In this story:

• The Whiddon Group adds to its Narrabri services
• Archer Capital buys Lend Lease's Australian aged care business
• BlueCross picks up a new home in Melbourne
• Arcare buys two facilities in south-east Queensland
• Wesley Mission opens $30 million development in Sydney's north-west
• Baptist Community Services set to open independent living complex in Sydney's Hills district

Compiled by Natasha Egan

Acquisitions

The Whiddon Group has boosted its services in the north-western New South Wales town of Narrabri after purchasing the Jessie Hunt Nursing Home from the Domain Principal Group. Whiddon Group CEO Lee-ann Irwin said Jessie Hunt Nursing home had been an important part of the local community and would continue to be so under The Whiddon Group’s management. 

The acquisition of Jessie Hunt complements and adds to the range of services already provided by The Whiddon Group and supports the long term viability of residential aged care in the Narrabri area, she said. The Whiddon Group, a non-profit organisation, provides aged care services in 18 rural and remote NSW locations. Services include residential care, in-home community care, respite care, and independent living units. The purchase was made official on March 1.

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Australian Aged Care Partners, which is controlled by Archer Capital, has entered into a $270 million agreement to acquire Lend Lease’s Australian aged care business. It comprises 2,338 beds in 30 facilities plus a development pipeline of 563 beds across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. The new owner has said it will retain the current management team and employees at every facility. Archer Capital partner Ben Frewin said a three-year evaluation of investment opportunities in the aged care sector showed Lend Lease Aged Care was a well run aged services provider. Archer Capital is committed to investing further capital to help meet Australia’s increasing demand for residential aged care, he said. Former managing director and a founder of DCA Aged Care, David Armstrong, will be appointed to Chief Executive Officer. General Manager of Lend Lease Aged Care’s operations, Suzanne Petterson, will be appointed Chief Operating Officer. Lend Lease CEO and managing director Steve McCann said the sale was in line with the group’s strategy and continuing focus on capital recycling and the divestment of non-core businesses. Mr McCann said aged care was more closely aligned to healthcare services than property and therefore considered non-core. Lend Lease acquired the business as part of the Primelife acquisition in 2009. The transaction is expected to close in March 2013.

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BlueCross has taken over Scotchman’s Creek Aged Care Residence in Melbourne’s south-east from Ageing Together effective March 1. The Mount Waverly facility, which is home to 134 residents, caters for low care, high care, respite and dementia needs. BlueCross said it was pleased to welcome staff and residents to the BlueCross fold. All existing staff have been offered the opportunity to retain their positions and resident’s security of tenure has also been guaranteed. BlueCross said the acquisition complemented its portfolio and investment strategy and was a highly valued addition to the organization, which has invested in developing residences that provide first-class person-centred care focusing equally on leisure and lifestyle. 

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Arcare has announced it will add 112 beds to its portfolio with the acquisition of two south-east Queensland residential Aged Care facilities from the IBIS Group. 

The quality of buildings and great locations of the St James Park facility in Helensvale and the Ritz in Hope Island make them a perfect fit with existing and upcoming facilities, said Colin Singh, Arcare CEO. The new owner has said it will retain all existing staff and employ more if necessary. This purchase plus new facilities being built in Peregian Springs, Hope Island and Maroochydore, which respectively open in April 2013, November 2013 and 2014, will increase Arcare’s QLD Aged Care facilities from four to nine. The IBIS acquisitions demonstrate the organisation’s commitment to south-east Queensland’s local communities where Acare employs over 600 people, said Pat McCarthy, Arcare’s QLD regional manager. Arcare is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Knowles Group.

New Developments

Above: Wesley Mission CEO, the Rev Dr Keith Garner, Carol Garner, Federal Member for Bennelong, John Alexander, NSW Attorney General, Minister for Justice and State Member for Epping, Greg Smith, General Manager, Enterprise, Wesley Mission, Elizabeth Orr and NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell in the kitchen in the dementia unit of the new $30 million Wesley Rayward Carlingford.

Wesley Mission’s $30 million ageing-in-place care facility in Carlingford in Sydney’s north-west is open for business. Wesley Rayward Carlingford features 74 boutique single accommodation rooms, 14 of which are in a dedicated dementia unit. The development also includes 16 new independent living units (ILU) at the adjacent Alan Walker Village, bringing the total there to 220 ILUs. Welsley Mission describes the home as a hotel/resort type facility with high-tech monitoring and 24-hour nursing care. All rooms have an en-suite, emergency call button, hi-lo adjustable bed and plasma television. The fully-air conditioned facility has an interactive communications system via residents’ television screens. Services include a hairdressing salon, internet café, cinema, kiosk, coffee shop, therapy rooms for allied health professionals, chapel and lounge and relaxation areas for residents to mingle. Activities on the menu include games, crafts, concerts, movie afternoons and bus trips. The dementia unit has a purpose designed indoor area and outdoor courtyard. The courtyard includes unencumbered circular pathways, an immobilised car on blocks, clothes hoist and laundry, raised garden bed and potting shed, and a bus stop and post box. There is a fireplace and hearth indoors plus a retro style working kitchen with adjustable bench heights and a typewriter. The facility, which is named after the late Rev Dr Frank Rayward, who was the Superintendent of Wesley Mission from 1938 to 1957, was officially opened on March 1 by Wesley Mission CEO the Rev Dr Keith Garner. He was joined at the plaque unveiling ceremony by New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell. The ageing-in-place boutique room style facility is a pro-active response to an evolving and varied social context, Dr Garner said. 

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Above: The Gracewood Community Kellyville, the latest and largest Baptist Community Services NSW & ACT development 

Baptist Community Services (BCS) NSW & ACT will next week officially open its latest and largest development, The Gracewood Community Kellyville in Sydney’s north-west Hills district. The independent living development, which offers seniors independent and assisted living, comprises 73 modern 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, a pool, a gym, medical consulting rooms, a dining area, multipurpose room, library, business centre and coffee shop. The apartments include age-friendly features such as easy-open drawers, waistlevel power points, emergency monitoring technology, environmental and energy-saving ideas and materials including recycled water. All apartments have large balconies and terraces integrating indoor and outdoor living areas. Also operating within The Gracewood Community and beginning this month is a BCS Care Centre providing in-home care services to the Hills district. A community centre on site offering respite services will commence in July. The care service offerings are a key feature of the service delivery model that BCS is offering at the new community, said Ross Low, BCS CEO. It is about providing choices and a continuum of care that allows people to access the services they require as they age, he said.