On Sunday morning, Shepparton Villages evacuated 41 residents from Hakea Lodge to Maculata Place, which are both located at Tarcoola Village on Batman Ave near The Boulevard.
Shepparton Villages Chief Executive Officer Veronica Jamison said that the decision was made in consultation with authorities as a precautionary measure.
“The welfare and health of our residents and staff is paramount to Shepparton Villages and we have been taking all the necessary actions to ensure that,” Ms Jamison said.
“There is no cause for concern at Maculata Place as it wasn’t in the evacuation zone.
“Whilst it is in Tarcoola, it is a newer building and the ground there is higher than the ground where Hakea Lodge is which is an older building in comparison.”
Ms Jamison also reports that Rodney Park Village in Mooroopna and Kialla Gardens Village in Shepparton are also both out of the danger zone with more than enough supplies to keep them safe.
“I’d like to thank all of those people for their efforts and response particularly in the early hours of Sunday morning when we had water threatening to enter Hakea Lodge,” Ms Jamison said.
“The efforts of our staff at Shepparton Village have been phenomenal and should be applauded for how they’ve responded to this emergency situation.”
Shepparton’s two other nursing homes, Mercy Health’s Ave Maria on Graham St and Mercy Place on Archer St have both fared well without any flood damage.
However, the biggest issue for them has been staffing.
Acting general manager for both nursing homes, Raman Sidhu, said they had received a huge amount of support from emergency services, the families of residents and staff to ensure services could continue as smoothly as possible.
“Staff here have offered to do double shifts and extra hours and they’re working to their best ability so I’m really proud of my team, they’ve done great under these circumstances,” Mrs Sidhu said.
“The ADF have come and picked up some staff to come into work the last few days and families have been supportive, doing whatever they can to help.
“We’re maintaining numbers as best we can but I’m really proud to be in the community of Shepparton. We’re all working together and I want to thank everybody for their kindness and supporting us during this time.”