Bolton Clarke villages awarded ARVAS accreditation
Aged care provider Bolton Clarke’s 24 retirement villages have been accredited under the Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme.
Bolton Clarke’s 24 retirement villages across New South Wales and Queensland have been awarded accreditation under the industry’s national scheme.
The Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme, which is co-owned by Leading Age Services Australia and the Property Council of Australia and operated by not-for-profit independent accreditation provider Quality Innovation Performance, launched in October 2019.
ARVAS has been designed to incorporate the standards of the Retirement Living Code of Conduct and is only open to villages who sign up to the code.
Bolton Clarke is the third provider accredited under the scheme and the largest scale accreditation from a single provider.
Anglicare’s Wollondilly Gardens in Goulburn NSW and Brindabella Court and St David’s Close in the Australian Capital Territory and Cardinia Waters’ village Pakenham in Victoria received ARVAS accreditation last month.
Bolton Clarke general manager of retirement living Kim Teudt said the accreditation highlighted the organisation’s commitment to best practice.
“It’s a significant achievement in that we are meeting best practice standards and we strive to achieve great outcomes for customers,” Ms Teudt told Australian Ageing Agenda.
“[It] provides assurance to incoming and existing residents, their families and friends that they’re living in an environment that meets industry standards,” Ms Teudt said.
The accreditation process, which Bolton Clarke commenced 18 months ago, involved a rigorous independent assessment process, she said.
“Unlike in previous accreditation frameworks… every single site, including head office has a full assessment against the standards,” Ms Teudt said.
The assessment process is based on a criteria aligned with the code including community management, human resources management, resident entry and exit, resident engagement and feedback, community environment, safety and security and resident care.
The feedback received during the assessment process provided additional benefits, Ms Teudt said.
“We are always looking to improve and receiving feedback from the assessment team and residents during the process is another way of measuring our resident satisfaction and the things that are important to them,” she said.
Ms Teudt recommended other retirement village operators pursuing to start the process sooner rather than later.
She also advised providers to appoint a single point of contact for the organisation to input data consistently.
Bolton Clarke plans to undertake the accreditation process again at the end of the three-year period.
“Our commitment to ongoing accreditation is of utmost importance,” she said.
LASA CEO Sean Rooney said the accreditation meant new and existing residents could be confident they were living in a village that met the highest standards of safety, security, management and general living.
“Congratulations to Bolton Clarke for being among the first to achieve ARVAS accreditation and for setting the standard for the rest of the industry,” Mr Rooney said in a statement.
Retirement Living Council president Marie-Louise MacDonald said the commitment shown by Bolton Clarke to ensure they met the standards of service through the whole resident experience was what makes the industry great.
“I hope to continue seeing more operators investing in their staff and communities to help residents live their best possible retirement lifestyle,” Ms MacDonald said in a statement.
Main image: Bolton Clarke Breezes, Mackay, Queensland
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