It has been a milestone week for regional Victoria, with Uniting AgeWell celebrating the opening of new home care offices in Castlemaine and Swan Hill to support the growth and demand for home care services in the Loddon Mallee.

While the local teams moved into their new offices in June, they were officially opened at special events this week.

Balloons, cakes and wall-to wall smiles were evident at the Castlemaine office opening event on Wednesday 3 July with the Swan Hill office opening held the following day.  Clients joined staff in a celebratory lunch in the beautiful heritage-protected building in Castlemaine with its high ceilings and big windows.  Everyone had a wonderful lunch and the cake was cut to a round of applause.

UA’s Loddon Mallee South Program Manager Kaylene DeWacht enjoyed the festivities.   "We are thrilled to be here – it is a great opportunity to support our clients.  There is a lot of foot traffic and already there has been interest expressed in the services we are offering.”

The sentiment is shared by Program Manager, Loddon Mallee Community Programs Paula Richards "It is wonderful to have a presence here in Castlemaine – we are really able to connect to the local community."  

The Castlemaine-based team currently supports 400 customers throughout the Mount Alexander Shire and following the transition of Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) services from the Central Goldfields Shire earlier this year, to those living in Maryborough and surrounds.

Director Regional Victoria Home Care Meagan Thomas says both of the new offices are central and lend themselves to capacity building for the team of Care Advisors to build relationships with other services in the area, ensuring customers have the best access to what they need.

“We have seen an increase in the demand for home care services along with those wanting support to get out and about to do the things they’ve always done,” says Meagan.

Deputy CEO Fonda Voukelatos, who along with CEO Andrew Kinnersly attended the opening ceremonies, says the team are very focussed on building relationships within the community.

“The reason we are here is to support clients and their families. We want to get involved in authentic relationships.  That means listening, hearing and getting to know their stories. It means honouring that individual.”

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