South Australian dementia care village opens this month
A dementia care village made up of 70 small household cottages has opened for residents at the Repat Health precinct in the Adelaide suburb of Daw Park.
The village was delivered by health and aged care provider HammondCare in partnership with the federal and state government.
Set around the village green of Daw Park, the village includes an onsite cafe, children’s playground, hairdresser and an exercise park. The care village also includes a general store where residents can pick up supplies for their cottage. It was designed with the small home cottages in mind in order to maximise resident autonomy and minimise disability, as recommended by the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Two of the cottages, each accommodating nine people, will support residents with high-level needs under the Specialist Dementia Care Program, with one funded by the Commonwealth and the other by the state government. The other cottages support people living with varying levels of care needs.
Each cottage includes a domestic kitchen and laundry where residents are encouraged to participate in daily tasks. There is a mix of communal living areas and private sitting spaces along with access from the cottages to the outdoors with shaded gardens.
HammondCare is recruiting 130 staff, providing 24/7 registered nurse-led care, with trained carers and specialist clinical support such as psychogeriatrics or geriatricians provided by SA Health.
CEO Mike Baird opened HammondCare Park together with SA Minister for Health and Wellbeing Chris Picton, chef and author Maggie Beer and carers advocate Jeni Aikman. Board Chair Kok Kong Chan was also part of proceedings.
“HammondCare is proud to open this special aged care home for South Australians living with dementia in line with our mission to improve the quality of life for people in need,” Baird said.
Two cottages will welcome the first residents this month, with the remaining four cottages to open in coming months.
For more information, click here.
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