At the February Ordinary Council meeting this afternoon, Snowy Monaro Regional Council voted strongly in favour of transferring the ownership and operations of Cooma’s Yallambee Lodge residential aged care facility to Respect Aged Care. Council and Respect are now working towards an effective transfer in early April 2024.
Council’s decision concludes more than six months of negotiations with Respect and an extensive amount of work by our teams to achieve this very positive outcome.
With this vote, Council has ensured that the Snowy Monaro has a viable aged care provider now and into the future. In addition, Yallambee Lodge’s 40 residential aged care beds will remain in the region.
This decision is also consistent with Council’s long-standing commitment to divest itself from residential aged care. As a key part of the Financial Sustainability Plan, this marks a major step forward in improving the organisation’s financial viability.
This transfer is in-line with Australian Government aged care policy, which seeks to consolidate smaller providers into larger and more sustainable operations. These larger providers are best-placed to meet both increased care needs and growing demand for aged care services into the future.
Respect Aged Care CEO Jason Binder will visit Yallambee Lodge in the coming weeks to meet with staff and residents.
Following today’s decision, Council and Respect will continue working with staff and unions to finalise employment arrangements as soon as possible. These efforts will support of a smooth transfer of operations for staff and residents.
Respect Aged Care have taken on numerous other residential aged care facilities like Yallambee Lodge in recent years, and their team are well-versed in supporting these transition arrangements.
Council’s CEO David Hogan said ‘Our staff at Yallambee do an incredible job and maintaining continuity of employment for staff is critical to ensure a seamless transition. Our priority now will be keeping staff, residents and their families informed at every step as we progress this forward to a positive conclusion.’
Mayor Chris Hanna said ‘Our executive and aged care teams have done an incredible amount of work in recent months to be able to reach this agreement with Respect.
‘These are not simple processes, and I am pleased that we have taken a positive step forward to secure the future of these aged care places and to address one of Council’s most significant financial challenges.
‘I also want to acknowledge Respect CEO Jason Binder and his team for their commitment to work with us on this agreement, and their ongoing commitment to our region,’ said Mayor Hanna.
