June 2007

Wangaratta nursing home present for Christmas

Aged care services in Wangaratta could get an early Christmas present with Northeast Health’s new, 62-bed nursing home set to be completed in November.

Community Services Minister Gavin Jennings has inspected work on the $11 million project being built on a two-hectare greenfield site in College Street, Wangaratta.

‘This 12-month project was due to be completed in late December.

‘There is now a good prospect that it will be completed in late November, however, allowing the residents to move in before Christmas.’

Mr Jennings said the new development contained a number of environmentally-friendly initiatives.

‘Large water saving measures will be a feature of this new nursing home.

‘Three underground tanks will store 315,000 litres of roof rain water for use on the garden and for flushing toilets.’

Mr Jennings said local road improvements, including a turning lane and additional curb and guttering, would assist residents, their families and visitors to enter the residential site.

He congratulated the Roman Catholic Trust of Sandhurst Diocese for providing the land to the Department of Human Services under a long-term lease.

‘Because the project did not need to purchase land, that funding was invested in two more respite beds for the nursing home.’

Northeast Health Wangaratta also provides other aged care services, including Extended Aged Care in the Home packages and Community Aged Care packages.

The nursing home project will provide Northeast Health with a residential aged care service to complement its wide range of health, rehabilitation and community-based support now provided.