MEDIA RELEASE
22 March 2011
TASMANIAN CLUSTERED COMMUNITIES PLANNED AS ALTERNATIVE TO NURSING HOME CARE
Doris Day once said, “The awful thing about middle age is knowing that you’ll grow out of it”. Yes, those of us lucky enough to last that long will one day get to be aged people, with our own aged care concerns and special needs.
The good news about ageing? Studies of health trajectories show that most of us maintain independence well into old age with only a 6 -12 month period called “terminal decline”.
6% of Australians older than 65 live in residential care, 30% Australians over 85 live in residential care.
Longview Communities Incorporated, a not-for-profit organisation, is aiming to provide alternative facilities to traditional nursing and residential homes, which can be inappropriate and soul destroying for some members of the community.
Longview Communities was formed to establish a small-scale clustered community of 10 to 15 independent living units with medical and nursing support available on-site, on land that has been donated at Lower Longley in Tasmania’s Huon region. Further clustered communities and small scale apartment complexes are envisaged in both rural and urban settings.
The facility will be built especially for people with mild disability or frailty, who can maintain some level of independence in a supportive community.
Similar models already established include the Jean Colvin Hospital in Darling Point, NSW, established as a charity in 1961, and St Luke’s Trebartha Apartments, a luxury apartment complex attached to a private hospital overlooking Rushcutters Bay, NSW. Trebartha Apartments offers 57 self-contained studio, one and two bedroom apartments for an independent living with medical supervision.
Expressions of interest are currently being sought from people interested in volunteering their services for the planning committee of Longview Communities Inc., which is currently in initial or ‘start-up’ stage.
Ideally the committee would reflect the cultural diversity of the state and would include expertise in the areas of aged / disability care, nursing, medicine, medical & business administration, building, project management, law, local & state government, grant submissions, as well as members of the general public who are interested in the project.
An inaugural Planning Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday 30th March, at the Conference Room, Lower Ground Floor, Hobart Town Hall, from 6.00pm – 8.30pm.
If you are interested in the project and would like to attend the meeting, please RSVP by March 28 for catering purposes to [email protected], or phone 0411 038 660.
Jo Goodman
