Author: micheller

3rd May 2022

At Whiddon, our priority is to always provide exceptional care to our residents, and we have been privileged to do that at Whiddon Hornsby for more than 40 years.

Unfortunately, however, we have made the difficult decision to close our Hornsby residence on 15 July 2022, based on a number of important factors.

Our Whiddon Hornsby is an older style building and the way we provide care has changed significantly over time.

The people we are now supporting at Hornsby have much more complex care needs for which the age and design of the building can no longer accommodate, in addition,  the building lease will expire over the coming years.

Through our commitment to providing quality care, we believe the right decision for our valued residents is to transfer their care to another Whiddon Home, or a high-quality home in the Hornsby area that can support their high care needs.

We are working closely with residents and their families to support them through the transition process and to ensure a seamless continuation of high-quality care that best suits their needs – whether that be a Whiddon facility, or another reputable provider.

For further information, please contact us on 1300 738 388.

Dear Whiddon Hornsby residents and families

We invite you to attend an important meeting at Whiddon Hornsby where we will share information about upcoming changes at our Home.

Whiddon’s CEO, Chris Mamarelis, and Deputy CEO, Alyson Jarrett, will host the meeting at Whiddon Hornsby.

Date:               Tuesday 3^rd May

Time:               11am

Location:         Whiddon Hornsby, 2 Lowe Rd, Hornsby NSW 2077

Please allow extra time for parking as there is limited street parking available at the site. Paid parking is also available at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital.

Thank you for making the time to attend this meeting. If you have any questions prior to Tuesday, please call us on 1300 738 388.

Sincerely,

Chris Mamarelis
Whiddon CEO

26 April 2022

Firstly, we wanted to thank our families for your patience and understanding at this time, and for ensuring that visits to Whiddon Wingham are pre-booked.

We continue to work closely with the local Public Health Unit (PHU) and, for now, Whiddon Wingham remains in lockdown until 28th April when residents will be reviewed.

Visitors are limited to one visitor per person (partner-in-care), and must complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry, as well as wear an N95 face mask and shield. Full PPE may be required in some areas.

Primrose Residents are able to de-isolate from their rooms and move freely around their Wing if they remain COVID negative and asymptomatic.

We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, but we want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this. Our teams are working hard to keep residents connected to their loved ones as we know how important this is.

Once again, we thank you for your patience and will provide a further update soon.

21 April 2022

We wanted to provide you with an update on the COVID-19 situation at Whiddon Easton Park. At least two thirds of residents who tested positive to COVID-19 have now recovered.  This is good news and we hope that the remaining affected residents recover quickly over the coming days.

Please be reassured, that we are continuing to work closely with the local Public Health Unit who provide us with guidance on the management of this outbreak.

Despite the outbreak, all residents may continue to have one visitor per day. In the affected ‘Red Zone areas’, this visitor must be a consistent person for the duration that the area is determined as a red zone.

For all ‘Amber Zones’, there can be one visitor per day, however this visitor can be a different person each day.

Please note that you will be advised when booking in your visit if the area in which your loved one lives is a red zone.

We have had been offered support from the Australian Defence Force. They will be attending our site and will be dedicated to areas where there are a number of affected residents and/or employees. Whiddon welcomes their visit and support.

When visiting please ensure that you:

• wear an N95 mask and face shield at all times, which will be supplied to you. In some areas, you may be required to wear full PPE
• pre-book your visit
• stay vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene
• do not meet in any common areas
• refrain from visiting if you have COVID-19 symptoms or are awaiting a COVID-19 test result
• do not visit if you have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless you are:
  – fully vaccinated, it has been at least 7 days after arrival and you have received a negative rapid antigen test 6 days or later after arriving in NSW.
  We thank you for your patience, understanding and ongoing support through this challenging time.

We thank you for your ongoing support and understanding.

19 April 2022 

Following our last update, we are pleased to let you know that we have not had any further employees or residents test positive to COVID-19. We have undertaken rapid antigen testing on residents and all tests have returned with a negative result.

Visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry to Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young at this time, and are strongly encouraged to have a booster vaccine if they are eligible for one.

When visiting please ensure that you:

• wear an N95 mask and face shield at all times, which will be supplied to you. If you are visiting a COVID-19 positive resident, full PPE must be worn
• pre-book your visit
• stay vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene
• do not meet in any common areas 
• refrain from visiting if you have COVID-19 symptoms or are awaiting a COVID-19 test result
• do not visit if you have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless you are:
  – fully vaccinated, it has been at least 7 days after arrival and you have received a negative rapid antigen test 6 days or later after arriving in NSW.

We thank you for your understanding and ongoing support through this challenging time. We look forward to seeing you soon.

16th April 2022

We have had 2 residents and an employee at Whiddon Kyogle test positive to COVID-19. We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 outbreak management plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented.

As a precaution, we will be undertaking testing of all residents and will contact families directly with any positive results. 

Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care home. The local Public Health Unit have advised that visitors are not permitted at this time, until the results of the PCR tests have been returned. We will review the situation over the weekend and provide a further update then.

We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, but we want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this.

We thank you for your support and understanding.

16th April 2022

Please find an update below for Whiddon Kyogle Families.

We have had 2 residents and an employee at Whiddon Kyogle test positive to COVID-19. We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 outbreak management plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented.

As a precaution, we will be undertaking testing of all residents. Please be assured that if your loved one has tested positive to COVID, we will contact you directly.

Our robust COVID-19 management plan means that we have strict protocols in place to avoid potential spread of the virus across our care home. The local Public Health Unit have advised that visitors are not permitted at this time, until the results of the tests have been returned. We will review the situation over the weekend and provide a further update then.

We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, but we want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this.

We thank you for your support and understanding.

The Expression of Interest process has now closed.  Please call 1300 738 388 for inquiries.

12 April 2022 

We have had four employees at Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young test positive to COVID-19. We have not had any residents who have tested positive to COVID-19 at this time.

As a precaution, all employees and visitors are required to undertake rapid antigen testing as a condition of entry to Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young and will be asked to wear an N95 mask and face shield, which will be provided upon entry to the home.

We ask that you please remain vigilant and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene when visiting. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell and do not meet in common areas. All visits must be must be pre-booked.

We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented.

We want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this. We are also committed to keeping you up-to-date of the situation and will provide a further update once we know more about the situation.

12 April 2022

We have had four employees at Whiddon Narrabri Robert Young test positive to COVID-19.

Employees must wear an N95 mask and face shield, wear a gown if exposed to body fluids, complete a rapid antigen test, and social distancing must be observed at all times, including the staff room and nurses station. If you’re feeling unwell please refrain from coming in to work.  

We are working closely with the local Public Health Unit and following their advice, and have activated our COVID-19 response plan to ensure all necessary precautionary measures are implemented.

We want you to know that it is our highest priority to keep everyone in our family safe and well, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this. We are also committed to keeping you up-to-date of the situation and will provide a further update once we know more about the situation.