Shifting focus from aged care to the home

South Australian residential aged care provider, ECH, has finalised its shift to dedicate itself exclusively to community focused services, including increasing the options available in affordable age friendly homes, as its response to the ever escalating needs of older people.

Posted August 14th 2014

by super

The shift in focus led ECH to sell the last of 10 residential aged care centres in South Australia to Australian aged care provider, Allity.

ECH recently sold its Tiwi Residential Care Centre in Darwin to fellow aged care provider, Regis Aged Care, which completes ECH's withdrawal from providing residential aged care services.

Rob Hankins, ECH chief executive, says the recent sale will allow the provider to

“fully focus” on increasing and diversifying its community services to people’s homes and expanding its 97 retirement villages around South Australia.

“Society’s expectations around ageing and the needs of older people are changing. ECH’s focus will be on giving more people the opportunity and flexibility to decide where they receive the care and support that they require as they age,” Mr Hankins says.

“ECH will provide assistance and support to the individual to enable them to age confidently, comfortably and independently in their own home; the home they choose to live in.”

ECH, a charitable organisation, will continue to control $400 million worth of retirement and community services assets. It will maintain a workforce of more than 700 people and already provides community services and independent retirement living units to more than 6,000 people.

“We want to provide a wider choice of services to support a greater number of older people – particularly people on lower and middle incomes – to live longer, enriched and happy lives as they age in the home of their choice,” Mr Hankins says.

The ECH board last year resolved to maximise the extent of the social benefit that ECH brings to the community. To achieve this, ECH decided to seek out one or more quality providers for its residential aged care facilities in order to devote all of its energies and resources to enable more people to age confidently and comfortably at home.

All of the residents at Tiwi Residential Care Centre will maintain their occupancy arrangements and all staff will be offered continuing employment at Regis Aged Care.

ECH Community Services in Darwin does not form part of the sale and will continue to be managed by ECH until an arrangement is finalised with another suitable organisation to manage these services.

Tiwi Residential Care Centre staff, residents and their families were informed of the sale on Tuesday (12 August 2014).