Royal Freemasons' Benevolent Institution (RFBI) executive staff, including Chief Executive Officer Frank Price, chief of operations Louanne Riboldi, chairman of the board David Adams and chief marketing officer Alana Parker, visited Armidale Masonic Village on Thursday morning as part of a fact finding tour of its aged care facilities.
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Mr Price agreed the "CEO Roadshow" was also a morale boosting exercise.
"We're proud of the work our employees do. We're proud of the work they do in looking after the elderly, the vulnerable. And we want them to know we're proud of what they do and that they have our support," he said.
Armidale's Village opened in 2009 and was designed for 62 residents. Mr Price said there had been a lot of negative publicity about the aged care industry lately.
We're proud of our record.
- Frank Price
"Sometimes you get the impression that every aged care operator is doing the wrong thing," he said.
"We've got an exceptional record, but we don't want our staff to feel that they're doing the wrong thing because of a general perception that's out in the community."
RFBI chief of operations Louanne Riboldi said she had worked for the organisation for 21 years and was proud to have done so.
"We offer quality home-like service, particularly in rural and regional areas," she said.
Mr Price said half of the reason for the visits was about talking to staff, while the other half was about talking to residents, to ask them what could be done better and what was done well.
"The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," he said.
He said clinical care, food and lifestyle activity were the three areas of most importance to those being cared for and needed to be right.
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RFBI Chief marketing officer Alana Parker said planning for the tour commenced in September, and it was the second time Mr Price had toured the aged care facilities since he became CEO.
"It's a good time to go out. There has been a bit of negative commentary in the media and we’ve got the royal commission coming up, which we know is going to create a lot of conversation; it already has," she said.
"So it's really important that our staff, our residents and our families know that we're open to hearing what they have to say. If they've got issues, then tell us because we want to work with them to make it better."
Ms Riboldi said the trip was planned well before there was any sign of the Royal Commission into Aged Care.
“It’s something that we need to do often and not just prompted by the royal commission,” she said.
The Governor-General has appointed the Honourable Justice Joseph McGrath and Ms Lynelle Briggs AO as Royal Commissioners and the commission's terms of reference have been outlined for the investigation into aged care.
An interim report is due by October 31 next year, and the commission's final report is due by April 20 2020.