A lifestyle based on enthusiasm, vigour and spirit
February 17th 2010
St Ann’s Aged Care Facility is in the process of building a new lifestyle development, Verve, which promises to be innovative in design and exacting in standard. Verve is the brainchild of the St Ann’s CEO and Board, following extensive research in ageing and community attitudes both here and abroad. The phenomenon of ageing is universal, and is something we all need to think about in relation to ourselves and our relatives.
CEO, Susan Parr, has a background in community service. Susan worked for the Hobart City Council as the foundation Community Coordinator for the City of Hobart and ran such events as The Taste of Tasmania and Salamanca market, where she injected new life and prosperity to what are now very successful ventures. She later went on to be the guiding light behind the Port Arthur massacre recovery, working with the shattered community to restore faith and hope in their darkest hours. Upon meeting Susan, one is instantly drawn to her warmth, and her bright and friendly personality.
She is the first to suggest that fortunate opportunities have come her way, but it’s obvious that her enthusiasm for every role, particularly as CEO of St Ann’s, has much to do with her success. Not being a nurse, it’s possible that Susan brings another dimension of understanding within the community, about ageing. She says that, whether government or private, nursing homes have been providing the same sort of care and housing for the last 50 years. The new Aged Care Act that was implemented in 1997 brought about monumental change and positive results have been flowing on ever since. She mentions that she is lucky to have such a supportive staff and Board and the benefits this brings when planning for the future with Verve. Her team relishes the challenge of developing something so new and exciting in Aged Care.
Realising the need to move forward, and to meet ever changing community requirements, St Ann’s has embarked on a progressive project. The nature of ageing is changing; people live for much longer and may be in varying states of health as they become older. Services offered throughout the community don’t always meet the needs of ageing people. As a result, new patients often arrive at Aged Care facilities with more ailments, or more pronounced illness, or a disability requiring intense care; their cases are more difficult to treat and their time in aged care is less rewarding and positive. They tend to enter when they are quite frail and have deteriorated somewhat. Nursing staff and carers are expected to hold particular skills, as the type of work demands are often medical and require specialised knowledge.
In countries such as the Netherlands, housing and community initiatives have been trialled for some time, putting them at the forefront of understanding aged care. Working on the now familiar premise of “use it or lose it”, they have been researching and responding to that research for some years now. Susan and her team have travelled and experienced firsthand some of these initiatives, bringing back information that can be immediately applied to ventures such as Verve. Susan comments that the program in the Netherlands “touched every instinct she had about ageing.”
Verve’s display unit is now open, with a program over the next four years for 120 units to be built at the Old Beach site, carefully chosen for its north facing views and the installation of gas and solar power for cheaper living costs. The ethos behind Verve is for a holistic lifestyle which can so readily be provided by living in such a community.
