure Program, were unveiled at Wednesday’s meeting.

Mr Dignum said the grant agreement prohibited the board publicly announcing details of the project until the project was formally signed off on February 16.

Works will begin in July and are expected to be completed in December 2025.

The southern section of the hospital will include group rooms, a rehabilitation gym and a refurbished kitchen.

The Banksia wing will be a hospital ward and patient lounge.

Allied health and consulting rooms also will be incorporated into the renovated facility as well as a new back access, ambulance cover area, new reception and waiting area and office and amenities for staff.