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Featured articles from our Aged Care Today magazine authored by our Ageing Australia team and specialists within the aged care sector.

Curtin Heritage Living’s innovative approach secures top industry award

Cottesloe redevelopment best-in-class

At the recent Urban Development Institute of Australia (Western Australia) awards event, Curtin Heritage Living’s Cottesloe redevelopment was not just named winner of the Seniors Accommodation category, but in a first for an aged care precinct, it was awarded the prestigious overall Russell Perry Award for Excellence in Development – outclassing developments across all other categories.

This impressive achievement is the result of meticulous planning, purposeful architecture, stunning design, masterful finishes, and a passionate vision for the effortless facilitation of community integration.

“As a smaller operator we have the freedom to do things a bit differently,” said Curtin Heritage Living Managing Director David Cox.

“We’ve travelled extensively throughout Australia and internationally to find innovative ways to enhance the aged care experience and create something that would appeal to discerning consumers of the future.

“We’re always looking for ways to experiment, learn from others and find evidence-based initiatives we can apply here in Perth.”

Originally chairman of the board at Curtin, David has been in his role as Managing Director for six years and has spearheaded incredible transformation and expansion.

When he came into the job in 2018, all employees were third party staff, so he immediately went on a mammoth recruitment drive to secure 200 permanent employees. Today there are almost 500.

The not-for-profit has acquired a home care arm, ‘Shine’, and has transformed the original Cottesloe site from traditional aged care home to a stunning bespoke aged care and commercial precinct.

“For our Cottesloe redevelopment, we engaged five different architects, two of them with international expertise, because we wanted to create excellence across each of our offerings,” said David.

“We didn’t want to be constrained by current legislation and operating requirements, we know the model of the future will be driven by consumer demand so we wanted to create spaces that people would choose to live in.”

For the Cottesloe redevelopment, that meant residential care rooms that look more like one-bedroom apartments, most with enough space for a living area and a kitchenette in addition to a bedroom and ensuite. There is also potential to join two rooms together, and all rooms can be locked from the inside to ensure resident privacy.

To maintain resident safety, every room is fitted with Artificial Intelligence technology, including movement detectors so that staff can be alerted to any significant change in behaviour, such as a fall. They also still have medical beds, nurse call buttons and ceiling hoists.

In the Waterfront Cottesloe independent living apartments there are two- and three-bedroom options, with service offerings on-demand and as required, and stunning views of Cottesloe beach.

However, all apartments from residential care to independent living have been classified ‘nursing home beds’ to allow for flexibility in the future and meaning people can truly ‘age in place’.

The inclusions across the entire site are very high-end consistent with the blue ribbon aspirational appeal of the Cottesloe area.

This means even the commercial facilities are second-to-none, with an award-winning restaurant, reputable art gallery and medical centre.

Heritage buildings have been restored to create spaces that facilitate community activity. Spaces include a luxurious club lounge, arts makerspace and 40-seat theatre and other small bespoke areas for gathering.

“People from the community come here and don’t realise it’s an aged care site, they just come here because of the reviews or the stunning facilities,” said David.

“We even had a group from Hong Kong exhibit their jewellery collection here because they loved the venue.”

Curtin Heritage Living also plays a role in the wider community through its benevolent activities, such as working with the local councils to run seniors’ week events which include high teas and movie nights at the Cottesloe site, and also supporting local disability providers with various events.

“We have many touch points with the local community and that integration is really important not just because we want our residents and clients to continue to connect with their community, but also because the people we connect with are likely to be our customers of the future,” said David.

“Our site and the way we activate it is the best referral service we could want.”

Another interesting thing about Curtin Heritage Living is that their staff are integrated across all sites – residential care, independent living and home care.

“We organise our staff around the services they provide, such as allied health, and then those teams operate across all sites and activities,” said David.

“It breathes life into our staff and helps support our very high retention rate.”

At the end of the day, when the sun is setting over the beach in the west, the real proof of success is the response from the target market, which has been nothing short of outstanding.

At Curtin’s Cottesloe redevelopment, all apartments are fully occupied, with stage two selling in three weeks and more than 200 people on a wait list for the independent living apartments alone.

“Our vision was to create a great place where people want to live, that was vibrant and an activated extension of the community – not just a nice, aged care home,” said David.

“It’s really wonderful to see all of that coming together.”

Linda Baraciolli, Aged Care Today Editor and Communications Advisor,
ACCPA

Aged Care Today magazine, Spring 2024, page 116-117
Built Environment & Design
Aged Care Today
Quality finishes feature throughout the development, including the residential aged care lobby.

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