Acquisitions and openings

In this story:

• Warrigal to build innovative hub
• Australian Unity acquires 50% share in KNS
• BlueCross acquires home
• Providers develop management app
• Pathways opens latest facility

Warrigal to build innovative hub

Warrigal has received a $17 million allocation from the Restart NSW Illawarra Infrastructure fund to build a residential care home and community hub for older people at the Shell Cove Marina.

The Restart fund supports new infrastructure projects in the Illawarra that open new economic opportunities and drive economic growth.

Warrigal said the Shell Cove Residential Care Home and community hub will be an innovative open community where older people will be able to continue living as they choose. They will have optional access to various care types. “It will be the most innovative care service Australia has ever seen,” Warrigal said.

The NSW Government said that Warrigal’s application made good economic sense. The service will deliver 366 jobs during construction with $43.3 million injected into the construction sector, along with 128 direct care jobs when finished with a contribution of $166.6 million to economic output, all for a public kick-start investment of $17 million.

Warrigal CEO Mark Sewell said the Warrigal approach was based on helping older people to continue to be themselves with staff who are trained in its values-based employment methods. “This will enable lots of nurses, carers, physios, cleaners, cooks, gardeners, cooks and others to get great local jobs with a trusted community owned employer who has been around for 46 years. We now have 750 staff at 10 locations and keep winning employment awards for being an employer of choice” said Mr Sewell.

Australian Unity acquires 50% share in KNS

Australian Unity has acquired a 50 per cent share in KNS Essential Services (KNS), the leading provider of home care services in the NSW Southern Highlands.

KNS director Junette Candusso said that Australian Unity’s investment in the business would position it for future growth and service expansion without the need to change existing staff and their employment arrangements.

The directors of KNS had been in discussions with Australian Unity for more than 12 months about a possible investment in the business, Ms Candusso said.

“KNS is thrilled to be joining forces with a large national company who have both a long history in aged care and have been successfully operating in the Bowral area through the Mt Eymard Retirement Village as well as providing a number of home care funded services.”

Australian Unity Retirement Living CEO Derek McMillan said that the organisation was looking to invest further in the region and build on its existing presence.

“We are confident that jointly we can grow the KNS business further and create additional employment in the region over time while of course continuing the same high level of care to clients, and the local community that KNS is renowned for,” Mr McMillan said.

Based in Bowral, KNS is contracted by a number of organisations in the region to provide nursing and personal care services. As well as being a Department of Veterans’ Affairs contracted nursing provider, KNS also delivers home care services to private clients in the area.

BlueCross acquires home

BlueCross has announced the acquisition of Karinya Grove in Sandringham. Formally managed by the Coleman Care Group, Karinya Grove is a 90-bed residence which caters for low care, high care, respite and dementia specific needs.

BlueCross assumed ownership on 8 November 2013.

The provider said its focus was to concentrate on the wellbeing of the residents and to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of care. All existing staff were offered the opportunity to retain their positions and residents’ security of tenure was also guaranteed. “This means for residents and families that their care and the relationships that have been built will be able to continue,” it said.

Providers develop management app

Churches of Christ Care and Mangrove Housing Limited have jointly implemented a new specialist housing management application, SDM Housing Software.

General manager of Churches of Christ Care Housing Services, Frances Paterson-Fleider, said that due to the current and projected growth of both providers, who work on number of projects together, it made sense to share the specialist housing software.

“Churches of Christ Care Housing Services is going through a period of significant growth so it was important that we selected a housing software provider that would support this growth and provide a fully integrated housing system,” Ms Paterson-Fleider said.

“We opted for SDM due to their track record in the UK and their commitment to working with our project team to deliver an affordable product tailored to meet not only our needs, but that of the Australian housing sector.”

The providers said that sharing SDM Housing Software enabled them to maintain business continuity, build joint reporting capability and keep costs to a minimum.

The system would also allow more effective management of tenancies, properties, key performance indicators and other reporting requirements.

Pathways opens latest facility

The Pathways Sailors Bay aged care residence in the Sydney suburb of Northbridge was recently officially opened.

Sailors Bay is the latest development from Pathways Residences, which describes itself as a boutique organisation providing excellence in care, accommodation and services to older Australians.

Among the gardens, which were designed by celebrity gardener Brendon Moar, is a dementia-specific activity garden, themed as a 1950s streetscape. Moar collaborated with noted designer Trisha Shield, a member of the Federal Government’s Dementia and Aged Care Design Guidelines consultancy.