Evacuated aged care residents wait for news on return home

IT MAY be a month before 49 Anglesea aged care residents evacuated from Calvary’s Cordelia Grove learn when they might return to their storm damaged home.

Severe weather on January 28 led to flooding throughout the home and a dramatic removal of the residents by emergency services and local buses.

Drainage issues were a primary cause of the flooding, a Calvary spokesperson said.

The carpark of the valley situated home filled, leading to water inundating the facility that had only recently finished renovations including new carpet, furniture and painting, said the son of two residents at the home.

“It’s something they’ll need to investigate in the future how to deal with this,” Graham Conn said at the time, noting that it was not the first time drains had blocked at the site, something Calvary denies.

Both Mr Conn’s parents are in their 80s and were some of the last to be evacuated because they are unable to walk and needed an ambulance.

At least 20 other residents were helped out of their home and taken to other Calvary facilities in the region by Anglesea local Peter Caulfield, who arrived in his 35-seater bus after being called in to help by Mr Conn.

In an update from Calvary issued last Friday (February 11), insurers had “commenced a methodical assessment of each area of the home, to estimate the level of repairs and time required to restore the home back to operational capacity, ” a spokesperson said.

“We anticipate the assessment will take several weeks.

“Once the assessment is completed we can confirm when residents may return to the home.”

“Calvary’s priority is to ensure the safety of all residents and have them return to Cordelia Grove at the earliest opportunity.”

The 49 residents were moved to three other Calvary sites in the region at Torquay, Grovedale and St Albans Park, and are accompanied by staff who have also relocated from Cordelia Grove to assist with continuity of care for the residents.