A small "hands on" rest-home in South Dunedin has beaten some of the "big guns" to win a major award.
Queen Rose Retirement Home, in St Kilda, won the Aged Care Association’s supreme award for services to aged care, at the association’s annual conference in Auckland this week.
The rest-home which has about 30 residents, was bought by a consortium last year led by Andrea De Leon.
She said she was "absolutely over the moon" with the victory.
"To say that it was an unexpected win is an understatement ... we were up against the big guns such as Ryman Healthcare and Oceania Aged Care, and for a small rest-home in Dunedin to win means a lot."
Ms De Leon said there had been several challenges since taking over the retirement home about a year ago.
"Being accredited as a new provider is the hoop that we had to jump through.
"We are proud to say that we were able to pass that with flying colours and we got a four-year accreditation which is the highest accreditation a rest-home can get."
With the country’s aged population due to increase markedly over the next decade, Ms De Leon said the aged-care industry was at risk.
"Whether it be employees, employers or business owners, we want to be able to help and be in partnership with them, whether it be through sharing staff training or working together through compliance audits and sharing best practices.
"It’s about improving service delivery for our elderly citizens because they have dedicated much of their lives to this community."
Ms De Leon said the rest-home’s relatively small size meant it was more "hands on" than some of the bigger firms.
"We're the owners, we're the operators and we're here every day.
"We see what's happening, we know what's wrong and we can act on it right away. You don't have to go through one department to another just to solve a problem."
She wanted to see the broader aged-care community meet the demand.
"We hope this win puts Dunedin on the map.
"This award is a win for us, but it's also going to be a win for Dunedin if we have investors coming into Dunedin and building new rest-homes.
"It's what our economy needs and it's what New Zealand needs."
