Carinity Brownesholme retirement village in Highfields, Queensland, has celebrated a major milestone as Rev. Phil West, manager and chaplain of the village, marks his 35th year of service with the retirement village provider.
Rev. West has a strong affinity with the village community, as he has been involved with the retirement village since before its inception. The land on which the village now stands once belonged to Mr Molly Browne, who requested in her will that her family’s 120-acre dairy farm be developed into a retirement village.
In 1991, as Minister of Highfields Baptist Church, Rev. West was enlisted to be part of a steering committee to oversee the new use for the land, bequeathed to the Baptist Union of Queensland. Fast forward to the present day, he has managed Brownesholme since it opened in 1995.
“It’s been a privilege to serve the Lord and the Church. It's not always been easy being the Manager and Chaplain but I have a good relationship with the people I work with,” Rev. West says.
Originally from Warwick, Rev. West has always lived on the Darling Downs apart from a short period spent studying in Sydney. He has a long relationship with the Highfields district through his work with Baptist ministry, starting as a student pastor in the town in 1982.
“Highfields was a very small farming community and the Brownesholme property was just a grass paddock with agistment by a neighbour. Highfields is now a large sleeping dormitory to Toowoomba, a leafy community set on the edge of the Great Dividing Range. Its growth has been exponential,” he says.
Carinity Brownesholme is currently home to 82 residents living in 61 independent living units, and it is also growing. Rev. West says Carinity plans to build a 96-suite residential aged care community on the site as part of its model for integrated seniors living.
Eventually, Carinity aims to also offer Home Care to enable local people to live independently and longer in their homes and community.
As well as his work at Brownesholme, Rev. West has also been involved in construction projects at Carinity aged care villages and community facilities in Brisbane, Ipswich, Boonah, Hervey Bay and Yeppoon.
Carinity CEO Jon Campbell says Rev. West embodies the qualities that are at the heart of Carinity’s work in communities across Queensland.
“Carinity aims to create loving and caring communities and make a real difference in the lives of the people. Rev. West has been not only a loyal servant to Carinity but also to God,” he says.
“We congratulate and thank him for 35 years of dedication to Carinity and the staff and residents of Brownesholme. We welcome his commitment to and passion for the Brownesholme and Highfields communities and the positive difference it makes in our residents’ lives.”
