If you follow the news, you would be well aware of the flooding that is currently affecting Townsville after record rainfall of 1012mm in the area in the past week.
Our villages.com.au and agedcare101 sites show there are 15 retirement villages and 16 aged care facilities in Townsville and the surrounding region:
Retirement villages in the Townsville region:
- Oak Tree Retirement Village Townsville, Rasmussen – Oak Tree – 77 homes
- Rowes Bay Retirement Living, Townsville – Bolton Clarke
- Corinthian Court Retirement Village, Kirwan – Regis – 85 homes and 127 aged care beds
- St James Retirement Village, Townsville – Churches of Christ Care – 133 homes
- Carlyle Gardens Townsville, Condon – BlueCare
- Cardwell Shire Home For The Aged, Cardwell – Churches of Christ Care – 52 homes
- Galillee Court Retirement Living, Townsville – BlueCare
- Cranbrae Village, Cranbrook – Cranbrae Village
- Rockingham Lifestyle Village, Rockingham – Rockingham Lifestyle Village
- Eureka Care Communities Wulguru, Wulguru – Eureka Group Holdings – 51 homes
- Brooklea Retirement Village, Cranbrook – Brooklea Lifestyle Village – 93 homes
- Eureka Care Communities Condon, Condon – Eureka Group Holdings – 57 homes
- Blue Care Pallarenda Retirement Living, Pallarenda – BlueCare
- Blue Care Koinonia Retirement Living, Ayr – BlueCare
- Christine Court, Belgian Gardens – Eureka Group Holdings
Aged care facilities in the Townsville region:
- Loreto, Pimlico – Mercy partners – 25 beds
- Blue Care Ingham Bluehaven Aged Care Facility, Ingham – BlueCare – 50 beds
- Townsville Transition Care Service, Vincent – Blackwater Multipurpose Health Service (QLD Gov) – 46 beds
- Lower Burdekin Home for the Aged, Ayr – Lower Burdekin Home for the Aged Society (LBHA) – 100 beds
- Shalom Elders Village, Condon – BlueCare – 28 beds
- Parklands Residential Aged Care Facility, Thuringowa Central – Blackwater Multipurpose Health Service (QLD Gov) – 70 beds
- Rockingham Aged Care Services, Cardwell – Churches of Christ Care – 62 beds
- Home Hill Hostel, Home Hill – Lower Burdekin Home for the Aged Society (LBHA) – 73 beds
- Arcare North Shore, Burdell – Arcare – 90 beds
- Bolton Clarke Rowes Bay, Townsville – Bolton Clarke – 102 beds
- The Good Shepherd Nursing Home, Annandale – The Good Shepherd Limited
- Canossa Nursing Home, Trebonne – The Corporation of the Order of the Canossian Sisters
- Tully & District Nursing Home, Tully – Tully Nursing Home Inc
- Carinity Aged Care Fairfield Grange, Idalia – Carinity
- Palms Aged Care, Ingham – RPC Northern Pty Ltd
- Ozcare Villa Vincent, Mundingburra – Ozcare
We touched base with a number of operators to see how they are dealing with the emergency and the impact on residents and staff.
Churches of Christ Care operates St James Retirement Village at Heatley in Townsville which has 133 units. They said:
“Fortunately, the village has not been flooded, though some have lost power or experienced water leaks. Several units will require maintenance to the ceiling as a result of the leaks with one case of a unit having ceiling damage, however our contractors have been excellent and very supportive during this period. Staff and residents are in good spirits and coping really well supporting each other. Yesterday our Community Care team doorknocked every unit to make sure everyone was okay. We will begin assessing any damage to units or the village today.”
Bolton Clarke told us they have around 360 residents in our Rowes Bay and Glendale residential communities, 304 At Home Support clients and 302 employees who call Townsville home. Their Support Centre team is working closely with local managers to co-ordinate ongoing efforts, while the Contact Centre team have been undertaking calls at regular intervals to ensure their clients, relatives and friends remain informed and supported.
“We are now watching closely as the monsoon rain trough heads south toward Bowen and Mackay where we also have communities and we stand ready and prepared for any issues which may occur in those locations,” CEO Stephen Muggleton said.
“Our staff have worked tirelessly to continue to provide care and we are working with local emergency services to monitor the situation, but there has been no inundation and the communities are well prepared for the next few days with operating generators and supplies. All residents are safe and well.”
A reminder of the challenges operators can face during natural disasters – and how villages and aged care homes can pull together in tough times.
