Redevelopment of obsolete Rockhampton RAC home gets council approval

An ageing residential care home in Rockhampton, Queensland, will be closed and replaced with a new building after getting the nod from Council. The three-storey home by Mercy Health and Aged Care Central Queensland will supersede the obsolete Bethany Aged Care Facility, with Rockhampton Regional Council approving the application but resolving to re-examine the parking arrangements after 12 months. Located in The Range, a suburb of Rockhampton, the new home will include 90 beds and a total of 55 parking spaces. According to Mercy Health and Aged Care Central Queensland CEO Fritha Radyk (pictured), the replacement of Bethany is well overdue.

“While our team provides high quality and caring services to our residents, the current facility, built on a medical model more than 45 years ago, is one of the oldest un-renovated residential aged care facilities remaining in Rockhampton,” she told Central Queensland Today. “This new development will be a breath of fresh air for our aged community in Rockhampton. The privacy, space and dignity offered in the proposed designs will invigorate the lives of our current and future residents living here.”

The new facility is expected to be up and running by 2024.