Calvary considered modernising the existing building design, but determined such extensive work was not practical for the staff and residents, who would have had to relocate throughout the process.

Calvary Hallam is an older residential aged care home, and while maintenance works have been undertaken to address immediate issues, the infrastructure style cannot support contemporary aged care services into the future without a major renovation.

“These decisions are not made lightly, but we believe the closure offers better long-term outcomes for our residents and a stable work environment for staff compared with any temporary relocation,” said Angela Littleford, Calvary Regional Chief Executive, Victoria.

Calvary will support the transition of all 39 residents to homes with better amenities across the Calvary network, or to another aged care provider if residents choose. Calvary Hallam staff will be offered redeployment opportunities where suitable across Calvary’s other Victorian homes. Calvary is providing dedicated pastoral care support to all our residents and staff during this period.

Calvary’s Mission is to serve our communities across all stages of life with a connected care system that delivers contemporary care.

“To be able to grow, and provide care for an increasing number of people, Calvary must ensure our existing services are operating well, and enhance our service delivery with access to pathways that help to connect care services,” Dr Littleford said.

“We recently invested in expanding capacity at Calvary George Vowell in Mount Eliza with an additional 19 beds in a contemporary design that supports modern models of care for aged care residents, and we have also invested in a multi-million dollar digitisation program that will enable new technologies to deliver safe and connected care sought by our patients, residents, and clients, and embraced by our staff.”