WA’s Bethanie wins inaugural award for retirement living innovation
Bethanie Gwelup Aged Care and Assisted Living Campus in Western Australia has won the inaugural CSR Hebel Award for Innovation, part of the 2017 Property Council of Australia National Retirement Living Awards.
The Bethanie Gwelup project was recognised for its use of technology to integrate their traditionally separate independent living and aged care operations as one smooth-running site.
Consisting 62 independent living apartments and a 112-bed aged care facility, Bethanie has for the first time adopted a ‘campus style’ model, allowing residents to access different levels of care while remaining on the same site.
Ben Myers, Executive Director – Retirement Living at the Property Council of Australia, says the Bethanie campus model enabled residents to have more control over their future and how they want to live.
“Senior Australians have an expectation that when they move to a retirement village, it is the last move they make in their life,” Mr Myers said. “The Bethanie campus model enables people to make that move with certainty, knowing their home can be adapted to their changing needs.”
Independent living residents can directly access support and care services when needed without having to leave their building, and can order freshly cooked meals from the aged care kitchen via their televisions using the Bethanie ‘infotainment’ system.
Both buildings are equipped with an Integrated Extra Low Voltage System (IELVS). The IELVS monitors emergency and security controls, lighting and building equipment maintenance to identify malfunctions and automatically distributes work orders to fix them.
The independent living apartments are all designed to be adaptable and be turned into aged care suites, while six of the two-bedroom apartments are capable of being split into two separate one bedroom apartments, should demand increase for the one bedroom product.
A key feature of the Bethanie Gwelup Aged Care and Assisted Living Campus is that it allows couples to remain on the same site, even if one person’s care needs are more advanced than the other.
Bethanie is Western Australia’s largest not-for-profit aged care and retirement village provider, with 24 locations across the state, including 12 villages.
The Award for Innovation is proudly presented by CSR Hebel, and is part of the National Retirement Living Awards. For more information, visit www.retirementlivingawards.com.au.