WA Premier OPENS

NEW ADDITION TO ALBANY’S AGED CARE OFFERING

It was a red letter day in Albany on March 31, when dignitaries and VIPs gathered at Clarence Estate to open the Jennifer Mary Grieve Home & Community Care Centre.

Photography by Krysta Guille.

On Friday March 31, the Hon Mark McGowan, Premier of Western Australia, opened the Jennifer Mary Grieve Home & Community Care Centre at Clarence Estate in Albany.

The Premier formally declared the new addition to the Hall & Prior-owned aged care facility open and ready to welcome visitors with a tree-planting ceremony and an opportunity to meet staff and members of the community.

Clarence Estate was opened in 2002 as Albany’s first and only premium residential care home. Since then, the aged care facility has become an important part of the Albany community, providing first-class care in the Great Southern region.

Jennifer Grieve was instrumental in founding Clarence Estate, and as one of Hall & Prior’s leading nurses and executives, she went on to be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s WA Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards.

CEO Graeme Prior said that naming the new home and community centre after Ms Grieve was a fitting tribute to her contribution to the company and aged care as a whole.

“It is with great pleasure that we have opened the Jennifer Mary Grieve Home & Community Care Centre here at Clarence Estate,” he said.

“Clarence Estate is recognised as the best in the region for our nursing services and by expanding our offering and services further into the community, we will continue to assist those who require a flexible approach to aged care in Albany and beyond.”

According to Dr Kristi Holloway, Regional Leader, Hall & Prior Health & Aged Care Group, the new centre offers an expansion of the integrated service of Clarence Estate.

“It provides a dedicated hub for community activities and serves as a staff base to reach across the region,” said Dr Holloway.

“Residents of the adjacent Clarence Estate Residential Aged Care benefit by being able to attend the new centre for activities, as well as being able to stay connected with lifelong friends who may visit the community centre but still reside in the community.”

Jennifer Grieve said the honour of having Clarence Estate’s new community centre named after her was unexpected and something she had never contemplated.

Ms Grieve, her husband Owen and her family had front-row seats on Friday as the Jennifer Mary Grieve Home & Community Care Centre was officially opened by Premier Mark McGowan.

According to a report in the Albany Advertiser, she said the new centre was the latest chapter in the estate’s story that started with an “original vision” and has “always had such a special place in my heart”.

“It’s a wonderful story because it is health and aged care re-imagined,” she said.

“It’s helping provide the transformational changes we need in health and aged care to make it a better world for old people.

The centre was declared open with the unveiling of a plaque by Ms Grieve, Hall & Prior Health & Aged Care Group Chief Executive Officer Graeme Prior, Mr McGowan, Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson, and Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington.

More than 100 people packed a big marquee for the opening with other guests including Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens, former Albany MLA Peter Watson, and Clarence Estate residents and employees.

The centre will provide a meeting point, where people can meet and enjoy each other’s company, as well as having access to activity programs, sharing a meal or high tea, and connecting with others in their community. A Community Shed enables community members to have access to tools and equipment to finish off that project or build something fun for the grandchildren.

“The centre also provides the opportunity for Albany-based staff to support our team located throughout the Great Southern, providing better training and support which in turn enables our team to better support regional and remote clients,” said Dr Holloway.

The community centre had been a vision of CEO Graeme Prior since Clarence first started offering services to clients in the community in 2008.

Some 15 years in the making, the project became a reality in 2019 when State Government funding was able to support Hall & Prior’s own investment into the centre.

All Smiles

The past three years have been spent researching best practice design, as well as lots of community consultation to ensure that the Jennifer Mary Grieve Home & Community Care Centre is a vital aspect of the Great Southern’s health infrastructure for the next 50 years.

According to the Albany Advertiser, Mr McGowan said the new facility would help provide quality aged care services for the Great Southern to help ensure “local people can age close to home”.

Mr Prior was equally thrilled to see his vision become a reality.

“The vision of the community centre is to bring the Albany and broader Great Southern community together to collectively ‘age well’,” he said.

“The fact that the worst of the pandemic appears behind us and we can invite the community into the centre to celebrate the opening is fantastic. This is a community centre and we are thrilled that the community is an important part of the opening.”