New home for Australian Unity

Members of the community had the opportunity to check out the new and improved office space of the Parkes branch of Australian Unity when they threw open their doors during an open day on 29 September. Australian Unity moved from their Clarinda Street location into their larger premises at 30 Welcome Street, across from the Cooke Park Pavillion and QuickShine Carwash, two months ago. Parkes branch manager Sandra Massurit said they outgrew their previous home and have taken on more staff to help provide more home aged care support for older members of the community. "Aged care is growing and we try and keep people in the home as long as possible," she said. Sandra Massurit thanked Freya and Tyler Hando for doing the acknowledgement of country. Along with celebrating their new office, Australian Unity invited a nurse to their open day who to provided blood pressure checks, along with a range of other community groups including Meals on Wheels, Amplifon, care finders and Fire and Rescue who provided information on other services available. Ms Massurit said their new office has a lot of added benefits, particularly increased accessibility and parking for clients. The Parkes branch covers a large region in the Central West including Forbes, Peak Hill, Tottenham, Trundle, Condobolin, Grenfell, Canowindra and Cowra. While their coverage area is large, Ms Massurit said they employ staff in each town to keep the support local. Craig Gibson, Cameron Lawrence, Joe Dopson and Simon Scott were on hand to provide information and advice about fire safety around the home. Australian Unity provides a range of in-home services to help people stay in their homes longer, including domestic assistance, personal care, meal preparation, transport and in-home respite. They also help their clients navigate the government's 'my aged care' process when it’s needed. "A lot of people don't want to leave their own home. It's their family home,” Ms Massurit said. She said people tend to live longer and are happier when living in their own homes and are able to maintain their independence. Trish Maynard, Jade Sole and Soph Butler were on hand to talk about the services Australian Unity provides. "We support them for as long as we can at home," she added. If people would like to find out more about Australian Unity and the support they can provide, they can come into the office or call 1300 160 170.