Karingal Seymour is celebrating its diamond jubilee this year, marking 60 years of providing quality, multi-tiered aged care services.
A cornerstone of the community since 1964, Karingal Seymour expanded its facilities in 2013.
Chief executive officer and director of nursing Elizabeth Duggin said the facility now accommodated 60 residents.
The Robinson wing has 30 rooms, while the Mitchell and Acacia wings each have 15 rooms.
The Acacia wing serves as the memory support unit.
“It's a much more simplified environment to decrease the stress of confusion within a space,” Ms Duggin said.
The facility features vibrant community spaces where residents can socialise, take part in activities and enjoy various events, fostering a sense of belonging.
This week, one of the communal areas has been transformed into an 'Olympic venue', where residents are enthusiastically competing in their own version of the Olympic Games, inspired by the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Drawing on her 14 years of experience at Karingal Seymour, Ms Duggin said the most significant change she had witnessed was within the aged care industry itself.
“The Royal Commission changed the focus on facilities being more accountable for what they do and being more open,” she said.
“We’ve always had full disclosure, but it became more legislative and people are looking more closely at services.”
Ms Duggin said it was important to have aged care facilities in Seymour, even though it was a small town, because the population was ageing and people were living longer because of improved health conditions.
“People are getting to the point where they’re living longer, but they’re not necessarily well enough to live independently within their own home,” she said.
“It really just depends on what support they can draw from their own family environment.”
She said it could be a challenge when it was a family’s first time getting their relative into aged care because they did not know where to start.
“I actually tell them to come down and make an appointment to see me, and I'll sit with them and go through the process of what they need to do,” she said.
“We also discuss how they need to be in contact with their GPs and their families just to navigate the system, as well as the documentation that has to be sent to the department from the financial perspective.
“We will provide them with a full pack that explains all that and we’ll actually go through the pack with them.”
Ms Duggin, who started as facility manager and director of nursing at Karingal Seymour, holds its mission close to her heart.
“We want all the residents to enjoy their lives and to maintain their independence as much as possible and in a respectful, nurturing environment,” she said.