Not For Profit retirement living, home care, and aged care provider Southern Cross Care NSW & ACT will close its aged care home in the Riverina district town of Moama, 200km north of Melbourne and 850km southwest of Sydney, attributing the shutdown to difficulties finding staff.
The 56-bed home has only 22 residents after the operator stopped accepting new admissions a year ago.
Residents should move into one of Moama’s four remaining aged care homes, Murray River mayor Frank Crawley told the ABC.
“The decision has not been easy and it’s not been made lightly,” Southern Cross Care NSW & ACT interim Chief Executive Officer Monique Reynolds told the ABC.
The provider has been relying on temporary staff to fill vacancies and has not been able to hire permanent staff, she said.
SCC NSW & ACT will work with each resident to find the most suitable relocation.
In February 2022, the provider announced it would close its Currawarna aged care home in Bombala, and the 32-unit Tenison facility in Swansea, Lake Macquarie. 12 months earlier, SCC NSW & ACT shut the 45-bed St Lawrence aged care home in Harden, 340km southwest of Sydney, which has since been reopened by Apollo Care.
The local community is hoping to reopen the home in Bombala with financial support from the NSW Government.
