BaptistCare's Towner House in Tatton officially opens its doors

BaptistCare's newly refurbished Towner House in Tatton was officially opened on Tuesday, having been relocated from the nearby Caloola Centre which is currently undergoing a major redevelopment.

Towner House is a short-term and overnight respite cottage that provides much-needed support for local carers seven days a week, for up to five people at a time.

The service ensures that carers can access trusted care for their loved ones if they have work commitments, are going on a holiday or just need a break.

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Centre manager Kate Davidson said that clients can stay for up to three weeks at a time, with a staff member on-site 24/7, all meals catered for and activities included.

"It just gives the carer a chance to get away and the client to be in a nice, homely environment while they're in respite," she said.

Ms Davidson said the centre has been "really busy" since it first started accepting clients in January, with "huge" demand for such services from across the wider Riverina.

"We quite often get people from out of town, like Leeton [or] Cootamundra, because they can't get anything out in their areas," she said.

"It's not just Wagga clients, it's all over that we have people coming to stay."

Viv Harris was the first client to stay at the refurbished Towner House following a brief hospitalisation, and his daughter Kathryn Bredin - who is also his primary carer - said the centre was a "godsend".

"It was just really reassuring to know that he was OK," Mrs Bredin said.

She said that services such as these are "extremely important" and that "we probably don't have enough of them" in Wagga.

"There's not a lot of options for carers, respite care that's like a home away from home, and that's what Towner House is," Mrs Bredin said.

When her father stayed at Towner House it was the family's "only option", with nursing homes across Wagga all in lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19.

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