How a desire to help the community saved a Byron Bay aged care home

When it was announced that Feros Village Byron Bay would be shutting down, residents stood their ground and called for the decision to be reversed. After nine months, they were rewarded with the announcement of new ownership: St Andrew’s Aged Care.

Based in nearby Ballina, St Andrew’s stepped up to the plate to ensure residents continued to have a residential care site they could call home. 

It’s a decision that St Andrew’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Todd Yourell, didn’t make lightly with his Board. He told hello leaders that the Ballina-based not-for-profit organisation was not focused on expansion but when the opportunity to support its local community arose, it could not pass up.

“As a local organisation, I’ve been keeping an eye on the situation as have our Board members. But it wasn’t until the Expression of Interest (EOI) opportunity came up that we gave it some serious consideration and thought this might be a part of our future,” explained Mr Yourell.

“Expansion has never been on our radar as such… but the opportunity to do what we’re now doing very well in residential aged care and as an expansion of our existing home care services in the Byron Bay area, it’s just an opportunity we thought we could do well for the residents.”

With 123 residents at St Andrew’s Ballina, just 20 minutes south of Byron Bay, 101 retirement living units across four sites and home care clients spread throughout the Northern Rivers region, the local presence was listed as one of the standout features by the NSW Government.

Early priorities include attracting residents to the site, including some of those who left, with roughly 40 beds available altogether. However, upgrades will be required. Mr Yourell said there will be long-term planning to improve the site but the short-term focus is creating a comfortable living environment where residents are involved in the decision-making process.

Safety improvements will be the first port of call for St Andrew’s, including the adoption of a new nurse call system, an improved kitchen area and new beds. Work is also well underway to ensure all operational requirements are ready to go from day one.

“I spoke to the residents just before Christmas and a few of their family members and we discussed what we intend to do, how we intend to rebuild and what the community will look like. There was an overwhelming feeling of joy from the residents,” said Mr Yourell. 

“At some stage, we will have to do some major reconstruction work as codes change, as requirements of aged care facilities change and the expectations of the older people change. But at this point, we just need to keep it simple and we’ll be talking to the residents about what they want.”

“I think the residents deserve a say about where they’re living.”

Keeping it local

Currently, just eight residents remain at Feros Village Byron Bay. In some ways, this is a positive as it means St Andrew’s can easily transfer across existing workforce resources when it officially takes ownership of the site on January 29.

Local workers from St Andrew’s Ballina will be offered the opportunity to transfer to the Byron Bay site. For those who live in Byron Bay it’s the perfect chance to work closer to home while it gives St Andrew’s experienced staff members who can make it a smooth service transition for residents.

Mr Yourell said the small resident base also means they do not have to rely on agency staff in the beginning, ensuring they can recruit and attract long-term staff.

“What we are doing is working on our own recruitment processes and talking with recruitment agencies around how we can build our staffing capabilities because once we build our staffing we can bring more residents,” he said. 

“We have gone through a really hard period where we had what I consider too many agency staff members working in our facility. We’ve reduced that way down now and that’s put us in a position where we can keep growing, keep recruiting and move some staff from Ballina to Byron Bay.”

There’s a real sense of optimism surrounding St Andrew’s in Ballina and Byron Bay, reflecting the positive outlook Mr Yourell holds for aged care in 2024. 

Not only is he already invested in the Byron Bay site – telling hello leaders that they plan to bring the residents down to Ballina to introduce them to their organisation – but he sees good things on the horizon for aged care overall. 

“We can see light at the end of the tunnel with the reforms and funding that are coming through. I’m really fascinated by ACCPA and what they bring forward as far as funding may look like in the future,” said Mr Yourell.

“With any Government provider service, we don’t hold our breath to get the perfect result, we just work with what we get and I’m hoping that regional communities do get the focus they need.”