Malandari Aged Care Centre (Malandari Centre) is a place where old people live and are looked after.  Old people living at Malandari Centre are low care residents who need help to undertake daily activities like shopping and showering, but can mostly look after themselves. Therefore most people living at Malandari Centre can walk or move about independently and look after themselves, but sometimes they need a bit more help with activities such as showering and use aids like wheelchairs to move about.

The Malandari Centre was first opened under the umbrella of Rrumburriya Malandari Council in 1996.  It is located at the edge of town, only a few hundred metres from the shops and service station. The centre has 16 staff and can provide a home for up to 16 old people as well as providing meals and laundry services for older people in Borroloola.

Malandari Centre is funded under an Australian Government grant designed to give remote communities, such as Borroloola, as much flexibility as possible to provide care for the elderly in the community. However it is government policy that people living in aged care homes make a contribution to their care. Therefore all long term and short term residents are required to pay a fee for board and lodgings to stay at the centre.

Sometimes residents will need 24 hour care for short periods of time when they are sick.  If a resident is really sick they will need to go to hospital in Katherine or Darwin.  If a person is sick and needs care overnight their family will be asked to come in and help take care of them.  If there is no family to look after a person who is really sick, they may need to be transferred to hospital in Katherine or Darwin because there are not enough staff at Malandari Centre to provide care for very sick people after hours.

Malandari assists with palliative care for community members who want to die in country.  This is delivered in partnership with the family who will need to provide a team of carers to provide 24 hour care.  The family carers will be supported by Aged Care staff and the health clinic.

WHO CAN LIVE AT MALANDARI?

Some old people are frail and a bit sick and need looking after, and maybe unable to continue caring for themselves. They may have sugar sickness, not be able to walk safely, or forget things, including family and where they are.  When this happens you are better off in Malandari Centre than staying at home because trained staff can watch and look out for you, all day every day.

To be able to live at Malandari you need to be:

• Frail
• over 50 years of age
• Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or
• recognized as a member of the Aboriginal community through marriage or close association
• Strong links to the local community
• Has no one else to care for them

WHAT IS AT MALANDARI?

Malandari is designed to make you feel at home because it is your home once you move in.  The Malandari Centre has a mixture of single and shared room with big verandahs outside the rooms.   Meals are cooked in a big kitchen in the main building or on the BBQ.  The main building has a dining room, but meals can be taken to you in your room or on the verandah if you do not want to use the inside dining room.

Malandari has a large under cover outdoor area and well maintained gardens where you can sit outside under shady trees or visit with family.

Accredited Flexi Care Provider.