For the past 40 years, The Forrest Centre has been part of the social fabric of Wagga Wagga.
The origins of The Forrest Centre trace back to two generous and determined women – The Venerable Mary Potter, who founded the Little Company of Mary (LCM) in England, and Wagga Wagga resident Miss Ethel Forrest.
Considered by many to be an eccentric recluse, Miss Forrest lived much of her life in frugal simplicity. When she died in 1977, she left the bulk of her large estate to the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, for the establishment of a a hospital-like facility in the region.
At the same time, the Little Company of Mary had expressed intent to construct a nursing home to operate in conjunction with Calvary Hospital. The then Regional Director of Health negotiated to combine theses visions which saw construction of a 60-bed nursing home, assessment and rehabilitation and day care centre for the aged community of Wagga Wagga, 1985.
Mary Potter Nursing Home
The first clients took up residence at Mary Potter Nursing Home in February 1985, and between 2004 and 2007 extensive renovations took place to provide 80 residents with private single room accommodation. Our specialist Dementia Care unit, Shalom Place was upgraded in 2018 to cater for up to 20 residents, and our $4million 10-bed Hospice opened in 2018.
Loreto Home of Compassion
The Sisters of Compassion, a New Zealand congregation of religious Sisters, founded Loreto Home of Compassion in a house in Fox Street, Wagga Wagga in 1952. The Sisters cared for 20 residents at that location until 1974 when a new facility was built in Bardia Street. The new facility catered for 41 frail aged people.
Over the period 2000 to 2002, the Bardia Street facility was substantially rebuilt to provide single room accommodation for 50 residents. In late 2002, the Sisters of Compassion invited The Forrest Centre to take over the management of the facility and in 2004, The Forrest Centre acquired ownership.
A major building project took place during 2008 adding an additional 26 bedrooms including 10 bedrooms in a secure dementia care area.
Forrest Community Services
The Forrest Centre established Wagga Wagga Community Options program in 1990 making its entry into community-based care, followed soon after by funding for the Continence Advisory Service. From there it acquired its first allocation of Commonwealth aged care packages in 1994. Numerous further allocations of both low and high care packages were successfully obtained. Forrest Community Services was formed in July 2002 to manage these services and continued growth. In October 2012, The Forrest Centre acquired Griffith Nursing Service, consolidating its services in the western Riverina.
Forrest Community Services programs provide support to assist over 300 consumers in maintaining as much independence as possible and to remain living in their own home.
The Forrest Centre provides care and support to consumers through a number of community-based outreach services including: Home Care Packages, Social Participation programs, Commonwealth Home Support Program, Department of Veterans Affairs program and Continence Advisory service.
Today, The Forrest Centre employs more than 250 staff, comprises our two residential Aged Care facilities – Mary Potter Nursing Home and Loreto Home of Compassion – and provides at-home care services to more than 550 customers throughout the Wagga Wagga, Tumut, Leeton, Griffith and Albury-Wodonga areas.