Bright start for aged care centre
A SMOKING ceremony has signalled the start of construction for a new residential aged care centre in Mossman.
Indigenous traditional land owners conducted the smoking ceremony on the development site on Johnston Rd, to ward off any bad spirits so workers are safe and protected during the construction phase.
Work on the 42-bed Salvation Army Aged Care Plus facility will begin this month.
The new centre has been a joint initiative between Aged Care Plus, the Douglas Shire Council and the Mossman District Nursing Home Inc to bring aged care services to Mossman.
The Douglas Shire Council has been a driving force in the development through the provision of land on Johnston Rd, the waiving of $248,000 in infrastructure charges and successfully sourcing funding through the State Government Building Our Regions grant.
The Queensland Government has provided $544,000 towards the redevelopment as part of their Building Our Regions funding agreement.
The Salvation Army Aged Care Plus is contributing in excess of $12 million in funding towards the development.
Aged Care Plus executive manager for capital projects Steven Ball said the residential aged care centre would provide industry leading physical, emotional and spiritual care.
The centre will have dedicated beds to meet the needs of local indigenous people.
“This development is the culmination of more than 20 years of hard work and dedication by the Mossman District Nursing Home Committee, backed by support from the Douglas Shire Council,” he said.
“Aged Care Plus is incredibly proud to be responding to the need for aged care services in Mossman, and we are very excited to officially commence construction on the residential aged care centre in the coming weeks.”