Yukana is part of Toowoomba community
THERE are many special things about Yukana, but one in particular is its focus on the community.
Managing director Brett Mullen believes Yukana’s community atmosphere is something that has been instilled in both residents and staff since the very beginning.
“We want to provide the residents with a home-like environment that’s full of friends, family and socialisation,” Mr Mullen said.
Being a part of the Toowoomba region and getting involved in the city and its events is something Yukana residents are keen to embrace.
“The great thing is that Yukana residents aren’t isolated — they are still very much involved in the Toowoomba community and love getting out to the shows and the events that are on,” Mr Mullen said.
The lifestyle team often take residents out and about on the Village bus, which is specifically designed to transport their residents to local events.
A full and varied calendar of events means many residents are able to remain active and to participate as much as they like.
“Funnily enough, our service team often say they have trouble finding residents at home!” Mr Mullen said.
“Residents are always going out, saying how busy they are, and they don’t even know how they found time to work in past.”
Yukana offers a huge variety of services including regular themed events in their restaurant.
On the flip-side, with over 1300 roses, a Japanese garden, an Australian garden, walk-in bird aviary, barbecue gazebo, lots of open spaces and so much more, Yukana also creates an environment of beauty and contentment.
What really makes Yukana such a great place to live are the staff.
“We treat everyone as if they are family, and that makes for a great community,” Mr Mullen said.
Yukana has specialised support positions including a customer service facilitator, relationship coordinator and a lifestyle coordinator who, along with other staff, make sure residents are always fully cared for.
“We always listening to our residents,” Mr Mullen said.
“We pride ourselves on our customer engagement and the way we engage our residents — after all, happy staff equals happy residents.
“The culture and the standard that we have is fantastic, and we like to think that our staff are an extended family in themselves for our residents.
“It’s not just about care, it’s not just about relationships, it’s not just about staff, it’s not just about the beautiful gardens and facilities, or the great food, it’s how all of that works together.”
Yukana is an integrated wellness community, meaning that they are more than a retirement village or aged care facility.
“They [residents] just don’t have any worries,” Mr Mullen said.
“Residents know they’re getting looked after really well, and everything is taken care of — from the small things in life, to the greater requirments of care.”
“Toowoomba is a great city — it’s a friendly, family-oriented city,” Mr
Mullen said.
“Families come back to be with family.
“There are a lot of support networks, and there’s great health services here, so it’s great for retirement and our ageing requirements.”
Opening in 1990, Yukana is in its 27th year of serving the greater community of Toowoomba.
The future of Yukana is one of growth and development.
“We will keep listening to our customers — the needs
of our residents are changing and we are changing in response to requirements,” Mr Mullen said.
“We never want to lose that Yukana is a family.
“We’re growing — as the city grows we’ll keep growing with it, and what a great city it is.”
Yukana is located at 258 Spring St, Toowoomba.
To start your Yukana experience don’t hesitate to call 4631 5678 or visit www.yukana.org.au.
❝ just It’s not just about care, it’s not about relationships, it’s not just about staff, it’s not just about the beautiful gardens and facilities, or the great food, it’s how all of that works together. — Yukana managing director Brett Mullen