The Australian Vietnamese Aged Care Services (AVACS) in conjunction with other community organisations, is building a new modern residential aged care facility in South West Sydney for the ageing population in the Vietnamese community.
The new Vietnamese Nursing Home is located at Smithfield in Sydney, close to Vietnamese-populated suburbs such as Cabramatta, Fairfield, and Canley Heights.
Dr. Tang Van Minh, President of AVACS, told SBS Vietnamese,"This is the very first Vietnamese nursing home in NSW and will provide essential services for elderly people within the Vietnamese community."
At a total cost of $17 million, this 4000 square-metre state-of-the-art facility will consist of 68 bedrooms, four dining rooms, and a number of gardens where family members can spend quality time with their seniors.
AVACS Aged Care nursing home's construction site. Source: SBS Vietnamese
Dr. Minh explained that his intention was to make the nursing home "feel like home" rather than the typical "hospital-like" atmosphere.
"We understand that [Vietnamese] elderly people often feel lonely in Australian nursing home as they cannot speak English and cannot explain their symptoms and pains," he said.
"Therefore, we are very excited that we have been able to build our own nursing home for Vietnamese seniors."
Vietnamese-speaking nurses and doctors, Vietnamese daily meals and physiotherapy facility are of this special nursing home.
Funding for this $17 million project has come from the Federal Government - Department of Health and Ageing, as part of their annual Aged Care Approval Rounds (ACAR), as well as generous donation from businesses and members of the public.
"If all goes well, the builder will hand over the nursing home to us by this Christmas, then we will start on interior design," he said.
According to Dr. Minh, the Vietnamese Nursing Home will start accepting application from prospective residents from October - November 2017, and , or after Lunar New Year at the latest.
On Saturday, 24 June 2017, will run a special Radiothon during our regular program from 7pm to 9pm to help raise fund for AVACS' nursing home.
AVACS Management Source: SBS Vietnamese
Listeners will be able to call this number 1800 501 035 to pledge money and AVACS will follow it up. The lines are opened until 10pm, after that people can still donate by calling these numbers: 0402 350 050 - 0421 685 009 - 0407 074 348.
