Changes at Yackandandah Health

The new board is a mix of the old and the new members and we are thankful to have the corporate knowledge that Ben, Fabian and Heather provide.

Since starting in July, we have been on a steep learning curve, gathering information about the governance, finances and management areas of the organisation. We have met with the Aged Care residents and families, Aged Care staff, Little Yacks staff and families and the staff and doctors at the Medical Centre. We have had discussions with the SAF government staff, lawyers, accountants, and safe harbor master to bring ourselves up to date with the current situation.

On our tour and visits to the facilities we have been reminded of the great services that Yack Health is offering to our community, through its Aged Care, Childcare and Medical service divisions. We should be proud of the efforts of all involved.

Apollo Care are still very interested in transferring the organisation to their management and ownership. They understand a 75% majority support from members is required to secure a transfer of ownership, and that the previous timeline had been tight.

The new board has been able to secure an additional 8–10-week period of time for the YHL membership base to consider any issues of concern and explore options. Our aim is to work closely with our staff, residents, families, and broader membership to find a secure solution to ensure the ongoing continuity of these vital community services.

Our plan essentially has 3 parts, which we’ll summarise here:

• 1. Information gathering (July)

  After the new Board was appointed, we quickly moved into an information gathering and listening mode, in which we’ve reviewed the groundwork and have continued to address some of the questions that arose at the community meetings. We’re moving quickly and are working through this phase now.

  We have progressed in discussions with our CEO, Andrea, and her management team, regarding operations and finance. We have met with all affected groups, residents, families, and staff, including the Medical Centre and Little Yacks. We hope to meet with the Men’s Shed soon.

  We have re-established the community volunteer program and are continuing to seek new membership.

  A bit of good news recently: Yack Health’s occupancy rate has risen to 94% in the past week, which we feel is a testament to the efforts of staff, as well as to the strength of the organisation.

• 2. Exploring Options (August)

  We have one viable option with Apollo Care, and whilst we continue to work with them, we are using this time as a period of open-minded consideration of alternative submissions for Yack Health.

  The key concerns expressed by the community in past months have helped to shape our understanding of the challenges facing Yack Health. These have had a significant impact on us and will inform our negotiations on submissions in August. We continue to invite your involvement in this process and your questions as we progress on this journey together.

  We plan to meet again with members, residents, families, and staff, as well as interested community members, and are looking at a variety of ways to hold further collaborative discussions in August. We will be in touch soon about this.

  At the end of the month, we will bring all viable options before the members for their consideration, prior to a vote.

• 3. Decision by membership (September)

  During this period, we will seek to provide Yack Health members with as much information as possible, for each member to make an informed decision at a second Special General Meeting.