Edale’s Future Secured Under Masonic Umbrella

Edale Aged Care Centre, Marton, is to become part of The Masonic Villages Trust from 1 April. The Trust is a charity that operates rest homes, hospitals and retirement communities in towns and suburbs across the southern North Island, from Taranaki to Lower Hutt.

Marton Edale Trust Board chair Dudley Brown says he is delighted with the outcome of negotiations between the two trust boards.

“Edale will now become part of a resilient charitable business in which overheads, expertise and capital resources are shared across facilities and regions. This means Edale will not only continue to serve the residents of Rangitikei but that there will also be the financial resources to upgrade and expand its facilities to meet future demand,” he says.

Edale, the only aged care provider in the Rangitikei, has been relying on donations from the local community to stay afloat.

“On behalf of the Edale Board, I wish to thank the many individuals, businesses, service organisations and churches that have donated their time and money. We are very grateful,” Brown says.

“Together with our staff who have supported the board and provided excellent care to residents, you have secured the future of Edale for the community. We have every confidence that Edale is now in good hands and wish it well for the future.”

Masonic Villages Trust chief executive Warick Dunn says the Masonic and Edale Trusts have very similar philosophies, so he expects the merger to go smoothly.

“There will few visible changes in the short-term, apart from a new company name on official stationery. The name of the village itself will eventually change from the Edale Aged Care Centre to the Edale Masonic Village, as signs and the like come up for replacement.

“Each of our villages has a distinctive character that reflects the interests and needs of its residents, so the existing Edale culture will continue for as long as this has the support of residents, staff and the local community.”

With the addition of Edale’s 30 rest home beds, 16 rental flats and nine 2-bedroom retirement villas, The Masonic Villages Trust will offer a total of 257 care beds and 459 retirement villas and apartments in the southern North Island.

“In the context of the whole aged care sector we are a relatively small player, but we believe we perform an important social role. We provide homes and care to older people with a wide range of interests, lifestyles and budgets in villages that tend to be smaller than those operated by the large commercial providers,” Dunn says.

“Also, some of our villages are located in suburbs and provincial towns where it is uneconomic for commercial providers to operate. This allows residents to retire near to where they have lived their lives, close to friends and family.”

ENDS

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