A NEW $15 million nursing home became par for the course at Albury’s former Hume Country Golf Club yesterday.
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The Albury and District Aged Care centre was opened by mayor Kevin Mack after shifting from its old inner city site in David Street.
Cr Mack said the 90-bed home in Glenroy, operated by Melbourne-based aged care provider Japara Healthcare, would pave the way for the future.
“Investing in aged care facilities is paramount,” he said.
“We set it up for this generation and it needs to be looked after because we will all be at a place like this.”
Cr Mack said cases of dementia were expected to double in the next decade and it was important to set the standard of care now.
“The old facility was quite sad and was struggling for many years,” he said.
“It was on its last legs.”
“It has been 30 years of hard work to get this facility off the ground.”
Member for Farrer Sussan Ley and Albury councillors Alice Glachan, David Thurley, Patricia Gould and Henk van de Ven also attended.
Japara Healthcare aged care services executive director, Julie Reed, said they needed to develop aged care homes to cope with the demanding aging population.
The old home had only 59 beds and Ms Reed said the new residence would give older people a better quality of life.
“In the David Street facility people were sharing rooms and bathrooms,” she said.
“We wanted to give them a home.
“They now have their own room, bathroom and open garden spaces.”
The David Street site was being demolished yesterday and Ms Reed said they had plans to sell the block.
“It’s not big enough for us to build another home,” she said.
Ms Reed said they would be able to offer services to more elderly people.
“It’s not just about the building, it’s about the people,” she said.