The Monte and Millie
Last week, nursing homes owner took out a full page in the Australian Jewish News detailing her reasons for advocating a change in the Board of the Sydney Jewish care home…the Monte answers her…
Current president of the Sir Moses Montefiore Home David Freeman has issued a statement saying:
David Freeman
“It has become apparent that Mrs Millie Phillips, a commercial nursing home operator, is trying to form a group to stand against the current Board at the Home’s upcoming Annual General Meeting.
Mrs Phillips has publicly stated that she intends to seize control of the Home in order to reduce costs by between $15m-$30m per year and then to redirect these savings away from aged care and into unrelated activities, a redirection that is clearly contrary to the Home’s constitution.
Any reduction of $15m-$30m that Mrs Phillips intends to cut from the Home’s operating budget would devastate the standard of care being provided to our frail aged residents and would destroy the reputation of the Home, which is widely regarded as being the finest aged care provider in Australia.
For the past 120 years the Home has had a philosophy of providing the highest standard of care it can responsibly afford and to provide this necessary standard of care to all of its elderly residents, irrespective of whether they are full fee paying or financially supported pensioners. The Home currently supports 200 residents who are full pensioners and who are only able to contribute 85% of their pension towards their cost of care. We also support the complex care needs of the 30% of our residents that are holocaust survivors.
The current Board, which consists of high calibre individuals with a broad range of professional experience including business, property, finance, legal and medical backgrounds, diligently upholds this philosophy and therefore supports the provision of services that truly enrich the quality of life of our residents whilst at the same time being affordable and financially sustainable in the long term.
In Mrs Phillips’ public advertising campaign she makes a number of erroneous and insulting allegations that denigrate the management of the Home and which are totally inaccurate and misrepresent the truth. It would take too long to refute each allegation individually, but the simple fact is that the Home provides outstanding care services, has a highly experienced and professional management team, employs qualified and competent staff and is financially robust and financially sustainable. In fact, it has never been financially stronger.
If you have any doubt regarding the negative impact a Board led by Mrs Phillips would have on the care levels provided by the Home I urge you to simply Google “Millie Phillips” or “Milstern Health Care” and make your own assessment of Mrs Phillips based on the reports of her care services and business reputation.
If you are eligible to vote at the upcoming Montefiore election, I encourage you to attend the AGM at the Hunters Hill campus at 10.30am on Sunday 9 December 2012 and vote against this disturbing move by the Phillips’ led group to seize control of the Home.
Our residents and all those supporters that have worked tirelessly over the last 120 years for the benefit of the community deserve better than succumbing to this fate.”
David Freeman AM President
Having read and taken into account the statements of both David Freeman the current President of the Montefiore Home and that of Millie Phillips, plus the post below by Helen, I decided to do a bit of research of my own, as was suggested, because I knew nothing about this situation until a couple of weeks ago..
I was also given an insight into Ms Phillips a few nights ago and to put it mildly, I was not impressed.
The search results show that the running and general lack of care in her nursing homes highlights they leave much to be desired. There are too many accounts of her Company’s inefficiency to enumerate. Just search her name.
Ms Phillips says “I want to create a situation where instead of having deficits, the Montefiore should have profits. Those profits to be used for the General Community. “
Sorry, very wrong there. If there are profits, then those profits get used for the benefit of the home, not Ms Phillips’ pet projects elsewhere.
A couple of weeks ago Ms Phillips boasted that she had given millions of dollars and if her ‘people’ were elected to the Board she would give more.
Millie needs to get herself straight here. !!
On one hand she is claiming she will have an excess of money to donate elsewhere, so why then, pray tell, on other hand is she saying she’ll donate more if elected?
This is all very confusing.
Helen says “And using the Shoah card David – how shameful of you!”
Yet in this week’s AJN Ms Phillips herself does the exact same thing in her advertisement.
Helen also says “The Home is full of agency nurses”
Yes Helen, and if you were aware of the situation in regards to the lack of nursing staff in Australia, you’d know that it’s a problem endemic to the entire country. Having been hospitalised on a number of occasions in the past few years, I find these nurses to be far more efficient and caring than ‘home grown’ ones, in the main anyhow.
Oh and by the way Helen, Agency Nursing staff don’t come cheap. The money paid to the Agency is higher than a nurse would get paid. Agencies they are in business to make money. Therefore the Home is paying more for nursing staff than it would if it were able to hire its own.
I also have friends with elderly family in the home and they are more than satisfied with the level of care provided.
David,
It is a pity that instead of Millie bashing you did not focus on how efficiently the Monty is managed.
Possibly because we the members of the Jewish Community must pay exorbitantly for our aging parents to get in and then if we want even average care pay for a private nurse to look after them. The Home is full of agency nurses and the level of care is appalling.
Where does all the money go?
And thank you Millie for identifying waste in the Community and working to stop it!! Surely the Monty as a community home should not be taking money (both through JCA and private donations) and wasting it! I am sure Millie who has been in the business for decades understands the difference between managing a budget Nursing Home as opposed to a luxury one. It would be nice to think that instead of throwing money away it will be made available to the Youth of our community to assist in Jewish day School and other educational relief funds.
And Mr Freedman I do not believe the Monty is providing the care it should be! Some of the treatment is woeful eg leaving patients wet and half dressed because they had to rush to help other nurses (and explaining that it was due to constant under-staffing!!!), oldies lying on the floor for over an hour while staff hide behind the high desks, refusing to answer the shouts for help. And using the Shoah card David – how shameful of you! The complex needs of the Shoah victims are not handled at all by the staff – except with disdain. A well known community member, survivor, was treated to disdain by meal staff and nurses who refused to give her bread no matter how much she begged. Many times on speaking to the staff we were told she ate already – it is appalling that they did not understand the bread was her security and she just needed to have it with her! The numbers were displayed on her arm -her history was obvious.
So yes – everyone please go and vote David and his great friends off the board!!
Our oldies need our support. They do not deserve the treatment they are currently getting!! And the army of wonderful volunteers who were pretty much the only caring side to the Monty – many of them are currently being told they are not needed!!
David I hope people do come to the AGM and that they vote to remove you and your friends and give our oldies the care and support they deserve and cut the waste in our community!