It’s one of more than 50 public sector residential aged care services to receive a share of $30 million in funding, announced by Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Luke Donnellan on Tuesday, September 22.
ERH will receive $498,298 through the government’s Regional Health Infrastructure Fund, which will allow the facility to better cater to residents with dementia.
ERH executive director of nursing services June Dyson welcomed the news.
“We are absolutely delighted with the funding we have received through the RHIF fund, which will be used to create a dementia-enabling environment at Glanville Village,” she said.
Dementia is the single greatest cause of disability in Australians over 65 years of age and affects approximately 52 per cent of all residents in aged care.
“We know that for people living with dementia, their physical and social environments become more challenging as their condition progresses and they often have difficulty interpreting where they are in their surroundings,” Ms Dyson said.
“The environment can support or hinder social connection and a sense of self; it can support utmost independence or force dependency.”
Ms Dyson said their aim was to create an environment that takes into account the individual needs of people living with dementia and memory impairment.
“Using evidence-based design guidelines, we aim to remodel our building to support our residents’ social and cultural needs and capabilities, foster a sense of belonging and community connectedness and improve their independence, safety and sense of wellbeing,” she said.
“Our residents and families were very excited when we shared the news about the grant and are actively assisting us with our planned refurbishment of the facility.”
Kyabram and District Health Services was the other facility in Campaspe Shire to receive funding, with a $124,989 grant for important upgrades to enhance the residents’ experience.
State Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp said the government was committed to providing quality public sector aged care and local jobs.
“This investment will deliver improved facilities for older people in Campaspe Shire,” he said.
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