Princes Court’s new CEO embraces growth challenges

Princes Court Mildura is embracing the challenges of growth and expansion with newly appointed CEO Anthony Couroupis ready to bring two major growth projects to fruition.

Mr Couroupis joined the Princess Court Board in November 2022, serving as a Board member for 14 months before taking on the interim CEO role earlier this year. 

It was an unexpected turn of events for the experienced executive leader, but after three months in the role, the Board was convinced he was the right person for the job.

“I’ve enjoyed myself here much more than I could have ever anticipated in my three months in the interim role. From a director’s perspective, [the decision was made] to ensure a smooth transition to CEO and ensure that the interests of the organisation were best represented through any transition arrangements,” Mr Couroupis told hello leaders. 

Princes Court has operated in Mildura for more than 65 years, catering to the growing needs of the prominent regional town. Offering a suite of services, including residential care, retirement and independent living, palliative care and home care, Mr Couroupis expressed his pride at what they have achieved as a regional operator.

“We’re a relatively small provider so we have challenges with scale but we provide residential aged care services at a high quality and we’re well regarded by our residents. With the changes to the Act that will also bring changes to the Standards and we need to make sure we respond appropriately and continue to provide that very high level of service.”

“It’s just part of the ongoing challenges of aged care, particularly in an industry with such high levels of Government involvement. Being nimble to change in response to changing expectations and regulations is absolutely necessary.”

His first few months in the role will see plenty of action, including constructing a $23.5 million 50-bed residential care home and expanding their home care service, Princes Court At Home. 

Both investments will address the growing demand for home care support in Mildura while bringing the full residential care site up to modern standards. 

“We were established in the 1950 and some of our buildings are from that era. This new facility will make those older buildings redundant and it will give us a net increase from 100 beds to 132 in the future. We’ll add 50 beds and take away 18 in those old buildings,” he explained. 

“The next challenge will be what we do with that space once those old buildings are gone.”

In many ways, the challenges for Mr Couroupis and Princes Court are welcomed. The organisation is well respected in the community and there is a willingness to pay for services that will keep residents in the town they call home. 

Princes Court’s redevelopment is also supported by an $11 million Federal Government grant to construct its 50-bed facility. This has been warmly welcomed by the organisation, but obstacles are still on the radar.

“Financially we’re holding our own. We’re not getting as ahead as we would like to be or probably need to be for the longer term. But we’re also holding our own in terms of staffing; we’re a rural location so always challenged by staffing and right now is no different,” he said.

“We’re looking at doing things differently to try and attract and retain the right staff to meet our increasing service delivery needs. We have a 100-bed aged care facility plus an expanding home care business with a relatively small home care team at the moment,” he said.

“We have a great reputation in our community and region so it’s just a matter of managing that expansion properly.”

Confidence is key for Mr Couroupis and it’s clear he is highly confident in his team. He told hello leaders they are committed to providing a high-quality service for residents and by keeping them informed and involved in the expansion process, there will be great outcomes for all.

“It’s about creating a culture in the organisation from top to bottom that demands excellence in the services we provide. That’s first and foremost and then everything else revolves around that,” he said.

“Involving consumers is what it’s all about. We need to make sure consumer-led decision-making is embedded in every part of our operations.”