After less than two years at aged care home PAC Wescott Stockton, Helen Huby has had more than her fair share of disruption.
She had to be relocated from Wescott to HammondCare Waratah in August 2019 after wild winds ripped the roof off her residence, and was moved there again when a severe storm tore the roof off again on November 16 last year.
So Ms Huby was more than happy to receive a surprise a few weeks ago when she and 22 other residents were able to return home to Stockton just in time for Christmas.
Presbyterian Aged Care CEO Paul Sadler anticipated at the time the repairs could take months, after damage caused by the less severe storm in August 2019 took two months to fix.
"I was so pleased to be told early we could go back, we all cheered and yelled," Ms Huby said. "We all expected to have Christmas over there.
"It was inconvenient for me because my family is in Stockton, and over there we could only have one person visit at a time.
"It's lovely to be back because this is home to us and there's no place like home."
Mr Sadler said most of the residents were able to return to their own rooms which had been repaired after leaks and water damage, while a handful of residents went into rooms in the centre.
There were 30 rooms affected in total, but Mr Sadler said some residents were able to be moved straight into undamaged vacant rooms. Fortunately, a wing had recently been refurbished with a second stage almost complete at the time of the storm.
Mr Sadler said he was thankful no one was harmed in the storm, in which wind gusts of up to 146km/h lashed the city.
The torn roof landed in various parts of the grounds, and residents in the affected area had to be evacuated from their second floor rooms in the dark as the site lost power.
Ms Huby described hearing a "bang" when the storm hit.
"There was broken glass falling down," she said. "We were all in our nighties and we were just told to put our shoes on because of the glass. There were sirens going.
"I went to my daughter's house at 1am to stay the night."
The residents were relocated to Waratah the next day and relevant staff were also transferred to Hammondcare to continue caring for them during their stay.
"The staff were absolutely fabulous," Ms Huby said.
Mr Sadler also commended the workers along with Hammondcare for how they handled the situation.
"It was big effort for the staff, quite an exhausting effort," he said. "The residents and family were very complimentary of the support they provided.
"We're also so thankful to Hammondcare, especially considering it was the second time in two years we had to call on help from them.
"It was not easy, particularly during COVID. The access to Hammondcare was different to Wescott. The families and staff had to get used to different systems.
"I'm glad it's over, but we're really appreciative to the Hammondcare team."
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