NHILL'S Avonlea Hostel will receive 10 new beds and a 24/7 registered nurse following the disbanding of the Avonlea Inc board.
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Control of the 45-bed aged care facility was transferred to Respect Aged Care on Friday.
Avonlea Inc board chairman Philip Lipshut said the decision came after Avonlea's chief executive gave their intention to retire and due to the "increasingly complex and competitive aged care environment".
"As a stand-alone facility it is becoming increasingly difficult to operate in the new aged care environment. This is a challenge facing many stand-alone, independent and small aged-care service providers across Australia," he said.
"Over the years, compliance costs and expectations for aged care providers have increased significantly. Larger providers are now best placed to meet these costs efficiently as they have the capacity to spread the costs over a broader base."
Respect Aged Care's managing director Jason Binder said there were plans to redevelop the site to include 10 more rooms.
"We will turn 10 of the existing outside rooms into independent living units and build 10 more rooms inside," he said.
"We will also be recruiting a registered nurse who will be available to residents 24/7; that's a major priority for us. It will allow the continuum of care and means residents won't have to be transferred to the hospital if their care needs change."
Mr Binder said he hoped current staff would stay on.
"We would like all the staff to stay and we're hoping they will transfer across. It is difficult to find staff in regional and rural areas. We won't be making any job cuts," he said.
He said fees and charges would also stay the same.
Mr Binder said it would be at least 12 months before any construction work would start, but recruiting of a registered nurse would begin as soon as possible.
Respect Aged Care operates 11 aged care facilities in regional Victoria and Tasmania.
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