A decade of dedication to care at Vaucluse

Hall & Prior Chief Executive Officer Graeme Prior, Vaucluse Aged Care Home Director of Nursing Joy Bigelow and NSW Manager of Health and Services Kris Healy.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Hall & Prior Health & Aged Care Group in New South Wales.

Of the current six aged care homes we operate in New South Wales, the acquisition of the Vaucluse Aged Care home in 2005 signified the start of our brand development in the Sydney market. Vaucluse is a 63-bed home that caters to residents with high clinical care requirements and has been operating in the Sydney eastern suburbs area for more than 50 years.

The official acquisition date was July 1, 2005 making 2015 the 10-year anniversary of our dedicated care to the Vaucluse and eastern suburbs of Sydney communities. We took over the home’s operations from Ralph and Rose Levy, who were the original builders and owners.

Vaucluse was built in 1962 and was originally designed to become a private hospital with operating suites on the first floor. This plan changed during the construction period and when the building opened in 1962, it was as the distinguished aged care facility that it is today.

Vaucluse Aged Care Home.

Rose, who was also a registered nurse, was the home’s original Director of Nursing and worked in the aged care discipline of nursing for more than 30 years. During our acquisition of the home, the Deputy Director of Nursing at the time, Joy Bigelow, took over Rose’s role.

Joy started work at Vaucluse in August 1994 and last year celebrated the milestone of more than 20 years of employment at the home. “I’ve been the Director of Nursing for more than 10 years now and it really has been the career highlight of my life,” Joy said.

Including Joy, there were 15 staff members who stayed on after we acquired Vaucluse. Many of them still work with us today, such as Christine Davin in administration and kitchen staff member Magdalena Wrobel. Since 2005, we have facilitated necessary upgrades to fire systems, undertaken a major garden renovation and other upgrades to the home are on the horizon.

Graeme Prior with Ralph and Rose Levy in 2013.

Recently we were saddened to learn Ralph, a longtime friend of our Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Prior, had passed away at the age of 96. “It was my pleasure to first make acquaintance with Ralph prior to the acquisition of the Vaucluse Nursing Home into the Hall & Prior Group in July 2005,” Graeme said.

“Over the past ten years we have continued to build a solid friendship based on mutual respect and understanding of the needs of the elderly and frail in the Vaucluse community. Ralph was a very well-read man who appreciated philosophy and a good-hearted debate about economic and political issues. He loved classical music and dancing and enjoyed an endearing and cheeky sense of humour.

“Ralph’s love of domestic animals often saw dogs and cats sleeping in his office, and continuing the legacy, Vaucluse Aged Care Home still welcomes visiting pets to this day. I cherish the time I spent with Ralph and will miss him.”

Ralph and Rose Levy with Joy Bigelow and Kris Healy at the Hall & Prior Annual Long Service and Directors' Awards 2013.