Opal to enter home care via BlueCross purchase

National residential aged care provider Opal HealthCare has announced the acquisition of Victorian provider BlueCross’ 31 aged care residences and home care services.

Pending regulatory approvals, Opal HealthCare will take ownership of the services in June this year with the deal marking the provider’s expansion into home care. Opal HealthCare will continue offering the services via the incoming BlueCross team, but the organisation did not not respond directly to a question about whether it would start offering home care more broadly.

“BlueCross’ Home Care team and services will transition to Opal HealthCare when the change of ownership occurs, and will continue to operate as part of Opal HealthCare,” a spokesperson told Australian Ageing Agenda. “We look forward to learning from the expertise of the BlueCross team and embracing this opportunity to support older people who do not need 24-hour care.”

The deal will also see Opal HealthCare support the growth and investment needs of BlueCross residents and clients and the ongoing training and development of staff, the providers said in a joint statement.

BlueCross chief executive officer Ingrid Harvey said the transition of ownership would ensure BlueCross’ legacy continued to grow from strength to strength.

“This union of two leading organisations is founded on a strong alignment of culture, vision and values, and to use a Blue Cross value, we will be simply ‘better together’,” Ms Harvey said.

BlueCross supports more than 2,600 residents and over 1,000 clients living in their own homes with a workforce of over 4,000 employees and hundreds of volunteers.

Opal HealthCare cares for 9,300 residents across 101 care communities in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia with a staff of 13,000. Meaning when the change of ownership is completed, Opal HealthCare will provide care to more than 12,000 residents across 132 care communities around Australia.

Opal HealthCare CEO Rachel Argaman said she was delighted to welcome BlueCross’ aged care team, residents and clients to the organisation.

“At Opal HealthCare, we believe excellent clinical care is essential, but person-centred care includes love, purpose and belonging. Our care communities are our residents’ home, and every person in our care deserves to live with dignity and respect,” Ms Argaman said.

BlueCross and Opal HealthCare teams will work closely together throughout the transition, the statement said.

“Ensuring continuity of care is paramount,” said Ms Argaman who added the organisaiton looked forward to welcoming BlueCross’ team members when the sale completed.

“We know that companies don’t succeed, people do. Together we will continue to serve people across Australia with high-quality and compassionate care.”

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