Innovation in aged care is on show every day at NewDirection Care's MICRO TOWN® community in Bellmere, and yesterday Shadow Minister for Aged Care Senator Anne Ruston was able to see first-hand how exceptional outcomes are delivered.
The first of its kind in Australia, MICRO TOWN® is an aged care model resembling a typical suburban community equipped with a grocery store, community centre, hairdressers, and much more.
Founder and CEO Ms Natasha Chadwick commented that witnessing innovation in action is the best way to understand why it needs a greater focus across our care and support industries.
"The normal life delivered in Bellmere is far beyond what the majority of aged care homes are achieving across Australia, and at the end of the day quality of life and positive experiences as we age, not just clinical care, are the outcomes we should be focussing on," Natasha said.
"It was a pleasure to be able to show Senator Ruston around our MICRO TOWN®, so that she could see the NewDirection Care difference for herself.
"We also have a vision to expand the MICRO TOWN® model more broadly and we are pleased to have had the opportunity to talk about our greater vision for pioneering a new kind of Australian care community.
"We see a future where NDC at Bellmere integrates and blends services for residential and home-based aged care, early learning years, health and allied care alongside other essential services in one convenient location.
"We are passionate about bringing this vision to life. There is still a lot we can do to improve care for not only older Australians, but all Australians.
"While we're encouraged to see progress for the new Aged Care Act, we still feel that innovation is largely missing and needs to be discussed more actively alongside quality care, to truly meet community expectations for reform in our sector.
"There is still a lot of ground to be made in establishing better mechanisms to evaluate what quality care is, recognising that quality can be delivered in many ways.
"Our team shared their expertise of delivering aged care differently with the Senator, and highlighted to her the importance of their work being seen for the true value it delivers.
"We also believe there needs to be a greater focus on reablement to empower older Australians to live a quality life. We are fortunate to have some fantastic recent success stories, and residents who were able to share their positive experience of aged care with the Senator."
Photo caption: Member for Longman Terry Young, NewDirection Care Director Justin Chadwick, Shadow Minister for Aged Care Senator Anne Ruston, New Direction Care CEO Natasha Chadwick, LNP Candidate for Morayfield Sarah Ross, NewDirection Care Director Greg Aleckson
