4 minute read
The power of community
HOW ONE AGED CARE GROUP IS HELPING SMALL PROVIDERS FACE ANY CHALLENGE WITH CONFIDENCE
It’s no secret that Australia’s residential aged care sector has been facing a tough battle for years. Many of the industry’s issues are due to a lack of funding, overworked staff, limited resources and lack of technological initiatives. But, as one of the most regulated industries in our country, aged care has even bigger challenges ahead—primarily driven by the Aged Care Royal Commission.
Of the 148 recommendations handed down, at least 50 need to be implemented by aged care providers. That’s a staggering number, even before considering the tight timeframes associated with these recommendations.
One thing is for sure—the industry is now on the brink of unprecedented and substantial change. The Respect Group has seen many smaller providers with capable CEOs doing well in regional areas. However, it can become excessively stressful for these individuals who now need to be across more information and implement numerous changes quickly without adequate support.
When good CEOs burn out or resign, a suitable replacement proves challenging to find in regional areas. The Australian National Aged Care Classification funding estimates have given some providers temporary hope. But, as smaller providers struggle to find the internal expertise and resources to manage the changes, there’s an increasing surge toward the idea of amalgamation.
So, is merging the best solution for all smaller providers?
Although the impact will be far-reaching and significant for aged care providers of all sizes, it’s the small stand-alone organisations that often lack the resources of their larger counterparts, who are now facing the biggest challenges. The reality is, financial stress is no longer the only reason providers are joining larger organisations. Constant change, heavy-handedness from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and increased risk for management and board members are simply becoming too much for a limited amount of human resources—particularly in regional areas.
When smaller providers join a larger group, they immediately benefit from a team of specifically trained managers who share the load. This frees up facility managers to concentrate on the task they do best—caring for older Australians.
What’s more, without the usual regional constraints, a larger group offers the benefit of recruiting a skilled board and senior management team from a larger geographic footprint (provided the organisation is outward-looking).
Jason Binder CEO and Managing Director of Respect with resident Collin Corbett from Eliza Purton. The result is not only more effective top-level managerial systems, but
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also more opportunity to implement strategic initiatives across every facility in the group, regardless of size or local resources.
When a dedicated quality department manages the timeintensive administration and regulatory tasks, and proven systems are introduced to improve efficiency, it increases job satisfaction for all staff members and reduces management and staff turnover.
Best of all, it leads to a better quality of care for the residents. And, of course, giving the very best care to our senior Australians is what matters most.
Without a doubt, merging with a larger group will alleviate the increasing workload of the Royal Commission implementations and will help stand-alone sites prepare in advance to implement changes.
However, any new partnership must be well considered.
Here at Respect, we began as a small provider ourselves. So, we recognise many stand-alone providers are well established in their communities and have rich histories that span generations. Over the years, they’ve maintained high standards of care driven by a sense of community ownership and volunteerism that often isn’t well understood in larger cities.
That’s why we understand the importance of involving the community through the shift of organisational control through boots on the ground leadership and open, honest and transparent face-to-face discussion. You can’t lead from behind a desk anywhere, but even more so in regional communities.
We also continue to nurture our link with each community and its volunteers first of all by creating a good working environment and providing good care, because if you don’t have that nothing else matters, and secondly investing in and developing the community asset—something that is always well received.
Above all, we believe success begins and ends with the communities we join.
So, it’s only when we hear the locals saying, “Gee, I’m glad Respect came here”, that we know our model is working.
Jason Binder is Managing Director and CEO of Respect. For more information visit www.respect.com.au
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