Green light for Teaching Nursing Home
The South Australian Government has backed a comprehensive teaching nursing home plan with a leading SA aged care provider combining care, research and education
Above: ACH Group CEO, Dr Mike Rungie at Health Minister’s media conference
South Australian provider, ACH group will partner with the South Australian government and Flinders University in a new 120 bed Teaching and Aged Care Rehabilitation Facility at Adelaide’s Repatriation General Hospital (RGH) in the southern suburb of Daw Park.
An announcement by South Australian Minister for Health, Mr John Hill in late December, said the RGH redevelopment would combine teaching, research, aged care and rehabilitation services in one location and, if approved, would see work commencing in March and completed by June 2013.
The new $17 million Teaching Aged Care and Rehabilitation Facility will be funded by ACH Group and Flinders University with the state government providing $32.27 million for the remaining component of the redevelopment.
Part of the state government’s contribution comes from the $1.57 million sale of a block of land adjoining the existing hospital site, to the ACH Group to house the new three-storey, aged-care, training and rehabilitation block.
The 120 beds in the new Teaching Aged Care and Rehabilitation Facility will comprise 60 new residential aged care beds to be operated by ACH Group, plus 40 existing transition care/flexible care places to be operated by ACH under contract to the Adelaide Health Service, which will provide medical and allied health services. These include 24 flexible ‘step-up, step-down’ care beds and 16 transition care beds for patients preparing to return home.
An additional 20 rehabilitation beds will be operated by the Department of Health.
The new building will also include teaching and research spaces for university students and staff.
The expansion of the existing rehabilitation facility will provide additional consulting rooms, therapy gyms and rehabilitation areas, laboratory services and staff/student shared spaces.
Minister for Health, Mr John Hill said bringing these services together would improve patient care, while combining health services with research and training, would create a dynamic, forward-looking environment for the next generation of clinicians.
“Most importantly, the facility will provide more aged care beds in the southern suburbs,” said Minister Hill.
“ACH is a significant and well-established provider of aged care services throughout SA and we are really pleased to be working with them at the Repat,” he said.
ACH Chief Executive Officer, Dr Mike Rungie said, “Older people tell us that to live a good life they want to stay in control of their lives and stay well and healthy. Increasingly they want the information and support to do this.”
“The range of innovative and co-located rehab and restorative services at the Repat Teaching Aged Care and Rehab Facility will be a centre of South Australian and Australian excellence in working with older people,” Dr Rungie said.
SA Health said it had consulted with a wide range of stakeholders regarding the development of the new Teaching and Aged Care Rehabilitation Facility at RGH, including clinicians from the Repat and FMC, representatives from the veteran community, and the council for the City of Mitcham. There are also plans for a community open day, to provide more information to local residents and gather feedback on the development.
