News

ACH Group today welcomes new Chief Executive Officer Frank Weits, who is excited about leading the organisation and its people in a way that will offer new opportunities for older people to live good lives.
Mr Weits comes to ACH Group with a great record in organisational transformation and cultural change leadership, with a strong focus on customer centricity.
Whilst new to the sector, Mr Weits has extensive experience in adjoining sectors and will bring these invaluable insights to ACH Group.
ACH Group Chair Ms Mary Patetsos said the ACH Group Board couldn’t be more pleased with the appointment.
“With the sector experiencing unprecedented change as a result of the deregulation of Home Care, the increased scrutiny on quality of care and quality of life, Mr Weits’ attributes as a problem solver and decision maker, his strategic vision and experience in growing businesses through innovation and customer centricity, will enable ACH Group to identify new opportunities so we can continually improve the way we support people throughout their ageing journey.”
Mr Weits has previously been instrumental in changing and leading the client centric functions at PwC Australia and in the Netherlands, his country of origin. He is an active community contributor via various Board roles including his role as the Honorary Consul for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Australia and Northern Territory.
“Mr Weits will build on ACH Group’s strengths, and the legacy that has been created by the previous five CEOs throughout ACH Group’s 66-year history by continuing to build ACH Group into a world class, best practice organisation that brings together the best of aged and health care services, and continues to advocate for older people.”
Mr Weits said he was delighted to be joining an iconic aged care organisation whose values closely mirrored his own.
“I am looking forward to bringing my skills and experience to the table and working closely with the expert team that has such a tremendous
record of supporting older people through quality care. Notably, ACH Group also demonstrates a sound commitment to ensuring that the quality of care is matched by quality of life experiences, and this excites me. I realise that there are many challenges ahead, as we navigate through the changing climate due to government reforms and the ageing population, but ACH Group is already in an excellent position to continue delivering on its vision of good lives.”
Mr Weits is delighted to be at the helm of an organisation in very sound financial shape, and with a broad and growing customer base.

Maxine Bawden is a firm believer that in helping others, you help yourself. The 69-year-old signed on as a volunteer with ACH Group two years ago and says she’s happier and healthier as a result.

“I started going on bus trips [with ACH Group’s Social Links program] and I used to help people around me, and someone suggested I would be a good volunteer,” she says. “I said I would love to, but I don’t drive. They said that doesn’t matter, we’ll pick you up!”

Every Monday Maxine volunteers at ACH Group’s newest art class at the Thebarton Community Centre, where she helps set up the room, brings artists cups of tea, and provides assistance and social support.

She also now volunteers with ACH Group’s Social Links program, providing social support on bus trips to a range of destinations around South Australia and on ‘Upcycling Tours’, visiting op shops to find a bargain and sharing lunch.

Maxine, who worked full time until the age of 55, says volunteering has given her a renewed sense of purpose and belonging.

“My husband passed away 18 years ago and we didn’t have any children, and not much family in Adelaide, so I’d been on my own,” she says. “I love coming out and getting to know people, and helping people makes me feel good, too. When they’re happy, I’m happy. It gets me out of the house and it keeps me going.”

ACH Group is supported by more than 400 volunteers across a range of roles, from transport and shopping to helping run social groups and more. Find out more about ACH Group volunteering opportunities here.

ACH Group is excited to continue its partnership with the Adelaide Fringe Festival for 2019.

The partnership strongly aligns with ACH Group’s values in connecting people to a creative community-driven festival, and celebrating uniqueness.

ACH Group Acting Chief Executive Officer Trudy Sutton said ACH Group was pleased to again partner with such an important South Australian event. “We believe this ongoing partnership builds on our philosophy of creating possibilities for an inclusive and vibrant ageing community.”

As part of the partnership, ACH Group is offering entertainment packages for people keen to explore the Fringe via its Social Links Fringe Guide.

“This is a great way to soak up the festival atmosphere and watch some of the local and international acts,” Ms Sutton said. “We encourage you to get together with friends and family to enjoy all the Fringe has to offer.”

Fringe Festival Director and Chief Executive Heather Croall said: “Adelaide Fringe is proud to partner with an organisation that truly believes in the importance of living a good life, being part of a community and keeping people connected across all stages of life”.

ACH Group’s Sing for Joy choir will again be performing at Adelaide Fringe after its sell-out show in 2017.  Their new show Broadway – up in lights will debut on Saturday 23 February at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

“Adelaide Fringe Festival is a wonderful way for the ACH Group community to be involved as performers or audience members, across a range of fun events, and promotes social connection.”

ACH Group encourages customers to engage in the wider community and events through its Social Links program in a bid to keep customers connected to their wider community. The program offers opportunities to meet like-minded people, attend events or learn new skills in a fun way such as being a part of a choir.

The Adelaide Fringe Festival runs from 15 February 2019 to 17 March. The full program is now available online. To search the event program visit the Adelaide Fringe website.

ACH Group Stadium has a long history as a hub of sporting and community life in the Glenelg district.

Formerly Gliderol Stadium, the ground is now known as ACH Group Stadium following a naming rights agreement announced on 1 November 2018.

It is home to the Glenelg Football Club (the Tigers), inaugurated in 1921, as well as the Glenelg District Cricket Club (the Seahorses), established in 1907, and today hosts SANFL and South Australian Grade Cricket League games.

Located on Brighton Road, Glenelg East, the ground also hosts local school matches and events, with Glenelg Primary School located at the southern end of the ground.

ACH Group Stadium has a capacity of 15,000 and boasts one main grandstand on the western wing, the Edward Rix Stand. Its HY Sparkes Stand was replaced in 2017 with a family-friendly grassed mound.

The Glenelg Football Club offices are located in the upstairs of the Edward Rix Stand along with the President’s Function Room and ACH Group’s Health Studio 50+. The Glenelg Club venue is located downstairs.

The ground’s record attendance was set on 20 July 1968 when 17,171 saw Sturt defeat Glenelg by one point, 13.13 (91) to 13.12 (90).

Glenelg Football Club has been home to some of South Australia’s best known players, including DK ‘Fred’ Phillis, Graham Cornes, Peter Carey, Peter Marker and John McFarlane.

In 2013, ACH Group Stadium hosted a Sheffield Shield match while the Adelaide Oval was being completed, along with a Sheffield Shield final between South Australia and Victoria.

The Glenelg District Cricket Club fields senior, junior and women’s cricket teams.

ACH Group Acting Chief Executive Officer Trudy Sutton said the partnership was a natural extension of the relationship between the two organisations following the opening of ACH Group’s Health Studio 50+ at the site in February.

“We share many common values, including recognising the importance of an active lifestyle, a sense of community and regular social connection to our overall health,” Ms Sutton said. “We are pleased to partner with another valued community organisation as we continue our mission to support people to live well as they age.”

The Health Studio 50+ is pioneering health and wellbeing for older South Australians by bringing together allied health professionals, exercise and wellness groups in a purpose-built facility.

Alongside traditional clinic-based services such as physio, massage and podiatry, Studio customers have access to exercise groups including yoga, mindfulness, fitness, rehabilitation and balance.

The Studio uses world-leading Finnish designed HUR exercise equipment, developed specifically for rehabilitation that uses air pressure to mimic natural movement.

Find out more about ACH Group’s Health Studio 50+ here.

ACH Group dementia expert Teresa Moran has been presented with a Health Care Hero award for her work in dementia services.

Teresa has been instrumental in helping to launch ACH Group’s Dementia Specialist Advisory Service.

She told 5AA’s Alan Hickey that it was important that people continued to challenge the myth that dementia was an inevitable part of ageing and that nothing could be done to support people living with dementia.

“There’s a lot of living to be done post a diagnosis of dementia,” she said. “Part of my role is to educate staff and families and to design new service initiatives for customers living in the community to enable them to continue to lead a good live and to give them a sense of hope for the future.”

Teresa said ACH Group focussed on three key areas around living well post diagnosis: remaining physically active, socially connected and cognitively stimulated – continuing to learn and be challenged by new things.

“Loneliness is one of the biggest challenges; a lot of customers tell us that long term friends and even family don’t know how to relate to (them),” she said. “That can have a significant impact on self-esteem and self-confidence.”

ACH Group had introduced a range of social programs including innovative initiatives for customers living with younger onset dementia.

“We’ve designed our social programs around people’s interests and their ability levels, to allow them to continue to connect with others, and often others that are going through similar experiences to them.”

She was encouraged by a growing body of research that showed there was a role for rehabilitation post diagnosis.

“That ranges from physiotherapy interventions around exercise to occupational therapy around maintaining independence,” she said. “We’re now (seeing) that people can continue to learn and grow and develop neural pathways; they can be encouraged to exercise to maintain mobility and balance, and to slow the progression of the disease.”

ACH Group’s Dementia Specialist Advisory Service offered advice to the person and family members around living well but also strategies on how to navigate aged care services, how to communicate with one another and to reduce anxiety levels.

“I enjoy being able to instil hope in what can be a life-changing and devastating diagnosis, and being able to support families and the person through significant challenges.”

ACH Group’s Ivy Diegmann, who nominated Teresa for the award, said Teresa showed an unrelenting commitment to challenging the myths and stereotypes that existed around dementia.

“Teresa drives us all to think differently about what the possibilities are around rehabilitation and dementia,” she said.

Find out more about ACH Group’s dementia services here.

Listen to the interview –

Safety features around the home have made life easier for Jill, who is a full-time carer to her husband Charles, diagnosed with dementia six years ago.

Jill and Charles are happy to be at home with support from ACH Group’s Dementia Advisory Service.

As part of the service, they were visited at home by a dementia advisor who recommended a series of changes be made around the home, including installation of signage in the kitchen area and other rooms to help Charles maintain his independence.

“It is nice to know that there is someone there who knows our story and who we can call on when we need help,” Jill says. “Charles is happy here at home and we want to stay here for as long as we can.”

Charles is a member of ACH Group’s Sing for Joy choir, open to people of all abilities aged 65 and over.

ACH Group’s Dementia Advisory Service was launched 12 months ago to provide tailored services for people living with dementia.

The Service can help someone who has dementia or memory loss in getting a diagnosis, accessing services, staying healthy and living well with the challenges of dementia and coping with changes to independence and relationships.

They can provide professional advice on modifying homes and routines to make life easier, using technology to aid memory, independence and safety, securing reliable support and services, keeping people connected to the community and planning for the future.

ACH Group also offers Carer Support for people who are caring for someone living with dementia, allowing them to take a break or some time out to focus on their own health and wellbeing.

“While dementia can and does have a profound effect on a person’s daily life and that of those around them, with appropriate support and information it is possible to live well with dementia,” ACH Group dementia expert Teresa Moran says.

For more information about how ACH Group can support you to live well with dementia, please call us on 1300 22 44 77 or visit us here.

He’s widely considered Australia’s best sports commentator, but Bruce McAvaney still thinks  he can do better.

The man dubbed ‘Mr Olympics’ has been a fixture on our screens and airwaves for the last four decades and has called some of the nation’s greatest sporting moments. His was the voice that perfectly summed up Cathy Freeman’s gold medal-winning sprint at the Sydney Olympics with “what a moment, what a legend”. When champion mare Makybe Diva claimed her third straight Melbourne Cup win, he called it “the greatest  victory in the history of the race”.

Despite reaching the top of his game, Bruce always sees room for improvement.

“I don’t think that age should be a handbrake on ambition,” he says. “And by ambition I don’t mean get more money, or a bigger job, I mean do a better job,” he says. “I still feel like I can get better and while some of my biggest events might be behind me, my best work might still be ahead.”

It’s a mindset that continues to drive Bruce in his work and life and helped him carry on in the wake of a diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) in 2015, revealed to the public in 2017.

“There was a lot of reaction to the news and that was comforting, but I felt  it was unwarranted because I wasn’t on any treatment and I  didn’t feel ill – I’ve  never felt ill.”

CLL is a slow-growing leukaemia that affects white blood cells, but between 30 and 50 percent of people diagnosed with the disease never require any treatment, apart from check-ups to monitor their health.

The only concession Bruce made to his work schedule was to stop covering tennis, allowing a few weeks’ rest over summer. “What it’s meant for me is the opportunity to regenerate a bit and have a break mentally,” he says. “It’s been a good move; it’s meant I can spend time with my family, but my career has continued on and as far as I’m concerned I’m quite capable of working hard, certainly today and hopefully for a few years in the future.”

Bruce grew up in Adelaide’s north-west in a family of sports lovers and knew from the age of five that he wanted to be a race caller. “Growing up, I wanted to call the  Melbourne Cup, I wanted to play test cricket and I wanted to play league football. In a way, I’ve been practising all my life to do the job  I’m doing now.”

“My Uncle Leslie gave me a  scrapbook of horses, and I used to pore over those, and ask questions about them, have conversations about racing – it was my first love and still is,” he says.

His career began as a 23-year-old in 1976 at Radio 5DN in Adelaide, calling races and hosting a sports show before what he calls a ‘lucky break’ – the chance to present sports  news on Channel 7, and  produce a racing program  (Racetrack).

In 1980 he covered his first Olympics for Channel 7, hosting the Adelaide end of the Moscow telecast. Bruce went on to read sports news for Channel 10 in Melbourne and covered the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, followed by the Seoul Olympics. Since then, Bruce has covered every summer Olympics, three Winter Games and continues to anchor major sporting events including AFL football grand finals, the Brownlow Medal and the Melbourne Cup, and remains the only sports commentator to be recognised with a Logie Award.

Bruce returned to Adelaide with his wife Anne in 1999 with their kids Sam (then five) and Alexandra (two), to spend time with both their parents and extended families. Today Sam works in the media in Melbourne and Alex lives ‘around the corner’ in  Glenelg  South. “Adelaide’s home for both of us; it’ s a great place to bring up kids and it’s a good place  to be.”

Bruce always makes time to exercise – during the Commonwealth Games coverage he was up jogging in the dark before a 7am start each morning – and tries to eat well. “I enjoy the challenge of staying fit – I’m not about to go out and break a record for a 65-year-old, but I am healthy. I enjoy a drink and being social but I don’t feel right if I don’t do some form of exercise every day. I learnt early on that the fitter and healthier you are, the harder you can work.”

At the time of our interview, Bruce was looking forward to a busy few months covering the AFL and spring racing season, and joining Channel 7 to cover Aussie cricket. He had ticked many boxes in his career, but when it came to retirement, he had changed his mindset. “I used to think I would do as much as I could and then retire – go cold turkey – but I’ve realised that’s not a good idea for me, and probably not a good idea for most people. I’d like to continue on for as long as I can, but perhaps do less, to give myself the opportunity to recharge, prepare and look after myself.”

“The big questions for me ahead are how do I manage and maintain my standards? How do I still get the same buzz, the feel-good factor, when I’m no longer working? That will be the challenge. It’s an interesting time, but  it’s an exciting time too.”

This article was published in Good Lives Magazine – Issue 3, Spring 2018

Update 6 March 2023

Congratulations to Bruce McAvaney OAM on becoming recognised as a ‘legend’ in the SA Sport Hall of Fame.

Nigel Woolmer is staying on top of his back pain thanks to a tailored exercise program at ACH Group’s new Health Studio 50+. The 78-year-old saw one of the Studio’s physiotherapists who helped develop an exercise program to meet his  needs.

The program is saved to a card and uploaded as part of the Studio’s Finnish-made HUR ‘Smart Card’ computer system. Machines automatically adjust to the correct weight and tell the user how many exercises to do, when to start and when to stop. Unlike hydraulic systems, HUR equipment uses air pressure, which lessens the impact on joints.

Because there are no weight stacks or moving cables, the machines are quiet and safe to operate. “My program automatically changed to the exercises I needed,” Nigel says. “It was so  easy and helped speed up my recovery.”

Nigel’s story is a great example of how the Studio is pioneering health and wellbeing for people aged 50+  by bringing together allied health professionals, exercise and wellness groups in a purpose-built facility above the Glenelg Football Club.

Alongside traditional clinic-based services such as physio, massage and podiatry, Studio customers have access to exercise groups including yoga, mindfulness, fitness, rehabilitation and balance.

“The services are provided with the aim of restoring and  maintaining good health,” says  ACH Group Head of Health Kate Dobie.  “Being co-located at the club, we hope that people will stop and share a coffee and catch up while they are here, because we know the importance of social connection to  our overall health and wellbeing.”

WHY Health Studio 50+?

• Group training classes are capped at 12 to ensure maximum attention.
• Massage is just one of the  Allied Health Services on offer.
• Safe HUR equipment lessens the impact on  joints.
• There are no joining fees or ongoing membership fees at Health Studio 50+.
• Staff are attuned to the needs of people aged 50+.

For more about Health Studio 50+ visit or call 1300 22 44 77

READ THE WHOLE MAGAZINE HERE