PCAC new build making good progress

EXCELLENT progress is being made on construction of Prom Country Aged Care’s new residential facility in Foster’s health precinct.

The frame is up, the roof is on, and the builders, ADCO Constructions, have made a start on the external cladding, which includes brickwork, Colorbond steel and timber. Inside, the services are being roughed in. Still to come is the plasterboard, internal lining, joinery and fittings, including plumbing, along with floor finishes, painting and commissioning. Finally, extensive landscaping will take place.

“The build is on track. Good progress is being made,” said Prom Country Aged Care CEO Rhett McLennan.

A total of fifty or so people, mainly PCAC staff and board members, but also members of the wider community, including The Mirror, went on the three site tours on offer on Monday, led by the project manager, Michael Germano. All were very impressed with what they saw.

High ceilings in the hallways and other shared spaces, combined with an abundance of windows and several gardens and courtyards, present an overwhelming impression of space and light. The building is huge, but colour coding should prevent  anyone becoming lost! There will be three units of 20 beds each under the one enormous roof. Each unit will have its own colour – in its furnishings and perhaps on feature walls.

Each 20-bed unit will have its own kitchenette and each room its own en suite. Several of the rooms will be twinned with the adjoining room so couples can share. Many of the rooms will have access to an internal courtyard – there will be no fewer than five. Residents of rooms in the complex care unit will share a sensory garden and many other rooms will have windows or doors opening to gardens.

For the communal rooms, they have thought of everything! There’ll be several sitting rooms and activity rooms, a ‘men’s shed,’ a chapel and reflection area, a café, a cinema and a hairdresser, to name just a few.

Floor surfaces will range from timber-look vinyl to carpet tiles, and there will be swipe card access rather than jangling keys, a range of service rooms and comfortable facilities for staff.

Entrance to the new facility is from O’Connell Road, off Station Road. Plans are underway for a central car park to be shared with the medical centre and the hospital.

The project is on schedule to be completed in early October and residents should be able to move from Banksia Lodge or Prom View Lodge into their new home in November.

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