Ages and Stages

&Stages Ages

Retirement village design has changed over the years to reflect each generation’s needs and desires, and Uniting’s new developments have also changed to reflect the shifting needs in the independent living market.

e are constantly reviewing changing trends in the space and making sure our villages reflect this,” said Simon Furness, director of property and housing. With the baby boomer generation reaching retirement age, they are starting to think about the next chapter of their lives, and this means Uniting has to think about how their needs differ from the previous generation.

“To avoid the many hassles of homeownership, many are realising that downsizing is the right option for them.

“The incoming generation is increasingly interested in having extra space for hobbies and grandchildren to stay over.

“With the increased demand for retirement living, Uniting will continue to innovate to ensure that people continue living life to the fullest.”

These innovations are integrated into all elements of Uniting’s villages, including the design, technology and sustainability.

Natural lighting is an important design element of all Uniting’s developments and considers this feature for not only the dwellings but also the landscape and community spaces.

“Our dwellings are thoughtfully designed to include spacious layouts that allow people to move around easily, as well as plenty of natural light and ventilation.

“Solar access and natural light are also considered in every project from the first principles of site layout and orientation. Where possible, we consider including skylights to encourage night light into our homes.”

Uniting believes a campus model is the future of service provision. The recent development at Westmead and upcoming development in Normanhurst, Bowden Brae, have been designed using this model.

Using a campus model, the buildings are all in

a localised area, arranged so common areas are within, and everything is easily accessible.

“One of the beautiful things about these design principles is the sense of flow when one traverses the campus.

“At Westmead, one can easily go from one end of the other, bottom to top, without having to use any stairs.”

The campus model also creates a continuum of care that creates ease of access between all services, including retirement living, home and community care and residential care.

Uniting believes this model is especially important for couples whose care needs change over time, as both will be able to receive the support they need without having to move too far from partners and friends.

“We want people to look forward to going into a retirement village. To achieve this, our residents come into our villages while still active and call upon services as their needs change over time.

“For those in our aged care homes, we use a person-centred care model, which shifts the decision-making closer to the residents and those who support them, enabling greater freedom, choice and control to develop a routine that fits a household instead of an organisations schedule.”

This person-centred approach has been facilitated by the installation of technology, such as the Moove & Groove platform, and Swift Plus, which connects residents and care patients with activities and loved ones.

“Moove and Groove is a sensory programme accessed through headphones that allows residents to immerse themselves in personally curated music, podcasts, videos and courses such as yoga or meditation.

“During the height of the pandemic, the platform was also used as a user-friendly virtual visitor programme to make it easy for staff to schedule online video calls so families could stay connected.”

Individual memory boxes are also a feature at homes with residents living with dementia.

“These memory boxes contain important tokens from their lives such as photos which helps them with their symptoms.”

Technology has also helped staff to provide better care.

In late 2020, Uniting partnered with Swift Media to install Swift Plus, a new communications and entertainment technology system in nearly two thousand rooms across 25 of Uniting’s residential aged care homes.

“The Swift Plus allows staff to easily communicate with residents about important notices, social activities and meal menus direct to the TV’s in their rooms.

Swift Media’s My Family, My Commuity app also allows aged care staff to keep families up to date with important messages, photographs and videos of their loved ones.

Continued from page 17.

“A dedicated My Community channel enables photographs and messages from the wider community to be shared directly onto TV screens, as well as live streaming of events around the home, ensuring elderly residents whose movements are restricted can stay connected and feel less socially isolated.”

For seven years, Uniting has been involved in the department of planning industry and environment’s sustainability advantage programme and, as a Silver partner, is acknowledged as a sustainability leader in the aged care sector. Uniting is currently under review to become a Gold partner.

Uniting’s recent development in Gerringong has been designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

This includes rainwater collected from roofs, thermal insulation, energy-efficient appliances and water fixtures. Rainwater is also reused in the irrigation system to further minimise the use of the public water supply.

Uniting has also embedded energy networks into its projects. This includes solar panels and allowing residents to combine their energy requirements to attract bulk discounts, which can also make green energy more affordable.

Sustainability considerations are also extended into landscaping, preserving natural environment’s and elements where possible.

“Uniting always looks at retaining the leafy, green look and feel of developments.

“We maximise the opportunity to retain and protect existing healthy trees where possible, replace old or damaged trees and improve the ecological features on the site.

“Our landscaping design always aims to nurture connection and community while creating a special place that feels like home for all our residents.”

One way Uniting nurtures connection and community is through their communal gardens and veggie patches.

“These are hot-beds for incidental interactions and help create a thriving and supportive community.

“In one of our villages, the residents prefer to gather at the veggie patch instead of the clubroom!”

Independent living residents have garden beds in which they can grow their own vegetables. The harvested produce then goes to the kitchen and is used to prepare the residents’ meals. Recycled food scraps are deposited in compost bins which are then used to nourish the soil of the garden beds.

“The garden beds are a way for residents to stay active and produce fresh, organic vegetables while minimising waste within the village.

“This experience has made us excited to create more spaces like this. In our recent development in Nowra, we have placed a community garden in the village to foster a natural connection between residents.”

Good food is not the only way Uniting facilitates healthy residents.

Increased research is seeing the benefits of senior exercise parks and outdoor exercise equipment.

“It is our belief that society benefits both socially and economically when our older people are empowered with greater choice and control as a result of their physical capacity.

“Where possible, we try to co-locate senior gyms at our village and residential aged care sites.

“At our Nareen Terrace village, we have a walking track that encompasses the whole village. Along this track is outdoor exercise equipment that residents can use at their leisure.”

Uniting is a mission-led, not-for-profit organisation that provides a variety of community services for people of all ages and stages of life. By continually assessing the sector, Uniting is able to design and develop villages and aged care facilities that accurately reflect the needs and desires of the next generation.

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