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Healthia reimagines health and aged care
Construction of Healthia, a health and education hub that will feature a state-ofthe-art residential care home and provide health services to Adelaide’s northern community, has begun. The $40 million development, adjacent the Lyell McEwin Hospital within the Playford Health Precinct, brings together ACH Group, Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN), University of South Australia, and City of Playford. ACH Group CEO Frank Weits said, “Healthia will improve the health and lifestyle outcomes for Adelaide’s northern community and reimagine residential aged care.”
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Covering more than 15,000 square metres of land, Healthia will include a 96-place residential care home comprising 8 smallscale homes, each with 12 private rooms. The design incorporates findings from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and best practice in dementia care. Healthia will be Australia’s first residential care home purposely built to limit the spread of infectious viruses such as COVID. Infection prevention measures include mechanical systems to minimise recirculation and the spread of air droplets. Each bedroom will have direct access to the outdoors, and
living and dining areas will be more spacious for greater social distancing. Affordable health services will be offered to the local community, with Healthia the home to a general practice and student-led allied health clinic run by the University of South Australia. In addition, students will undertake placement in the residential care home. Healthia is scheduled to be fully operational and welcome its first residents by June 2023.
Stay up-to-date with the project at achgroup.org.au/healthia
