Ribbon cut on rest home upgrade
Close to $1 million of improvements to completely refurbish an entire wing of the Waihi Lodge Rest Home in Geraldine were officially opened in a special ceremony at the weekend.
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean cut the ribbon on the redeveloped Irene Firman Wing at a special garden party in the grounds of the facility on Sunday afternoon.
The celebration topped off a 15-month effort to raise the funds to gut, redesign and and rebuild the facility’s 10 rooms, and create three luxury serviced apartments.
Fundraising committee convenor Judith Bruce said more than $900,000 had been spent on enlarging and improving the lodge’s residential facilities for the first time in the home’s 35-year history.
‘‘The rooms were the old style, they were quite small and they had no en suite bathrooms ... they were completely gutted and redesigned.
‘‘We had a big lounge at the end of the corridor that was never used, and they have been able to incorporate that space into making larger rooms and putting en suite bathrooms into eight of those 10 rooms.’’
A mezzanine second floor, that for the first five years of the lodge’s operation had housed its matron, but latterly had become a ‘‘dumping ground’’ for numerous items, had been transformed into the three private apartments.
‘‘They are for private payers ... people who want to come in and have a bit of luxury inasmuch as their meals are provided and their laundry is done.’’
Bruce said the fundraising had been well supported by some ‘‘generous’’ pledges, including some ‘‘quite significant personal donations’’ from private individuals.
Some of the 102 families who were members of Seniorcare Geraldine, the incorporated society that owned the rest home, had also dug into their pockets to support the upgrade, Bruce said.
Proceeds from the sale of two sections of land, along with grants from the Community Trust of Mid and South Canterbury, the Southern Trust and the Advance Ashburton Community Foundation, had also helped pay for the work.