After more than two decades at the helm of aged care provider Boandik Lodge, chief executive Gillian McGinty (pictured) will step aside.

Ms McGinty will finish in July after 23 years with Boandik, informing the board of directors of the decision two years prior and telling The SE Voice she was making the move to be closer to family.

“I bought a block of land at Long Flat near Murray Bridge in 2020 to be closer to my family,” she said.

“I am currently five hours away, so it is difficult to keep in contact and visit when I work in a position that requires a lot of time and commitment.

“I always like to be open and transparent particularly with the board about my plans, it is a large organisation and we needed to be able to have some succession planning in place and set up staffing strategies.

“It has been in the planning for a while, but we will be going to a recruitment process.

“Boandik has been my priority for a long time and I have made a huge commitment to Boandik to make sure the organisation has operated at a high level so now it is time for someone else to take on that role and for me to take a step back and do something that is not quite so intensive.”

Ms McGinty said one of the most recent challenges in such a regulated industry as the aged care sector had been the impact of COVID-19.

“For the last few years COVID-19 has really taken over our lives and become the thing that we have to deal with on a daily basis before we can think about anything else,” she said.

“I joke with my assistant that she’s become the COVID-19 officer because monitoring the vaccinations and all the information that we have to have about every person has become a full-time job.

“We have had to implement systems like our zip line automatic sign in system to make sure that we are keeping everyone safe.

“It has had a big impact on residents, visitors, clients and the community who has changed the way they live their lives because of COVID-19.

“Like everyone else, the aged care industry has been affected, it is just that our residents and clients are more vulnerable, so we have a greater responsibility to try and protect them and keep them safe.”

Ms McGinty said that despite the challenges every day at Boandik had been a highlight.

“I love coming to work because I actually get to work with the residents on a daily basis, they are in my office in the morning and the first people I speak to as I walk through the door,” she said.

“Boandik has been my life for a long time so it will leave a huge gap with a lot of close friends, great associates, residents, clients and staff I am really going to miss.

“Boandik is a community-based organisation and we are really fortunate to have a strong and supportive board of management who have given their time freely to govern the organisation, many of whom I have had the pleasure of working with over the past 23 years.”