Leith House and Rest Home is no more, as its new owners have given the rest-home a new name, and a plan to introduce hospital-level care.
Former Dunedin property developer Graeme Kirkland and his wife, Zhanna, have bought and renamed the facility Woodhaugh Hospital and Rest Home.
Service manager Barbara Alderson said the name reflected the closeness of Woodhaugh Gardens.
The Leith name had not helped people find the home, she said.
Staff started using the new name last week.
New signs were ready, but were yet to be installed.
It was taking staff a bit of time to get used to the name.
The residents took the new name and owners in their stride, she said.
The home would apply for district health board accreditation to provide hospital-level care, and would hoped to be operating within three months.
Hospital beds would increase, to up to 25, but the facility would start with much fewer.
As the rooms were originally appointed for double occupancy, minimal renovation work was needed.
DHBs were trying to keep the elderly at home longer, and residents were sicker when they entered residential care, so there was a trend towards hospital-level care, Ms Alderson said.
The 70-room facility had 65 residents.
Occupancy was boosted by 17 Christchurch earthquake refugees.
Previously a boarding house, the facility had operated as a rest-home since 1982.
Ms Alderson said the new owners opted to employ the staff, ending a tie with Dunedin's Southern Nursing Bureau.
The re-employment process had not resulted in job losses.
Four staff out of about 40 had not reapplied, for personal reasons.
Ms Alderson was delighted the business had been bought by a former Dunedin resident.
The sale ended a long period of uncertainty.
While staff still felt "tentative" about the regime change, it had been a positive and transparent transition.
Mr Kirkland, of Auckland, left Dunedin about 10 years ago, and was pleased to renew his ties with the South.
He changed the name to give a fresh start and acknowledge the nearby gardens.
The facility was "wonderful" and he had inherited excellent staff, he said.
He and his wife owned six other hospital/rest-home facilities in Auckland and Taranaki.
Service and Food Workers Union organiser Ann Galloway said the re-employment process was handled reasonably well, although it had been unsettling for staff.
The union had a collective agreement for 15 members, which Mrs Galloway hoped to transfer to the new employers.
The move to hospital-level care was unsurprising, given the trend in the aged-care sector, she said.
It was a "shame the [Leith] name has to go".
Exceptional Investments, which held 73% of the shares in Leith House, went into voluntary liquidation in 2007.
Neither its sole director, Alexander Meikle, of Dunedin, nor liquidator Trevor Laing would comment.
The property had a rateable value of $5 million.
