Crowley News

Crowley, one of the leading providers of retirement living and aged and community care services on the NSW North Coast, is pleased to announce one of their trainees, Mrs Marlene Pearce, is the recipient of East Coast Training’s 2008 Trainee of the Year, Hospitality/Retail Industries.

 Michael Penhey, CEO of Crowley said they were extremely proud of Mrs Pearce and that she is a valuable member of the Crowley team.

“Marlene is an asset to Crowley. Her dedication to her traineeship was evident and we are delighted Marlene has won this Award,” said Mr Penhey.

When asked about how she felt about her Award, Mrs Pearce responded that she “was just excited to be nominated”.

Mrs Pearce wanted to return to work after being a mum at home for twenty years, and started in May 2006 in Crowley’s Hotel Services Department and shortly after was signed up for a traineeship.

Mrs Pearce is one of those rare people who love and appreciate the work they do, and has now graduated with a Certificate III in Hospitality & Retail.

“Just coming to work everyday is really good,” said Mrs Pearce.

Crowley and Ballina Shire Council have announced that, following successful negotiations, they have signed an agreement for the sale of Council’s Independent Living Units in Florence Price Place, Ballina.

 Michael Penhey, CEO of Crowley, said the Agreement reflects a logical extension of Crowley’s Village in Cherry Street, enabling the residents of Florence Price Place to take full advantage of Crowley’s facilities and services.

“The residents will benefit from being part of Crowley as they receive access to enhanced care services, an onsite mobile meal van and the many social activities offered by Crowley,” said Mr Penhey.

The merger was a logical decision based on Crowley’s expertise in aged care services, the quality of their care and the proximity of Crowley to Florence Price Place.

“Both Ballina Shire Council and Crowley see this as an opportunity to extend Crowley’s services and commitment to quality care to the residents of Florence Price Place,” said Mr Penhey.

Crowley will be hosting a welcome party to the new residents including an orientation to Crowley’s services.

“Many residents in Florence Price Place already know the Crowley residents, mainly due to the proximity of the street to Crowley, so we look forward to making them officially part of the Crowley family,” said Mr Penhey.

Mayor Phil Silver commented that the decision by Council to sell the Florence Price Place complex to Crowley was unanimous as aged care is outside Council’s area of expertise. The Mayor also commented that Florence Price Place residents should be comforted with the conditions negotiated with Crowley to provide for their long term welfare and accommodation needs.

Crowley continues to lead the way in high quality aged and community care by winning three New South Wales Awards for Excellence from NSW & ACT Aged & Community Services.

Mr Michael Penhey, CEO of Crowley, has attributed the three Awards to his very dedicated team of management, staff and volunteers and their commitment to Crowley’s ethos of care.

The winner of the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award was Patricia Wilson. For 27 years Patricia Wilson has been volunteering at Crowley, with 26 of those years as President of Crowley Auxiliary.

“Patricia is one of those very special people who have dedicated their life to volunteering and helping others. We are grateful for her work and congratulate her on her well deserved Award,” said Mr Penhey.

The NSW Trainee of the Year Award celebrates the outstanding achievements of an employee who is studying and working towards a qualification in the aged care sector, and according to Mr Penhey this describes Marlene Pearce exactly.

“Marlene demonstrates what training and work can do for your personal and professional confidence and development; consequently she is a great ambassador to training and aged care,” said Mr Penhey.

The Media Award recognises Crowley’s efforts in communicating the positive portrayal of older people, and the aged and community care services to the broader community.

“By breaking down perceptions of aged care, Crowley reinforces how seniors are a valuable part of the society, and have spent a lot of their life giving to the community,” said Mr Penhey.

The three 2009 NSW Awards for Excellence complements Crowley’s past Awards as Business of the Year, Community Service of the Year from the Ballina Chamber of Commerce and the National Award in Independent Retirement Living.

As people age, there is an increase in incidence of skin tears, pressure ulcers and chronic leg and foot ulcers, affecting 1-3% of adults aged over 65 years and approximately 25% of aged care residents.  

 To address this, a project team involving Residential Aged Care Facilities and researchers at Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation has initiated The Champions for Skin Integrity project which aims to promote the implementation of evidence based prevention, assessment and management of wounds for residents in aged care facilities.

 The project team involves a consortium of seven Residential Aged Care facilities in NSW and Queensland and the School of Nursing & Midwifery and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at Queensland University of Technology.

 Crowley, the only aged care facility from NSW, was invited to join the project team and has been utilising current research and best practice guidelines to develop strategies to enable staff to provide,  and residents to choose, evidence based care.

 Michael Penhey, CEO of Crowley said that Crowley is honoured to be part of this important project and it is a fantastic opportunity for staff and residents to be at the forefront of skin integrity care.

 The Champions for Skin Integrity project aims to provide education for both residents and staff, including nutrition, hydration and skin care for prevention of wounds.

 “Crowley staff will be working closely with the researchers at QUT and collaborating with six other leading residential aged care facilities in Queensland to identify best practices in wound management,” said Mr Penhey.

 “Over the next two years Crowley will develop a set of strategies to encourage uptake of evidence based clinical care guidelines for use by all aged care facilities across Australia.”                                                                                                                

Mr Penhey said that the Champions for Skin Integrity project will culminate in a national resource for implementation in aged care facilities throughout Australia. 

The project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Encouraging Best Practice in Residential Aged Care Program. 

Proving that they are a dynamic and progressive organisation, Crowley, one of the leading providers of retirement living and aged and community care services on the NSW North Coast, has won the prestigious 2008 Community Service of the Year Award for the Ballina region, for the second consecutive year.

Due to their innovative service offerings, dedicated staff delivering high quality care, and working closely with the Ballina community Crowley stood out as winners in thier Community Service category against quality competitors.

Michael Penhey, CEO of Crowley explained that Crowley has worked hard to reverse the perceptions of aged care in the community. Continually reviewing their services, training their staff and delivering high customer satisfaction, this Award acknowledges that Crowley’s Community Care, Independent Living and Residential Care services are the best in the Ballina region.

“We are thrilled to win this Award. Our management and staff work extremely hard to deliver the best services and the best care for our clients and residents. We also work continually to ensure Crowley is giving back to our Ballina community,” said Mr Penhey.

Crowley work closely with the Ballina community with their involvement in the Junior Chamber of Commerce, coordination of Seniors Week activities and provision of services such as their Hydrotheraphy Pool as well as providing their facilities and support services for low (or no) cost to local community groups.

Continually innovating, Crowley has added the new mobile meal service to their organisation’s offerings. The mobile meal service delivers fresh, high quality meals to people in their homes so they have the option to stay independent longer.

“Aged care is gaining the recognition it deserved for being progressive and Awards like this show other industries how Aged Care in continuing to improve services to meet the different care requirements of our clients and residents,” said Mr Penhey.

“Winning this Award for the second year in a row lets us know we are on the right track,” said Mr Penhey,

Complimentary and innovative services open up at St Vincents Private Hospital, with the addition of Crowley (Sherwood) Home Nursing and the pharmacy services of APHS.

Bishop of Lismore, Most Reverend Geffrey Jarrett DD, will officially bless and open the newly refurbished Lawrence Centre at St Vincents Private Hospital on Wednesday July 30 2008 commencing at 10.30am, welcoming the addition of the new onsite services of Crowley’s Home Nursing an APHS Pharmacy.

Opening of the Lawrence Centre is part of St Vincents Private Hospital’s vision to be the hospital of choice in medical care for the Far North Coast of NSW.

Start Time: 10.30am for blessing and presentations
Finish at 11.10am followed by morning tea.

Crowley wins National Award for Best in Retirement Living

Crowley, one of the leading providers of retirement living and aged care services on the North Coast, has received the very prestigious National Award in Retirement Living, in Melbourne last week.

Up against strong competition from organisations from all over Australia, Crowley’s new Independent Living Apartments won the category for Best Organisation in Retirement Living, at the Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) 2007 National Excellence Awards.

According to Ita Buttrose, prominent business woman and one of the guest judges at the Awards for Excellence, Crowley was all about “innovation, lifestyle, environment, design, care, (with) lots of ideas at Crowley for others in the industry to emulate”.

Michael Penhey, Crowley’s CEO, has attributed the National Award to innovative strategies and his very dedicated staff.

“This Award highlights Crowley’s innovative approach to providing independent retirement living. We also have a very dedicated staff who work together as a team to provide outstanding care to our residents and clients. We are delighted that Crowley has received this prestigious Award,” said Mr Penhey.

The Aged and Community Services Australia Awards are the industry recognition of dedication and innovation in providing services to older Australians. The Awards are based on nominations from indusrty and so reflect peer recognition and reward for excellence.

The panel of eminent judges included prominent philanthropist Baillieu Myer AC; Rt Hon. Ian Sinclair, former Governer General, Sir Ninian Stephen, prominent businesswoman and journalist Ita Buttrose, Robert Fitzgerald AM, Commissioner, Productivity Commission, Moira Rayner, former Equal Opportunity Commissioner and Philip Hereen, 2007 Senior Australian of the Year.

Set on the waterfront in Ballina, Crowley’s new apartments are designed for the needs of older people who want freedom of space and independence, yet need to have the option of extra care if required. The very nature and design of the Crowley Apartments enable residents to interact as much or as little as they choose.

The National Excellence Award complements Crowley’s recent Business of the Year Award from the Ballina Chamber of Commerce.

The Crowley team with their Business of the Year Award

Proving that aged care is a dynamic and progressive industry, Crowley, one of the leading providers of retirement living, aged and community care services on the NSW North Coast, has won the prestigious award of 2007 Business of the Year for the Ballina region.

Due to their innovative independent living apartments, high quality residential care and community care, Crowley stood out as winners in both their Community Service category and overall Business of the Year.

Michael Penhey, CEO of Crowley explained that Crowley’s services, Community Care and Residential Living, have a strong reputation in high quality care and now the new Independent Living Apartments have also been acknowledged as market leaders.

The new Crowley Apartments are first of this type on the NSW North Coast as they provide the best in modern architecture and contempory design with extra care available on site. They were designed as luxury resort stlye living including features like 24 hour call assist buttons that ensure owners have peace of mind.

“It is an innovative approach to the choice of independent retirement living in the Far North Coast of NSW and provides a premium option of care for older people. We were thrilled that Crowley was recognised with this Award,” said Mr Penhey.

“Aged Care is gaining the recognition it deserves for being progressive and Awards like this show other industries how Aged Care is continuing to improve services to meet the different care requirements of our clients and residents,” said Mr Penhey.

Crowley stood out in various areas including their contribution to acting responsibly to the environment. Plans are in place for the eco-boardwalk that will wind through the pristine mangrove trees along their North Creek foreshore.

“Crowley has recently undergone an environmental retrofit accross the Care Centre and Independent Living Units and we continue to promote a “green” living and working environment,” said Mr Penhey.

Crowley Auxiliary will hold their annual market day on Saturday 16 June.

The market will be held from 9am to 1pm and will be held in the Crowley Activity Centre. The market day will include stalls, crafts, cakes, jams and pickles. Donations are appreciated.

Please call Len or Joy from Crowley Auxiliary on 6686 8971 for further information.

Environmental additions to Crowley’s Independent Living Units

Crowley, one of the leading providers of retirement living and aged care services on the North Coast, is working on reducing their impact on green house emissions with a retrofit across their Independent Living Units.

Fieldforce Environmental, a leading service provider in environmental retrofits for residential and commercial buildings, is installing energy efficient appliances and fittings into Crowley’s new Independent Living Units.

“As part of being a responsible organisation we know the importance of reducing the energy we consume. We hope our small difference adds to others and together we make a bigger difference,” said Michael Penhey, CEO of Crowley.

Fieldforce Environmental, through their Enviro Saver Program, has spent four days at Crowley replacing existing fittings with environmentally friendly water and energy appliances.

“We encourage other organisations in Ballina to also invest in their infrastructure and the environment,” said Mr Penhey.

Crowley is a progressive organisation catering for people in their retirement. They believe in providing a range of services for people who have different needs. These range from Crowley Villas and Apartments, designed for Independent Living, through to Hostel, Nursing Home and Respite accommodation and a full range of Community Care services.

Fieldforce is a member of the Australian owned UXC Group and has retrofitted over 450,000 homes and installed over 2 000 000 devices. The program is an initiative of the NSW Government and is designed to reduce Green House Gases produced by coal burning electricity power.