Year: 2019

Welcome to 2020 As I write this article it is currently 18 degrees and overcast; I had my office heater on when I arrived at work this morning and I am wondering when summer will arrive. However I know that when it does, we will have hot days, the Victorian Power Grid may struggle to …

Continue reading "Village Voice: January 2020"

End of a Decade As 2019 ends and a new year, and new decade begins, I reflected back to where we were in 2009 and our goals and dreams for the coming years and re-read some older village voice covers from that time.Our big goals were: Completion and opening of ParksideInstallation of solar panels through …

Continue reading "Village Voice: December 2019"

All sorts of mail comes across my desk each day, recently one letter gave me reason to pause and I felt great sadness. Although it was anonymous, it was from whom I believe to be a well-meaning and kind Village Resident who was expressing grave concerns about things they had been told by other Residents about one of our aged care facilities.

Continue readingVillage Voice: November 2019

October Update I am writing this column after coming back from a farewell BBQ for our handyman Rob. I was really fortunate to be able to share lunch with the Maintenance team and enjoy the laughs and stories they told. As I arrived I said hello to Noel, the subcontract electrician who has worked on …

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Maintenance and Repair of Private Equipment Each time I have to replace a piece of equipment (most recently my washing machine) it seems the new one is more complicated and needs “extra” things. Unfortunately this is a common issue for all of us. Recently we have had a number of requests for maintenance to attend …

Continue reading "Village Voice: September 2019"

August Update The last couple of months have been extremely busy with the Aged Care Royal Commission creating heightened anxiety throughout the industry affecting some families and staff working in the industry. Concurrently, the Government is also introducing a range of risk and compliance processes that impact upon the accreditation standards, medication practices and governance …

Continue reading "Village Voice: August 2019"

The seminars that we hold in the Village to share information about transitioning from independent living into community and aged care are always popular and help Residents prepare for their future needs. Recently we have seen an increase in Residents needing care who don’t have the financial and care approval paperwork in place and this has meant long delays in being able to move into the Manor or Lodge. In some cases this has meant that people from outside of the Village have been able to move in ahead of people within the Village community because their paperwork was not ready when needed.

Continue readingVillage Voice: July 2019

Our Village Hostesses, being the front office for our ILU residents, have received a number of comments on the service fee increase for this year. As we tried to explain in the service fee letter, last year’s fees should have increased by an extra $10 per month from our increased costs, but this was offset by the receipt of the one off discount in water rates paid in previous years.

Continue readingVillage Voice: June 2019

There is a lot happening in and around the Village as we move towards a federal election. Both major parties seem to be offering a variety of additional services and programs and assuring us that key services will be affordable in the future (such as energy).

Continue readingVillage Voice: May 2019

Both of our Villages have experienced recent serious driving incidents. One where a resident collided with a fence and drove into a building and the other where the resident collided with a structure and other vehicles. Thankfully no one was physically injured in either incident and because both drivers were properly licenced and insured, the financial costs are covered by their insurance. If the driver had been unlicenced, insurance would not cover them and the residents would have incurred personal costs of either $50,000 or $100,000. Driving within the Village without a valid driver’s licence is never acceptable.

Continue readingVillage Voice: April 2019