by Peter Hennessy FAICD CPA ACIS ACIM (Managing Director of Hospmed Services Pty Ltd)
The Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, reaffirmed the Commonwealth Government’s strong preference for supporting older Australians to continue living in their communities and sleeping in their own beds. Senator Santoro said he was keen to extend those services to residents of retirement villages.
A successful pilot program, which trialed the delivery of community care to 321 people in retirement villages, had opened the way for the expansion of community care in retirement villages.
“This includes both Community Aged Care packages, Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) packages which provide services for people who are more frail and need more care, and EACH Dementia packages specifically for those with dementia,” he said. “The Government has already provided $24.2 million in funding to provide these services for people living in retirement villages”.
“There is no reason why people who have invested in a lovely home in a retirement village should be discriminated against in terms of access to aged care services. They should not be forced to either go without care, or move into a residential facility, if they have an alternative”, Senator Santoro added.
“There are a number of options for retirement village proprietors. They may choose to provide the services themselves – or simply to allow external providers to deliver the services within their villages.”
To achieve appropriate care levels in the retirement village environment it is essential residents’ health and personal security is underwritten by reliable monitoring equipment fully compliant with Australian and International Standards. Furthermore the alarm monitoring system should aesthetically fit into the home environment without negatively impacting on the decor.
Only CareTech’s 4200 alarm system provides 100% accredited security without the need of “ugly” power adapters. This unique feature, together with enhanced monitoring capacity, including a diverse range of accessories and uncompromising care centre system, is rewriting industry standards.
Security was regarded as the most important attribute looked for by residents in a Queensland University survey of retirement village residents. Respondents were presented with a list of 21 services and facilities and asked to rate the desirability of these as being provided in a village.
From this information it is possible to identify those services and facilities which 60 per cent of respondents rated as being ‘very desirable’ or ‘desirable’ for a retirement village to provide. These are: having a 24 hour emergency system; reputable management and staff; a community centre; library, village bus; library; games room; barbeque; providing social activities; having a lock-up garage; having a hostel and nursing home on site.
Surprisingly surveyed residents ranked 24 hour emergency service higher than reputable management and staff.
The Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, reaffirmed the Commonwealth Government’s strong preference for supporting older Australians to continue living in their communities and sleeping in their own beds. Senator Santoro said he was keen to extend those services to residents of retirement villages.
A successful pilot program, which trialed the delivery of community care to 321 people in retirement villages, had opened the way for the expansion of community care in retirement villages.
“This includes both Community Aged Care packages, Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) packages which provide services for people who are more frail and need more care, and EACH Dementia packages specifically for those with dementia,” he said. “The Government has already provided $24.2 million in funding to provide these services for people living in retirement villages”.
“There is no reason why people who have invested in a lovely home in a retirement village should be discriminated against in terms of access to aged care services. They should not be forced to either go without care, or move into a residential facility, if they have an alternative”, Senator Santoro added.
“There are a number of options for retirement village proprietors. They may choose to provide the services themselves – or simply to allow external providers to deliver the services within their villages.”
To achieve appropriate care levels in the retirement village environment it is essential residents’ health and personal security is underwritten by reliable monitoring equipment fully compliant with Australian and International Standards. Furthermore the alarm monitoring system should aesthetically fit into the home environment without negatively impacting on the decor.
Only CareTech’s 4200 alarm system provides 100% accredited security without the need of “ugly” power adapters. This unique feature, together with enhanced monitoring capacity, including a diverse range of accessories and uncompromising care centre system, is rewriting industry standards.
Security was regarded as the most important attribute looked for by residents in a Queensland University survey of retirement village residents. Respondents were presented with a list of 21 services and facilities and asked to rate the desirability of these as being provided in a village.
From this information it is possible to identify those services and facilities which 60 per cent of respondents rated as being ‘very desirable’ or ‘desirable’ for a retirement village to provide. These are: having a 24 hour emergency system; reputable management and staff; a community centre; library, village bus; library; games room; barbeque; providing social activities; having a lock-up garage; having a hostel and nursing home on site.
Surprisingly surveyed residents ranked 24 hour emergency service higher than reputable management and staff.
(Source UQ)
The CareTech solution to village security needs is fully compliant with Australian Standard AS 4607 (1999) and addresses the needs of residents.
The CareTech solution to village security needs is fully compliant with Australian Standard AS 4607 (1999) and addresses the needs of residents.
