Helping Hand to acquire Kindred Living
Helping Hand has announced it is moving ahead with the acquisition of Kindred Living following the approval of both organisations’ boards.
South Australian not-for-profit aged care provider Helping Hand has announced it is moving ahead with the acquisition of Kindred Living in Whyalla following the approval by the boards of both organisations.
The decision follows Helping Hand taking on the management of Kindred Living’s aged care services in November 2021. The deal includes Kindred Living’s two aged care homes, 11 retirement living units and homes care services. It also secures the employment of more than 200 local staff in Whyalla, a seaport on the east coast of the state’s Eyre Peninsula.
Helping Hand CEO Chris Stewart said the decision was an outstanding outcome that would ensure aged care services in the region.
“We have worked extremely hard to create a sustainable business model that delivers a high standard of care to those most vulnerable in the Whyalla community,” Mr Stewart said in a statement. “Our intention is to move ahead with the acquisition and transfer of Kindred Living to Helping Hand by 25 November 2022, coinciding with the conclusion of the existing management agreement.”
Helping Hand board chair Professor Brenda Wilson said the aged care royal commission raised concerns about access to aged care services in regional, rural and remote areas, including for people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Our expansion in Whyalla will enable Helping Hand to deliver services that significantly benefit older Australians in the region,” she said.
Kindred Living is “delighted” Helping Hand has agreed to the acquisition, said chairman Tim Weiss. “We know that aged care services across regional Australia are under pressure, and so this is a great result,” he said.
Mr Stewart said there was much work to do over the next few months to finalise the deal and that Helping Hand would continue to work side by side with Kindred Living staff.
Helping Hand supports 7,000 older people and employs 1,900 staff across South Australia. It provides home care services across the Barossa Valley, Mid North, Lower North, Yorke Peninsula and Eyre Peninsula, and has nine residential care homes and six retirement living sites in Clare, Port Pirie, Jamestown and throughout Adelaide.
Main image: Chris Stewart and Tim Weiss
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