New care options for independent seniors

When Margaret Hughes was discharged from a bout in hospital, she was faced with a dilemma. Not well enough to manage the daily chores back at her independent living unit in South Australia’s Tea Tree Gardens, she needed some time out to relax and recover but did not want to move away from the village permanently.

Posted September 24th 2014

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<p>Tea Tree Gardens Retirement Village resident, Margaret Hughes, has now recovered and returned home after a bout in hospital.</p> — Tea Tree Gardens Retirement Village resident, Margaret Hughes, has now recovered and returned home after a bout in hospital.

Luckily, nearby Harwin Retirement Village had an available respite room which offered her temporary support with meals, cleaning and laundry.

“The staff couldn’t do enough for me, they were really good,” says Ms Hughes, who has now recovered and returned home.

Many families are unaware of the services that retirement villages now offer including supported living and respite care in addition to the usual independent living units.

Different from residential aged care facilities, retirement village operate supported living apartments and respite care rooms foster seniors’ independence within an environment that is vibrant, social and active.

According to Dr Dennis Benedict of Salisbury, the benefits of supported living apartments and respite care rooms are hard to overlook when it comes to healthy ageing.

“Harwin Retirement Village has a caring and social atmosphere with lots of activities for residents to get involved in such as bowling, bingo and Friday afternoon card games to name but a few,” Dr Benedict says.

“I find the supported living apartments and respite rooms to be a good compromise for residents who wish to maintain an active lifestyle but who are sometimes not completely able to do so because of their health.”