RSL Care + RDNS has announced it will be rebranding, two years after the two organisations merged.
From today, the national provider of community and aged services will be known as “Bolton Clarke”.
In a press release about the rebrand, the organisation explains the new name honours two key pioneers in community service whose values helped to shape the organisation and continue to drive its purpose.
“The name we have chosen gives us a new identity that is true to where we have come from and allows us to communicate the depth and breadth of our organisation under a single banner,” CEO Stephen Muggleton said.
“From the beginning, we have provided flexible and responsive care and support in a range of settings. Our commitment to our clients and residents continues as we invest in expanding our services to support more people, giving them even more choice.”
The rebrand also provides relief to the organisation from ongoing publicity about internal politics and money woes relating to RSL Care SA which was not part of the original RSL Care RDNS merger and remains a seperate entity.
Less than a month ago the RSL Care SA Board President, Tim Hanna, resigned and was replaced by former board director, Bronson Horan.
At the centre of the Board changes was a plan to sell RSL Care SA’s residential accommodation facilities to RSL Care Queensland to fix the association’s financial crisis.
It was reported in a local news service that Mr Horan has since removed the potential sale from the table of options with support from the SA Government to maximise the chances of the RSL continuing.
RSL WA and RSL NSW have also been in the media recently, with reports that RSL WA paid $17 million to RSL Care WA Retirement and Aged Care Association to settle a case about “allegations of inappropriate financial dealing of previous office holders” outside of court.
The RSL NSW is also facing claims of financial mismanagement, with the NSW Government appointing a former Supreme Court justice to investigate the allegations.
The timing of the rebrand for RSL Care + RDNS is pivotal, with its acquisition of Your Choice Home Care NSW, Broadwater Gardens Retirement Living Community NSW and international training provider the Aged Care Channel this year.
The group also has more than 1,000 residential aged care beds under management with a joint venture partner in China.
In Queensland and New South Wales the organisation is building new communities supporting active living and engagement, including developments at Caboolture, Gold Coast and Thornlands, Queensland and Banora Point, New South Wales as the first stages of a $600 million capital works pipeline.
It has also expand its reablement services across Australia including a new regional rehabilitation centre at Longreach in partnership with Queensland Health and remote consultancy and telehealth programs, in addition to early intervention mental health support services through beyondblue’s NewAccess in South Australia and New South Wales.
“As needs and expectations around health and ageing change rapidly in Australia and overseas, we are excited that Bolton Clarke has the capability, capacity and evidence- based approach to build services that meet those needs and rise to new challenges,” Mr Muggleton said.
He said the name “Bolton Clarke” recognises two people who personify the tradition of care and respect at the heart of each organisation’s history: Lady Janet Clarke (1851-1909), a well-known philanthropist who became president of the Melbourne District Nursing Society (later RDNS) in 1889 and remained a driving force for more than 20 years of dedicated service and commitment, and Lieutenant Colonel William Kinsey Bolton (1860-1941), a returned serviceman and Gallipoli veteran who in 1916 became the first president of the Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ League (forerunner of the RSL).
Bolton Clarke employs more than 6,500 staff who make over 4 million client visits each year in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and China, supporting more than 22,000 veterans annually and over 5,600 residents in retirement living and residential care communities.
