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Loddon HERALD Vol 4 No 46, THURSDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2024 ISSN 2653-1550
FIVE YEARS AFTER AGED CARE HOSTEL CLOSURE
STILL EMPT Y
THE loss of aged care accommodation in Pyramid Hill five years ago is still being felt in the community.
The town’s former bush nursing hospital that became a 23-bed hostel in 1995 and employed up to 30 people remains empty. The Durham Ox Road buildings deserted since Respect Aged Care moved out the last of 16 residents and locked the doors in November 2019. Former councillor Cheryl McKinnon, Loddon Shire mayor when the closure was announced, on Monday said: “It was devastating then and it is still devastating today.” Mrs McKinnon said local residents unable to live in their own homes had since been forced to leave the district. “Yet we still have a need for aged care accommodation in the district.” Respect chief executive officer Jason Binder this week left the door open for the buildings to return to community hands. “I’m more than happy to engage in constructive and respectful dialogue around a transfer to a community organisation,” Mr
By CHRIS EARL
Binder said. “We don’t believe a town the size of Pyramid Hill can sustain a 23-bed aged care facility.” Swan Hill-based Alcheringa, now part of Respect, took over running the Pyramid Hill hostel in 2010. The Pyramid Hill facility had been slapped with government sanctions that threatened its future. But former Gordon Shire secretary Trevor Forbes, by then managing the hostel, recalled this week that news of sanctions came as a shock. “We had passed all 44 areas in the inspection to continue our national accreditation and then all of a sudden someone decided the hostel was not compliant,” he said. Alcheringa also had aged care facilities in Cohuna and St Arnaud and was initially seen as a white knight keeping the hostel doors open, according to Pyramid Hill residents. But within a decade, Pyramid Hill closed and the hostel’s residents moved to aged homes in other parts of the state.
GROUNDS around the closed Pyramid Hill Age Care Hostel retain the appearance of community love and care. For the last five years Ian Bartels has used his own mower to cut the grass and turn on the watering system, continuing his community service that spanned decades as a member of the bush nursing hospital’s board. Ian has become an unofficial caretaker, popping from his home next door to give the hostel precinct the appearance, he says, “of being loved by the community”. LH PHOTO
MORE REPORTS - PAGE 7
FOR LEASE BY TENDER BONN DISTRICT - ROCHESTER A/C COLIN J STIRLING 324.46 Hectares - 801.74 Acres
Terms: 3-year lease with 2 year option. Payable 3 months in
As a whole or in two lots
advance plus GST
Lot 1 “The Barn Yards” - 128.55 Ha – 317.65 Ac. 6 paddocks, watered by 7 dams, Well treed, undulating Bonn District Red loams, Some quartz & stones on the rises. 95% Arable
Shire rates apply Tenders Close: 13 th Dec 2024 @ 3:00 pm at offices of FP
Lot 2 “Davies” - 195.91 Ha – 484.09 Ac. 7 paddocks, watered by
Nevins & Co Inglewood & Rochester. Vendors request 7 days to
9 dams, Undulating Bonn District Red loams, 95% Arable
decide. Lease Commences: Monday, 20th January 2025 FP NEVINS DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ABOVE