Opis:

Macquarie Care Centre

Aged Care Facility. Built in 2000, Macquarie Care Centre (MCC) is a 55-place residential aged care community comprising 39 high care places and16 low care places. MCC is divided into four cottages, each with 14 beds, and a dementia-specific cottage with 13 beds. It provides twin share and single room accommodation.

The residential service offers a homelike environment with a cottage feel. All rooms have views of the garden, which is planted to encourage birds to visit. Flowers are grown for picking and floral arrangements, which are placed throughout the facility. There is also a productive vegetable garden and orchard tended by the residents.

MCC prides itself on its care. Commonwealth Government accreditation assessors recently commented on MCC's high standard of care and acknowledged its creative and innovative team that cares for residents from the heart.

Staff are professionally trained to deliver both palliative and dementia-specific care.

MCC is highly respected in Bathurst and it has a large volunteer body and auxiliary of 80 members.

Macquarie Care Centre is accredited by the Aged Care and Accreditation Standards Agency.

History

Macquarie Care Centre was built and opened in 1948 by the NSW Department of Health. It was operated by Mid-Western Area Health Service and administered by the Bathurst Base Hospital until 1985. Following the rationalisation of health services, Macquarie Care Centre was transitioned to St Vincent's Hospital Bathurst under the auspices of the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst. Catholic Healthcare was appointed manager of Macquarie Care Centre by the diocese in October 1996.

In the late 90s, Macquarie Care Centre was rebuilt. Catholic Healthcare assisted the Mid-Western Area Health Service in the planning and development of the new dementia focused 55-place residential aged care community, which opened in May 2000.

The Mid-Western Area Health Service transitioned Macquarie Care Centre to Catholic Healthcare in October 2004.

List of on-site services

Macquarie Care Centre offers:

* A pain management consultant
* A wound consultant
* A diversional therapist with a degree in leisure and health
* Practical experience for TAFE and Charles Sturt University students.

Testimonials

"I would like to thank: the Management for their prompt attention to my mother's needs at the decision making level; the Nursing Staff for their attentiveness to my mother's moment to moment care; the Hospitality Staff for those sweet cups of tea and their consideration to my mother's likes and dislikes; the Laundry Staff for the outstanding and impeccable job that they do; and the Pastoral Care Team that do the little things that matters so much….to all at Macquarie Care our thanks and congratulations for the wonderful work that you do for our elderly ones!"
Relative's 'thank you' letter

"The main attribute that is very obvious to the family is the way the staff treat Dad with dignity and respect. He is allowed to be "himself" and the staff appear to be very aware of the individual resident's needs.

Dad has been, and still is, a very independent person and we are so relieved to see that Macquarie Care encourages independence which is so important to Dad's well being. He still feels he is in control of what he does regardless of how limited it is.

We are very appreciative of the way the Centre involves the family in the decisions regarding Dad's care.

We do not like Dad being in a Nursing Home but realise that he needs 24hour care and we cannot give anything but the highest praise to the way Dad is looked after."
Relative's 'thank you' letter

Vegetables stimulate senses

Assisting in vegetable preparation for the evening meal has had interesting benefits for the dementia residents in Catholic Healthcare's Macquarie Care Centre in Bathurst. Sometimes agitated and restless in the afternoon due to Sundowners Syndrome, Macquarie Care Centre has found a way to calm residents simply by leaving vegetables such as mushrooms, peas and pumpkin on the table. Curious, the residents touch, smell, discuss and even peel the vegetables. This activity stimulates the residents' senses, encourages communication between staff and residents, and creates a homelike environment.

Celebrating life through memory books

As part of their aged care studies, several employees from Macquarie Care Centre, Catholic Healthcare's residential aged community in Bathurst, introduced a memory book program for residents. Designed to honour the life of the resident, the memory book program offers mental stimulation to the resident and, more importantly, enables them to reminisce and shares stories of their life in a comfortable and safe environment. The book is presented to the resident at an afternoon tea celebration with their family, friends and members of the local community.