The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (CSFN) already have a striking, heritage-listed church on their site in Marayong. Soon, they will have another significant building that will, like the church, play a central role in their mission to care for the needs of the local community.
Through their company Holy Family Services, the sisters are planning a new aged-care building that will be the first of its kind in the country when completed in 2025.
The two-storey, $30 million complex that will house 60 residents, has been designed to exceed the requirements of the federal government’s new national aged care design principles and guidelines.
Holy Family Services CEO Alasdair Croydon said this would mean instead of the old hospital-style buildings, residents would now live in an environment that was more akin to a house, with individual ensuite rooms, shared lounge and dining areas and access to fresh air and the outdoors.
“We have a building that we completely redesigned and it’s not like any other aged-care building in Australia at the moment,” he said.
Each floor of the new building will be divided into two ‘houses’ with no more than 15 residents in each.
An artist’s impression of the new Holy Family Services aged care facility in Marayong. Image: Supplied.
“This will make it feel more like a community, where residents can connect more easily with each other,” he said.
“We know from studies that if a resident with an assistive device, a walker, has to walk more than 20 metres, they won’t go,” he said. “So these houses would be built with the common areas within that 20-metre distance from each room.”
Another feature will include central kitchens, featuring high-end appliances, which families and residents can use to cook their own meals.
Mr Croydon said most residents had lived in their own houses for up to 50 years, so when it came time to move into aged care, they wanted the same household feel and the same connection with other people.
Sr Grace Roclawska CSFN, the Director Mission at Holy Family Services, said the community-centred design of the new building is emblematic of the work of the sisters since they arrived at the Marayong site 70 years ago.
“The community experience in aged care that we’re aiming for, it’s actually been lived here since the beginning,” she said.
Sr Grace Roclawska CSFN interacting with a resident at the Holy Family Services aged-care facility in Marayong. Image: Supplied.
Back then, the sisters’ focus was on addressing the needs of the Polish people in the surrounding area, first with an orphanage and then a Polish school. Later, they established a primary school and then a secondary school for the wider community. Then it was a hostel for older Polish people and an aged-care facility, all on their eight-hectare site.
“They were always responding to the changing needs of the people,” said Sr Grace.
In later years, they added a retirement village of 28 villas, and an early learning centre for 39 children.
As the number of Polish people has diminished in the Marayong area and other groups have moved in, the sisters have moved with the times.
Today, aged care residents come from 21 countries, their 190 staff from 28 countries, and children at their long day care centre come from 16 countries.
“We now have people who enquire about our place who simply pass by when walking to the nearby shopping centre,” said Izabela Gendera-Bres, Sales and Marketing Manager, which she believes is a sign that the place is now visible to all.
“The community spirit continues to be one of our core values: hospitality, love and acceptance,” Sr Grace said.
Sr Margaret Kozub CSFN with a resident at the Holy Family Services aged care facility in Marayong. Image: Supplied.
“We’re really with people on their different stages of the journey. It doesn’t matter whatever their background, as long as they respect our heritage.”
She said what makes their aged care facility unique is the presence of sisters on staff, many of whom had been there for decades.
She said this has made a “world of difference because they are a great role model for people.”
Mr Croydon said for many residents, their faith is very important and they find it comforting having sisters on site, as well as having easy access to a church.
“Often they’ve come from communities where getting to church was becoming a struggle, they come here and it’s not a struggle any more…it’s easy,” he said.
Learn more about Holy Family Services by visiting www.holyfamilyservices.com.au
This article was originally published in the 2024 Season of Creation | Spring edition of the Catholic Outlook Magazine. You can read the digital version here or pick up a copy in your local parish.
