By Amelia Willmer
Staff and residents of the community-owned Killarney Nursing Home were overjoyed last week to hear they had achieved a 5-5 perfect score in the national ratings.
This Federal Government assessment puts them in the top one per cent of all Australian aged care facilities.
“This is a fabulous result,” said the home’s CEO Sarah Fea.
“It is a tremendous accolade to the 90 wonderful, dedicated people on our staff. They are a fantastic team.”
The assessors rated the new section of the home at 5-5 and the older section at 4-5, putting that area in the top 30 per cent.
“That is still a very respectable and commendable score for the old section which used to be the hospital,” Sarah said.
Independent assessors contracted by the Federal Government rate nursing homes regularly.
They seek anecdotal information from 20 per cent of residents on how they personally feel about living at the home.
They then analyse formal reports relating to the quality of the food, quality of the infrastructure, provision of services, and compliance with a multitude of regulations.
“The assessment process is very thorough and extensive,” Sarah said.
“To achieve such a high score is a tribute to the staff and to the Killarney community.
“We are totally community-funded and totally dedicated to providing the best service we possibly can, not just at the home, but also as a community hub for ageing and wellness for older people who don’t live at the home.
“They can access our on-site medical centre, our allied health services, the NDIS and Home Care support.
“We closely integrate our services to keep people living independently at home for as long as they can.
“Our staffing ratio is always higher than the required minimum.
“That’s thanks to community support in funding. We are a totally community- owned organisation. Our funding comes from the community.
“It is a unique cooperative business model. But there is a lot that is unique and cooperative about Killarney.”
