March 31, 2013
Friends, relatives, staff and former residents gathered at Kingaroy’s Farrhome Nursing Care Unit on Thursday for a farewell morning tea.
The last resident transferred to Wondai on March 10, which brought forward the closure of the former residential facility.
Because of a change in Fire Safety regulations Farrhome had to close before September 2014.
Nurse Unit manager Shelley Lee said it was a sad morning but she said words were not enough to praise the staff.
“We have set a very high standard of care and we are renowned for that throughout the district,” Shelley said.
“Words are not enough to say thank you to all the staff.
“We have had a wonderful journey.”
South Burnett Cluster Operations Manager Peta Rutherford said Farrhome had been “a family”.
She said the decision to close the unit had been done with a heavy heart.
“It wasn’t done lightly,” she said.
“There has been a commitment given that whatever this building is used for, it will be for something with a clinical focus; it won’t be offices,” she said.
“Regardless of what services are delivered from this building, it will continue to honour Matron Farr and the services she provided to this hospital.”
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The last word on Farrhome – and possibly the best way to sum up its memory – is best left to some words written on a plaque mounted on the wall of the former unit:
Amid the busy life of Kingaroy in the heart of the South Burnett is a community of people, mostly aged or ageing, but also including some younger ones beset by physical or other disabilities which render them incapable of adequately handling their circumstances or running their own lives. For one such group, the government has provided a haven called Farrhome, a name which commemorates the magnificent contribution made by Matron Farr over many years to the sick, the disabled and the unfortunate. The aim at Farrhome, in the northwestern corner of the Kingaroy Hospital, is not only to meet the needs of health, food, shelter and general nursing care but to endeavour as much as possible to bring into the lives of the residents interests, entertainment and the joy of living.
Related articles
- Last Resident Leaves Farrhome
- Farrhome Closing Soon?
- Horan Refutes Union Claims
- Families Consulted Over Farrhome Closure
- Farrhome ‘Earmarked To Close’
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