Dementia care unit to fill a gap
It’s not finished yet, but a King Country dementia care unit already has people on its wait list.
The roof’s nearly all on the $8.5m unit under construction at O¯ torohanga’s Beattie Home, and it’s expected to be complete late May 2021.
‘‘We’ve got something like 10 or 11 families that are on the waiting list now, that are keen on coming in,’’ Beattie Home Community Trust chair Trevor Walters said.
That may be because the yet-to-benamed 22-bed unit will be the only secure unit in the King Country, servicing O¯ torohanga, Waitomo and other communities in South Waikato.
Until it’s finished, the nearest available options are one unit in Te Awamutu, another in Putaruru, or those in Cambridge, and Hamilton, Walters said.
‘‘You get some of these couples, one of them may have dementia and the other one can’t drive their car. So what happens?’’
‘‘It’s a matter of trying to keep our families together.’’
Beattie Home’s dementia unit will be secure, but it’s designed so people living there can safely wander through the gardens, and can cook or do their laundry if able. It will feel like a home, not an institution, Walters said.
Beattie Home started as a rest home about 31¯years ago, converted from the former Otorohanga Maternity Hospital.
And it had a good showing at the 2020 NZ Aged Care Association awards, with activities co-ordinator Jeffin Gopi winning a stand-out individual award and the home itself a finalist in the small operator category. It will hire 22 extra full-time staffers for the dementia unit: a mix of nurses and caregivers.
Two of the unit’s beds will be kept for day stays, whereas the other 20 will be for full-time care.
The community has pitched in to make the unit reality, which Walters puts down to ‘‘a wonderful community atmosphere in O¯ torohanga’’.
‘‘If someone comes up with a brilliant idea, and the community gets in and supports it, it’s amazing what you can do and achieve.’’
Beattie Home trustees put a dementia unit in the facility’s longerterm plans, and some ‘‘serious donors’’ from the area agreed to fund almost half the cost.
‘‘They actually provided us with enough incentive to get off our backsides and chase the thing along,’’ Walters said of John and Sarah Oliver, Graham Wilshier and Keith Budge.
There was money from Trust Waikato, Northern King Country Development Board, and the O¯ torohanga Charitable Trust.
Local cafe´ Fat Kiwi Cafe´ donated a portion of sales from hot drinks on the first weekend of each month, and the local Lions club has pledged money from various fundraisers.
A grant from the Government’s shovel-ready fund provided the final funds for the $8.5m project, allowing for features including solar panels.