Date: 9 April 2018

Aged Care Minister, Ken Wyatt AM, visited Whiddon Grafton to tour our new aged care home, join an intergenerational cooking session and officially launch the award-winning HenPower program.

Whiddon CEO, Chris Mamarelis, said he was delighted to welcome Minister Wyatt, who was joined by Mr Kevin Hogan MP, Federal Member for Page.

“Our beautiful new aged care home in Grafton was officially opened by Mr Kevin Hogan MP in November 2017 and offers an additional 56 residential places, along with a 23 place secure dementia wing, outdoor courtyards and a café,” Mr Mamarelis said.

“The response from the community since the building was opened has been overwhelming and we have enjoyed welcoming many new residents and their families to the home.

“We welcomed Minister Wyatt to see our new home, meet our wonderful residents and staff, and enjoy our creative ageing programs, which are an important part of our holistic approach to care and bring enjoyment and health and wellbeing benefits for residents.”

Minister Wyatt joined residents and local high school students for an intergenerational cupcake bake-off, which is part of Vintage Bites, a creative ageing program that uses food as a platform to bring people together and create a sense of community.

During the visit, Minister Wyatt launched HenPower at Whiddon Grafton, an award-winning creative ageing program that was an Australian first for Whiddon. This program sees residents joining in social and creative activities based around keeping hens.

Minister Wyatt announced the names of the three hens – Paris, Dutchess and Mischief.

Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt AM, said that Whiddon has a long record of supporting older people in the Clarence Valley region and congratulated Whiddon on the expansion of the aged care home.

“I am pleased to launch Whiddon’s HenPower program at Grafton and join residents and local high school students for a VintageBites session. Whiddon’s creative ageing programs bring important wellbeing benefits for their residents and the opportunity for older people to continue to grow their skills, knowledge and creativity.

“I congratulate Whiddon on their new home, which now offers 110 residential aged care places to the region, and on their strong focus on keeping residents connected to the communities they know and love,” Minister Wyatt said.