Two of the country’s major Not For Profit providers, BaptistCare NSW & ACT and Baptistcare WA, have revealed that they will merge to form a new national organisation with 33 aged care facilities, 25 retirement villages, and 9,000 home care customers.
BaptistCare NSW & ACT is already one of the largest Not For Profits on the East Coast with 75 locations supporting over 17,500 older Australians across its 15 retirement villages, 21 aged care homes, 8,500 home care customers, community housing and social services.
Baptistcare WA is one of WA’s largest providers of residential aged care, retirement living and home care services, with 12 aged care homes, 10 retirement villages, around 440 Home Care Packages (HCPs) and a catering arm Aurum Catering & Management Services which delivers meals into its aged care homes as well as catering to other aged care providers.
Together, the merged entity will have a combined revenue of $520 million and a workforce of more than 5,000 people and 750 volunteers.
BaptistCare NSW & ACT CEO Charles Moore will lead the newly merged organisation as Chief Executive Officer, while Baptistcare WA’s CEO Amanda Vivian has been appointed to the new role of Executive Director Western Australia to lead the operations in WA.
“We will be stronger as one”
Speaking exclusively to The Weekly SOURCE and SATURDAY magazine, Charles and Amanda said a merger of the two Baptist-affiliated entities will allow the combined organisations to deliver more sustainable care in the aged care sector.
“We do think that by coming together, we will be stronger as one,” said Charles.
“It always starts with our customers. We think that we can look after more of them and we can increase the quality of care we’re delivering.
“Combined, we will have a stronger balance sheet position so that will enable us to potentially provide more accommodation and enhance the quality of our existing accommodation, particularly with a focus in Western Australia.
“As a larger organisation, it will also give us a stronger voice to be able to advocate on behalf of our residents, customers, and clients.
“I think that this merger is mutually beneficial to both organisations and is setting us up to just ultimately be a far more successful organisation in the future.”
WA facing workforce and COVID-19 challenges
The merger comes as the residential care sector faces increasing workforce and regulatory challenges – namely the 24/7 Registered Nurses requirement from 1 July 2023 and the 200 mandated minutes of direct care from October this year.
Like BaptistCare NSW & ACT and many other residential care providers, Baptistcare WA’s aged care homes are operating at a loss. In 2021-22, the organisation recorded a $5.1 million loss which was attributed to the impact of COVID-19 and recruitment challenges.
“As a WA provider, not unlike any other providers, it is challenging,” said Amanda.
“As a combined organisation, we will have the benefit of initiatives that work well on the East Coast and the West Coast and how we combine those together to provide much better customer outcomes.”
“We will also be able to attract more staff because our systems and processes will be better, which again, results in that great customer experience piece that we’re all driving towards.”
The two organisations will work closely together on the transition into one organisation over the coming months, with all employees to retain their roles for the next 12 months and no changes to the care and services for residents and customers in either state.
The merger comes on the back of BaptistCare NSW & ACT’s recently announced acquisition of three co-located aged care homes and retirement villages in NSW from family-run operator Tulich Family Communities.
Read more in this week’s issue of SATURDAY, out Saturday 18 March – subscribe here.
