Allawah Lodge is a 33 bed residential aged care facility located on the corner of Stinson and Mirrool Streets, Coolamon, which is run by the local council.
From its 33 beds, it has only filled 22 of them due to ongoing staff shortages, but hopes to change that by bringing in workers from the Philippines.
- Five community-run facilities in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) will bring over 30 Filipino aged care staff
- $136,000 will support them through relevant TAFE aged care qualifications while $500,000 will be used to build accommodation for the ten workers going to Allawah Lodge
Despite having a waiting list of more than 70 people, Simone Fuller, Allawah Lodge Aged Care Services Manager, said they made the unprecedented decision to reduce capacity last year due to dwindling staff numbers.
“We were already reducing our resident numbers in our facility to try and match the workforce we had,” Ms Fuller said.
Allawah Lodge expects the incoming international cohort to complement its current crop of staff, particularly as Ms Fuller anticipates up to half of her workforce will retire within five years. International workers will also be supported from day one as work is well underway to integrate them into Australian Filipino communities to help overcome accommodation concerns.
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Source: Hellocare