Making the change from living independently to a new home in residential care is a significant milestone in the lives of many elderly people. While there are plenty of things that need to be considered when selecting an aged care community, the amount of help and support you will have around you is a key factor that influences how quickly you will settle into your new home.
We spoke to two aged care residents who firmly believe that transitioning from a Carinity retirement village to an aged care community only a short walk away was the ideal decision for them.
For Margaret Silingardi, the choice to relocate from the Carinity Shalom retirement village in Rockhampton to the aged care home within the same integrated seniors’ community gave her comfort during what could otherwise have been an emotional time.
Her move was fully supported by Carinity Shalom’s dedicated customer service and activities teams. Our staff at Shalom are passionate about caring for seniors and ensuring they are supported fully in their move to permanent care.
According to Carinity personal carer and diversional therapist, Donna Hinchcliffe, Margaret is already taking full advantage of the busy activities program at Shalom.
“Margaret loves going on her twice a week walk around the grounds. We do a loop around the beautiful lagoon and she even gets to see the garden she established while living in the retirement village. The walks are great to keep seniors active, but they also provide social residents like Margaret an opportunity to have a good chat,” Donna said.
An advantage of living in a co-located seniors’ community is residents can remain connected to family and friends – and stay living in the neighbourhood they love. Having an aged care home only steps away from the retirement village was one of the deciding factors for Margaret when she originally chose to live at Carinity Shalom.
“I see my friends from the retirement village, they come and visit me, and I still play lawn bowls there every Saturday. My friend came, she couldn’t believe how nice it was here. You can go shopping and are free to come and go as you like. I go to bingo and I go to exercise,” Margaret said.
“I lived in the retirement village for 16 years before I moved into aged care. I love it here, it’s fantastic. It’s my home now. I couldn’t wish for a better place to live. I wouldn’t recommend any other place but here. I can’t get over how nice the staff are. They make you happy.”
Dawn Sparrow lived happily at the Carinity Brownesholme retirement village in Highfields near Toowoomba for 12 years. When the time came for her to seek fulltime care, she only needed to look next door to Carinity’s new aged care community.
“As you get older, I don’t think there’s too many people who like a great deal of change. I live in aged care now, but it feels like I am still in the same Brownesholme environment. I still see friends from the retirement village who come down to visit me,” Dawn said.
“There’s lovely caring staff here and you can have a little joke with them. You just feel as though they’re part of your family – an extended family. They have a chat with you, they make your bed in the morning and tidy up your room. It is like living in a hotel.”
ADVICE FROM DONNA
Donna Hinchliffe has been supporting seniors at Carinity Shalom as a personal carer and diversional therapist since the aged care community opened almost 20 years ago.
Donna adores the residents and, along with the entire Carinity Shalom team, offers personalised support to them. Her advice for seniors who have recently moved into an aged care community is “take time to adjust”.
“Take a breath, give yourself a few weeks or a few months, mix and meet other people, take it one day at a time. Never keep anything in; if you’ve got a problem, share it straight away,” Donna said.
