Resthaven Community Services continued to grow and flourish. Board President, Geoffrey Bean AM, reflected on the complex changes to services:
‘A decade ago, we had a small base in day therapy centres co-located with our residential sites and very few other community programs. Today, a diverse and complex set of services for people living in their homes has been developed with Federal and State Government funding.
Aged care packages, respite for carers, services for the veteran community, and a variety of programs, many run in collaboration with other agencies and providers, offer an extensive contribution to the welfare of the elderly.’
The expansion was hand in hand with the Department of Health and Ageing reform agenda: ‘The Way Forward for Community Services’. The extent of care increased to include work at Naracoorte and Mount Barker, a service to veterans, and a focus to people with both Germanic and Italian heritage.
On 29 September 2005, Resthaven Onkaparinga Community Services officially opened in its relocated home at Old South Road, Old Reynella.
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Catering to a growing need in the region, Resthaven opened the first office for Resthaven Murray Bridge Community Services on 22 November 2005. The Hon Patrick Secker, Member for Barker, officially opened the office.
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Resthaven also commenced provision of Extended Aged Care at Home Packages in the northern and western metropolitan regions. These packages were designed to meet the very high needs for nursing care and support needed to allow older people, who would otherwise require high level residential care, to continue to live in the community.
At this time, Resthaven experienced a 30% increase in funding and a 40% increase in staff. Training and support for staff emerged as a key priority, with strategies including offering student placements for TAFE and university (nursing & allied health), introducing cross-program mentoring for new coordinators and managers, and establishing ‘buddy shifts’ for new staff members.
Resthaven’s Strategic Plan established the priority to move to a single enquiry telephone number (1300 136 633) for Community Services, with callers directed to the nearest Resthaven Community Service location. This was successfully introduced in 2007.
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