28 new aged care beds at Tenterfield Care’s Haddington Aged Care Community were opened yesterday, marking a significant milestone as part of Apollo Care’s ongoing investment to improve services at both the Haddington and Millrace aged care communities.
Since its founding seven years ago, Apollo Care has built a reputation for revitalising struggling aged care facilities in regional areas. The company’s unique approach helps small, not-for-profit aged care providers overcome financial and operational challenges while maintaining their community connections.
Just over a year ago, Tenterfield made the decision to have Apollo care take over the provision of aged care services in their community, after recording almost $2 million in losses in the one financial year.
Stephen Becsi, CEO of Apollo Care, said Apollo Care’s approach to revitalising Tenterfield Care has been comprehensive.
“We’re thrilled to fulfil the promise we made to locals to complete this new extension when we became the Approved Provider in November 2023. But our commitment hasn’t stopped there; we’ve also made significant investments in infrastructure, workforce, care, and culture,” he said.
“We’ve deployed cutting-edge technology and programs to enhance resident care, staff wellbeing, and operational efficiencies.
“We’ve also spent over $1 million providing affordable housing for workers, and have plans underway to enhance Haddington’s existing rooms and Millrace’s common areas,” Becsi said.
The company’s efforts have paid off, with Tenterfield Care’s financial performance improving dramatically.
“We’re committed to ensuring the financial sustainability of Tenterfield Care, and we’re pleased to report that the operating performance of the organisation has improved by 60% in just 12 months,” Becsi added.
Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, was on hand for the opening and hailed the expansion as a positive development for the region.
“Given regional Australia is facing significant aged care bed closures, and more than 50 per cent of aged care communities are operating at a loss, Tenterfield Care is a terrific success story,” Joyce said.
“We know that Australia’s population is ageing, and our region is no different. Almost a quarter of Tenterfield’s population is aged over 70, so we need to ensure we have good aged care communities and good operators in our region.”
“I’ve long been committed to helping the people of New England to age well in our wonderful region, and these 28 new beds will enable them to do just that,” he said.
Greg Sauer, Board Member of Tenterfield Care and Deputy Mayor of Tenterfield, got the job of cutting the ribbon to officially open the new section of the facility.
“We’re thrilled to see TCC’s transformation following a few tumultuous years when it was operating with significant losses.
“To expand from 82 beds a year ago to 110 today is phenomenal, and there’s so much happening behind the scenes to cement a positive future for Tenterfield Care and its residents and staff,” Sauer said.
“Apollo Care has brought the financial and operational expertise we needed, while delivering on its promise to ensure TCC remains true to its community roots and values,” he added.
Sunita Sharma, who became Residential Service Manager in September 2024, has been instrumental in the ongoing improvements.
“The high-level support I receive from Apollo Care’s team of industry experts means I have more time to focus on making our two communities even better places to live and work,” Sharma said.
“I’m also lucky to be part of an amazing team of committed and caring workers.”
One of the most pressing issues in aged care – workforce shortages – has been a focus for Apollo Care.
“We’ve directly recruited 17 Registered Nurses, Internationally Qualified Nurses, and Personal Care Workers, plus we’ve optimised rosters. This has reduced the use of agency staff from 55% to 20%, providing residents with greater continuity of carers, and significantly reduced costs,” Becsi said.
Sharma noted that staffing levels are improving steadily. “I’m projecting roster vacancies will be close to zero by January 2025, which is a massive reduction from 41% a year ago,” she said.
However, filling the new beds will be a gradual process.
“We’re deliberately not filling the beds straight away, as we still need to bring in additional staff,” Becsi explained.
“Once we have all the staff in place, we anticipate filling the beds by the second quarter of 2025.”
Looking ahead, Becsi shared that there are more plans in the pipeline.
“Once the new beds are filled, we’ll be looking at refurbishing and uplifting older parts of the facility at Haddington, as well as making upgrades at Millrace,” he said.
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