The NSW Northern Rivers-based Not For Profit took on the 41-bed Byron Aged Care home in Byron Bay, 35km north of its base in Ballina, last month as it refocuses its strategic plan on retirement living and residential aged care.
The agreement marks the second acquisition within 12 months for the organisation, which also took over Feros Care’s former 40-bed aged care home at Byron Bay in January 2024, renaming the site George’s Cottages.
Byron Aged Care is within one kilometre of George’s Cottages and has been managed for the past decade by Alzheimer’s Queensland after it was asked to take over the facility’s operations by a local community group.
St Andrews had approached Alzheimer’s Queensland two years ago about purchasing the facility but it declined. But late last year, Alzheimer’s Queensland contacted St Andrews to say that it wanted to return the organisation back to the community and had selected St Andrews as the preferred operator.
St Andrews to invest in capital works
Founded in 1983, Alzheimer’s Queensland has four aged care facilities in Brisbane where it is building a fifth site. With the Byron facility located 165km south, the site sits outside of their southern Queensland footprint.
St Andrews CEO Todd Yourell has now stepped into the CEO role at Byron Aged Care with its directors joining the facility’s board.
The plan is to transition across the operator’s approved provider status to St Andrews in the coming months.
Over time, St Andrews also plans to invest in some capital works to improve the facility, which dates back to the early 1970s in some parts, for residents.
St Andrews divested home care to integratedliving
The new addition forms part of St Andrews’ strategic plan to focus on retirement living and residential aged care which now includes 101 retirement living units and 204 aged care beds across its 123-bed Ballina facility and the Byron Bay sites.
Last month (December 2024), the Not For Profit finalised the transfer of its home care services to large regional home care provider integratedliving.
St Andrews will now focus on settling the two facilities, but Todd says the organisation will consider further acquisitions if the opportunity arises.
“Our philosophy is not to be the dominant provider in the Northern Rivers, but we want to be big enough so that we can ride the waves that come with aged care,” he told The Weekly SOURCE.
