{"id":375260,"date":"2026-08-25T18:20:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T08:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=375260"},"modified":"2026-08-25T19:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T09:40:55","slug":"3d-boost-for-orana-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"3D Boost For Orana Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Orana’s Creative Programs and Volunteer Co-ordinator Sarah Harvey suggested a 3D printer be bought (Photo: Lutheran Services)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 25, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.<\/p>\n

Orana Service Manager Kelly Roberts said the initiative is the first of its kind in the aged care sector.<\/p>\n

It was sparked by Orana’s Sarah Harvey who identified an opportunity to use the technology to directly enhance residents\u2019 ability to participate in a wider variety of activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah came to me with the idea to buy a 3D printer, and when she explained what it could do for our residents, I knew it was worth backing,\u201d Ms Roberts said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time 3D printing has been used this way in aged care. We\u2019re able to produce mobility grip aids for a fraction of what it costs to purchase similar devices through traditional medical avenues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 3D printer uses PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament which is a plant-based, renewable bioplastic and can produce items for as little as 30 cents to $1 each, making it a sustainable and affordable option for aged care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn just one month, the staff have produced a range of 3D printed grip aids and activity items for residents living with mobility conditions, from paintbrush adaptors and pen grips to adaptive bingo tokens and game pieces.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see how these simple but personalised solutions are supporting our residents\u2019 independence and participation in activities they enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resident Kay Bochmann said the change to her quality of life had been fantastic.<\/p>\n

“I can play Bingo again. I also love the wheelchair-specific device that holds my phone and water bottle \u2013 it is a game changer. I am even drinking more water,” she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Roberts said the possibilities were vast and they looked forward to further exploring the technology\u2019s potential to deliver meaningful outcomes for residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI strongly believe this is an initiative that other aged care communities could adopt. It has delivered significant benefits for residents, while also generating strong interest among staff in developing skills with 3D printing programs,\u201d Ms Roberts said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The various plastic pieces are designed on a laptop (Photo: Lutheran Services)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Resident Kay Bochmann, right, has a water bottle and phone holder on her wheelchair, left, and likes using the paintbrush adaptor (Photo: Lutheran Services)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Some of the assistance aids which have been made on the 3D printer (Photo: Lutheran Services)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":375263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[172,3],"tags":[1551,21],"yoast_head":"\n3D Boost For Orana Residents - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3D Boost For Orana Residents - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-25T08:20:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-25T09:40:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260825orana1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"740\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/\",\"name\":\"3D Boost For Orana Residents - southburnett.com.au\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-25T08:20:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-25T09:40:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae\"},\"description\":\"Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/\",\"name\":\"southburnett.com.au\",\"description\":\"Kingaroy and South Burnett News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae\",\"name\":\"Anne Miller\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/anne-miller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3D Boost For Orana Residents - southburnett.com.au","description":"Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3D Boost For Orana Residents - southburnett.com.au","og_description":"Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.","og_url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/","og_site_name":"southburnett.com.au","article_published_time":"2026-08-25T08:20:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-25T09:40:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":740,"height":460,"url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260825orana1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anne Miller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anne Miller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/","name":"3D Boost For Orana Residents - southburnett.com.au","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-25T08:20:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-25T09:40:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae"},"description":"Lutheran Services is using 3D printing to create practical, low-cost aids to help residents at Orana Aged Care to live with greater independence and dignity.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/08\/25\/3d-boost-for-orana-residents\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/","name":"southburnett.com.au","description":"Kingaroy and South Burnett News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae","name":"Anne Miller","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/anne-miller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375260"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375260"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":375278,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375260\/revisions\/375278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}