The year past hasn’t been good for big multinational aged-care providers, let alone the people unfortunate enough to find themselves living in one of their homes.
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Fairfax Media ran numerous investigations throughout 2017, most recently in October, exposing how cost cutting and under-staffing has led to shocking neglect and the mistreatment of elderly residents.
In one horrifying case, 83-year-old Dawn Weston, a resident Chamberlain Gardens nursing home on the NSW Central Coast, died from gangrenous pressure sores which her daughter believes were hidden from her family by staff.
All of these stories, finally being told by heartbroken families and disgusted former staffers, amount to a national crisis.
More than 195,000 Australians live in aged-care, more than half of whom have dementia. They are some of our most vulnerable citizens, and they have been let down.
For many elderly people, watching the numerous exposés over the past year must have been a deeply sobering experience.
But it’s with great pleasure we write that for Junee’s senior citizens, the news has been far more encouraging.
Last Wednesday, a massive 80 people fronted up to a meeting on the development of the new Lifestyle Village project.
With a Wagga developer locked in, the ball is now very much rolling for Adrian Eisenhauer’s old Australia Day dream of a place to grow old in Junee.
At this early stage, 52 people will be able to own their own home on the Park Lane block, walking distance from town.
It’s a far cry from the big-business models now famous for all the wrong reasons. It’s a local idea brought alive by a passionate group of local people.
At the same time, independently-run Cooinda Court, home to 22 residents, is taking steps to acquire its land from the state government and ensure it can grow to meet the town’s demand.
Offering independent living and control, the Lifestyle Village fills a gap in the market that’s until now driven lifelong Junee residents out of town.
For both, there are big hurdles to overcome. But if Cooinda Court is able to successfully buy back their land and the momentum surrounding the Park Lane Lifestyle Village builds at its current pace, our senior citizens will certainly have something to smile about.
