The Southland District Health Board has contracted the new owners of the Lake Wakatipu Home to take over six aged-care beds from Lakes District Hospital.
John and Heather Rogers, of Auckland, have bought the lease of the Wakatipu Home from Presbyterian Support Southland.
Mr Rogers said the couple had 20 years' experience developing and running Lexham rest-homes in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.
Mr Rogers said he would not be involved in the proposed integrated model of care for the Wakatipu, released this week by the health board.
The proposal is to build an integrated family healthcare centre on the site of Lakes District Hospital.
It would house a team of healthcare providers and be governed by a board made up of community, health board and provider representatives.
Mr Rogers said he would not be included in the team of providers at the proposed facility.
"We are taking beds into the home but other than that we are not involved with the DHB."
The name of the 36-bed Lake Wakatipu Home would be changed to Lake Wakatipu Home and Hospital.
It would take the four patients now occupying aged-care beds in Lakes District Hospital from April 1.
He hoped to increase the number of hospital-level beds to up to 10, depending on demand.
He said he aimed to attract some elderly residents, who had been forced to leave town for hospital-level care, back to the district.
"Presbyterian Support have run a very good home there.
"We are going to take the hospital beds into the home and hopefully run it as well as them," he saidMr Rogers said he wanted to move to Queenstown because his daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters lived there.
He also had two sons in Dunedin, so moving from the North Island would bring the family closer together.
Regional chief executive Brian Rousseau said the proposed healthcare centre would not provide any aged-care facilities.
The health board wanted to contract all its aged-care to private providers in the community.
The discussion document released this week says the new model of care would provide more aged-care beds in Queenstown.
"The population of Queenstown aged over 75 is increasing.
"The current number of 505 (Census 2006) is projected to rise to 1280 by 2026.
"This is significant as these older people are by far the highest users of healthcare resources."
It says Queenstown would have a range of aged-care services including community, personal and home support, meals on wheels, rehabilitation, day care and more hospital level, rest-home level and dementia beds.
The health board is seeking feedback on its proposed shake-up of healthcare provision before April 23.
