Past, present and future come together at Lilydale
Beryl Scott remembers Victoria’s old Lilydale hospital well. Her youngest daughter was born there during the time that her late husband, the Reverend Ronald Scott, was Lilydale’s Presbyterian minister and visiting hospital chaplain between 1952 and 1965.
Lilydale resident, Beryl Scott, right, with Suzanne Petterson, Allity chief operating officer.
Now, decades later, Mrs Scott, pictured, lives on the very same site, but as a resident of Lilydale Aged Care, a $12 million re-development which officially opened today (Thursday, 27 February).
“I remember the hospital very well. When my youngest was born, children – the siblings – were not allowed to come in, so I remember waving to them through the hospital window as they jumped up and down outside,” Mrs Scott said. “So, there are many memories here for me and for the local community,” she added.
Situated on the old Dame Nellie Melba Bush Nursing Hospital site, which subsequently became the Lilydale Hospital, the state of the art aged care home is now offers high quality accommodation and comprehensive support services for 65 low care and 31 high care residents.
The present and future are not the only timeframes embraced by the new Lilydale Aged Care home. The site holds many special and historical memories for the local community. These are brought together in a memorial wall within the new facility.
Lilydale Aged Care is owned and managed by Allity, one of Australia’s providers of quality care for the aged.
David Armstrong, Allity chief executive, said: “This is a wonderful, warm and welcoming place – a home in every sense of the word. It proudly continues the history of care and community that has always been a feature of this site.
“The lives and stories of our residents at Lilydale are the fabric of this district’s history, community and spirit,” he said.
Mr Armstrong highlighted that this commitment to quality was part of Allity’s ethos of “making every day the best it can be” for residents.
“We strive for ‘the best’ every day and we build for the future every day, engaging wholeheartedly with the communities that we serve.”
He also thanked residents are staff for their support during the re-development process.
“We could not have achieved this wonderful new building without their understanding and support,” he said. “They are very much a part of this success and their spirit is at the heart of this new home.”
