Staff from Ross Low’s Not For Profit have begun working at the aged care home in Kingswood in Western Sydney as of Friday, we understand.
The news comes as a 96-year-old woman at Newmarch House who tested positive for the virus at the home passed away – the fifth resident to die in less than a week, reaffirming the consequences of COVID-19 entering an aged care home.
BaptistCare says three of its senior staff are “proving centre management and stakeholder support” at Newmarch, which is the largest coronavirus cluster in the state after the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
We understand that the Aged Quality and Safety Commission was involved in guiding the support.
Anglicare had earlier reported in the week that it only had two-thirds of the staff it needed to support the residents at the home – 29 residents have so far tested positive, along with 15 staff.
BaptistCare now has experience in dealing with COVID-19. The provider was the first in Australia to face a large-scale outbreak at its Dorothy Henderson Lodge aged care home in Macquarie Park in Sydney – six residents who tested positive for COVID-19 passed away.
In total, 16 residents and five Dorothy Henderson staff were diagnosed with the virus after the first infected staff member tested positive on 4 March six weeks ago.
