Construction continues on village site

Construction work continues to progress at Korongee, with the ground slabs poured and the timber wall framing now well underway for the three houses in Cluster 1. Retaining walls have been built around Clusters 2 and 3 in conjunction with the laying of ground slabs.

Meanwhile our team is busy looking at the operational requirements for the village and the processes involved for being ready to open in mid-2020. With particular mindfulness of the Australian Government’s new Aged Care Quality Standards which came into effect on 1 July 2019.

As the aged care reforms continue, we are delighted to be at the forefront as part of The Aged Care Workforce Industry Council, of which our CEO Lucy O’Flaherty is a member. The council is comprised of a group of significant industry leaders that will provide the leadership required to help the aged care industry and workforce to transition to the new standards.

The council has commenced work to progress the 14 strategic actions of Australia’s Aged Care Workforce Strategy – A Matter of Care, developed by the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce in 2018.

Mr Ian Hardy AM, former CEO of aged care provider Helping Hand, has been appointed interim chair and he says he believes the new Aged Care Quality Standards provide the perfect vehicle for change.

Another area of focus is the moving in process for Korongee, of which a key element is the matching of residents to houses. Creating an authentic environment is the key to the small house model at Korongee, with residents within each house to be matched by their similar backgrounds, experiences, interests and skills.

In collaboration with The University of Tasmania, a lifestyle questionnaire has been developed based on values, demography and a range of other factors to ensure residents are matched to houses and housemates who they are likely to have more in common with.