The Hon. Sussan Ley, Minister for Health, Aged Care & Sport Opens Innovative Community Health Hub

The Hon. Sussan Ley MP, Minister for Health, Aged Care & Sport has officially opened the latest TLC Primary Care community health hub located at the Forest Lodge residential aged care home in Frankston North. The innovative community health hub model introduced by TLC Healthcare is Australia’s first fully integrated medical service with residential aged care at its core.

CEO of TLC Healthcare, Mr Lou Pascuzzi, says this model offers many advantages for TLC’s patients, residents and the wider community. “The central component of TLC’s strategy is providing primary care at community health hubs integrated into our residential aged care homes.

“Under the present system many aged care residents are not receiving adequate medical supervision. General practitioners and other health service providers are becoming less able to visit aged care homes because they feel Medicare benefits do not compensate for travel and time away from their practices. The opportunity costs for GP’s being absent from their domiciled medical centre is making residential aged care visits untenable.

“The TLC model provides the timely availability of professional clinical care to our valued residents when they need it, rather than when a GP is able to visit, as well as minimizing the use of locums.

“The opening of this community health hub is testament to TLC’s ability to recognise a need in the community, and to respond to that need with an integrated service offering. Integration of healthcare services is the way of the future for aged care and the Australian healthcare system in general, with relative clinical and commercial benefits on multiple levels.”

Pictured above: CEO of TLC Healthcare, Mr Lou Pascuzzi with The Hon. Sussan Ley MP, Minister for Health, Aged Care & Sport

The Minister was impressed with the model that TLC is introducing across its network of homes.

“As a resident your primary care needs are just as important as your residential aged care needs. For TLC to have that ethos at the centre of what you do, works so well for your community, and of course it provides jobs in this area.

“Not only is this a great place to be as a resident, it is also a great place to work. It demonstrated what we want to see in healthcare, which is everything in one place, as much as possible, and what we believe in which is consumer choice.”

TLC is committed to continuing to invest in its integrated primary health and aged care model. They have opened community health hubs at their residential aged care homes in Noble Park, Donvale, Belmont in Geelong and Frankston North.

In July they will open their next community health hub at Altona North and integrate hubs into the balance of their existing homes at Hallam, Whittlesea and Wallington as part of larger brownfield developments.

Apart from the brownfield developments at their Hallam and Wallington sites, they also have plans to build two large greenfield developments at Clifton Hill and Armstrong Creek. These developments will provide quality health and aged care services to an additional 490 permanent residents and their local communities.

TLC’s integration and development pipeline represents a $120m investment Australian primary and aged care.

Click here to find out more about TLC's residential aged care homes.