A SUBSTANTIAL $38-million expansion of the Whiddon aged care centre at Redhead Road, Redhead, was officially opened yesterday.
Whiddon chief executive Chris Mamarelis said the new sections allowed Redhead to provide another 115 aged care places, taking the total to 175.
Mr Mamarelis said the expansion would create work for at least 150 people in nursing, hospitality and hotel services.
He said work finished on the first section, Keppel House, in October last year.
He said this type of building was designed for 10 residents with small living areas "that look and feel like home".
The second stage involved refurbishing and expanding the existing buildings, including a dedicated space for "dementia-specific care" and a communal "club" area.
Mr Mamarelis said in a normal year the launch would have been a larger affair but COVID-19 meant "a smaller celebration".
Whiddon is the trading name of Frank Whiddon Masonic Homes of NSW, a not-for-profit organisation with more than 2700 employees and 2300 clients.
It was begun by Freemasons in 1923, and land at Glenfield in Sydney's Macarthur region was donated in 1947 to become the founding site of the Frank Whiddon Masonic Homes of NSW.
Mr Whiddon (1877 to 1947) was part of a once prominent Sydney business family. Whiddon Homes operate properties across NSW and, more recently, Queensland.
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