The visit included a discussion with Gore District Mayor Ben Bell and community and the council’s economic development manager Guillaume Willemse on Wednesday.
Ms Costello said the visit was centred around Gore’s proportionally large number of ageing residents, which sits at the third-highest in the country when adjusted for relative size.
"It was working out what’s happening, what’s working, how can we support that, and what are the biggest challenges.
"For me, with aged care, one of the big drivers is how we get people to live well, live connected lives for as long as possible in the community," she said.
Ms Costello said there were key elements which were necessary for seniors to live their best lives.
"The health system system delivers some part, for the health outcomes.
"Social engagement, housing, movement, nutrition, all of these things deliver to your ability to live well, so all the community based programmes are really useful," she said.
Ms Costello said she had one particular item she was focusing on to help out the retired community.
"For me it’s really about what we, as government, can do to support housing for our old people, which is my real concern.
"[Mayor Ben Bell] has talked already about land they’ve got that could be potentially used. He’s going to meet with [Minister of Housing Chris] Bishop.
"It’s about keeping those conversations going, how we can facilitate partnering or support," she said.
Ms Costello said she had nothing but praise for the way the Gore District Council was tackling these issues.
"The fact they’re looking at these bigger problems I think is a real credit to the council. It’s a small population, punching above it’s weight," she said.
Mr Bell said he and the council were working on a solution for housing for the elderly, those who were looking to downsize
"We have a lot of older persons in three or four-person homes who have nowhere to move if they want to downscale, because a lot of [smaller homes] are taken by the younger generation.
"So it’s [a matter of] how do we open those housing opportunities for older people?" he said.
