Dozens of residential aged care facilities across Victoria will share in more than $10 million from the Victorian Government to enable them to make vital upgrades.

Today I was pleased to announced that the Merv Irvine Nursing Home, located in Bundoora, will receive $300,000 as a part of the Victorian Government’s ‘Significant Facility Refurbishment Initiative’. This facility plays a key role in providing care for people with high-needs dementia and other psycho-geriatric conditions in our community.

The funding will be put towards upgrading residents’ ensuites and rooms. These upgrades seek to optimise the independence, dignity and privacy of the residents at the facility. More broadly, the upgrade will assist in improving infection control and providing a more dementia-friendly environment for all residents.

The upgrades will not only modernise facilities but also improve comfort and safety for residents and staff, and assist public sector aged care facilities to be sustainable into the future. In addition to the $10 million Significant Facility Refurbishment Initiative, there is also funding of $1.1 million which will see up to 1,000 public sector health and aged care nurses receive specialist training to improve the treatment and care of our elderly Victorians.

The training will ensure that staff at the Merv Irvine Nursing Home and other facilities across the state are better able to serve our senior citizens. It will help staff better identify and manage a range of physical and mental health issues commonly experienced by older people. The training will be led by the Australian Nurses and Midwifery Federation in partnership with LaTrobe University and will begin in September.

I am pictured here in 2013 with local MP Jenny Mikakos displaying a petition from the local community in support of the Merv Irvine Nursing Home.