Celebration of expanded Carinya Lodge

THE WEATHER played its part in Korumburra on Thursday as a large turnout of residents, staff and community members celebrated the ‘Grand Opening’ of an expanded Carinya Lodge.
Improvements included a 20-bed extension, new kitchen, laundry and maintenance services area.

Among other additions were two new dining rooms, serveries, a staff room, multipurpose room, hairdressing salon, boardroom and a couple of nurses’ stations.

The latest nurse call system has been installed to better support residents.

President of Carinya’s committee of management, Rod Abbott, delivered a speech, touching on the Lodge’s history, including its inception in 1969 and construction of its first two units in 1972. He then highlighted the recent improvements that began in 2019.

“With Federal grant assistance of $1.3 million we’ve had the privilege to refurbish all the existing rooms, create a new car park, and enhance the front entrance,” Rod said.

Resident in one of Carinya’s 52 independent living units, Lorraine Kirk, hadn’t yet had a tour of the Lodge when she spoke to the Sentinel-Times but was pleased with what she’d seen.

“The new entrance and reception is very impressive,” she said.

Carinya Lodge now boasts a capacity of 60 beds, which includes dedicated space for dementia care and respite services.

Rod thanked the many community organisations and individuals who have contributed to improvements at the Lodge.

Construction was initially intended to be completed in two years, with an extra six months allowed for.

“Staff and patients demonstrated unwavering patience and resilience,” Rod said of the way people handled a range of delays.

The grand celebration of the new works was held back for many months after extensive damage to Carinya’s brand new front canopy when it was accidentally hit by a truck.

Carinya Lodge CEO Cindy Nicholas was delighted with the success of Thursday’s opening celebration and the big turnout, saying there were more people than expected.

“We’re so relieved we’ve got to today, the fact that it’s opened,” she said.

“When we embarked on this journey, discussing whether we should do an extension, what our budget was and what we needed, to where we are now is worlds apart.”

She said the idea to add some beds sparked a massive construction project.

All up it cost just under $10 million, including landscaping and car parks.

Remarkably, the project was achieved with only the aforementioned $1.3 million grant through the Department of Infrastructure, Carinya’s savings, fundraising, and community contributions.

After Rods’ speech and the cutting of the ribbon, people enjoyed a bite to eat and the opportunity to join one of the tours of the Lodge, checking out its many improvements.

This scribe was part of a tour group led by resident liaison officer Lyn Mayo. Her pride in the Lodge and the improvements made was clear to see.

The new courtyard area was at its best in the glorious sunshine.