Mayor turns the first sod on Opal Aged Care’s new $35 million Bathurst home

Opal Aged Care (Opal) will today host an official sod turn ceremony attended by Mayor Graeme Hanger OAM to mark the start of construction of its new 164 bed aged care home, reaffirming Opal’s commitment to the region.

Opal has owned and operated an aged care home in Kelso for 38 years. The new purpose built home will provide a range of premium single rooms with ensuites, companion rooms, beautifully designed living and dining areas, outdoor spaces, a hairdressing salon and a café. Centrally located in Bathurst, along Stanley Street, the home will be minutes from Bathurst Hospital.

Sean Bilton, Opal Aged Care’s Acting Managing Director, spoke of the importance of investing in regional communities like Bathurst.

“Opal Bathurst has been providing aged care services to the local community for the past 38 years, and over this time we’ve seen the demand for quality aged care services continue to grow. The new home will more than double the number of aged care beds of the existing home, providing a state-of-the-art facility, while delivering the same excellent care the community has come to expect from Opal” said Mr Bilton.

The first sod will be turned by Bathurst Mayor Graeme Hanger, who spoke about the benefits the new home will have for the region.

“It’s great to see Opal continuing their commitment to Bathurst by providing much needed, high quality aged care for our older community. The construction will also boost our local economy by creating jobs for local residents, with over 100 construction jobs and 150 aged care jobs once the home is open,” Cr Hanger said.

Judith Anderson, the new Manager of Opal Bathurst, an experienced clinician in both the acute and aged care sector, said the new home would exceed the expectations of the community.

“The new home will provide a new standard of aged care services for Bathurst. The home is scheduled to open in early 2019, when we’ll be able to open our doors to the local community, offering a facility with a modern design, built with our residents in mind. This will include a specialist memory support wing, allowing us to provide dedicated, much needed specialist care for people living with dementia.”