ECH was created to ensure people are able to live life well, no matter their age, or stage of life’s journey.
Shaping ECH’s vision.
In 1964, Garnet E Rundle placed an advertisement in The Advertiser newspaper seeking expressions of interest to form an organisation to assist older people.
Five people responded and the Elderly Citizens Homes of SA was created. It would later become known as ECH.
Elderly Citizens Homes expanded into the residential care sector and developed a reputation for quality and compassionate service that still exists today.
Rundle, ECH’s founder, was truly a visionary, recognising even in the 1960s the need for affordable retirement housing for older South Australians, especially war widows. It was this vision, dedication and early work that shaped ECH’s foundation and the principles that guide the company today.
Supporting South Australians.
Expanding into residential care in the 1970s, the organisation’s name was simplified to ECH.
The update reflected the changes in service, while retaining the essence of the name given to it by Rundle.
In 2014 the ECH team decided it was time to return to the company’s roots; divesting all its residential care centres and instead focusing on Rundle’s original vision of empowering people to live their best life possible as they age and enabling them to continue to live independently and confidently at home.
Ten years later and today ECH supports the independence of more than 15,000 South Australians. ECH now stands for ‘Enabling Confidence at Home’ and all services are designed to support our clients to stay who they are, where they are.