DementiaSA takes the lead on making retirement centre dementia friendly
On 1 November 2019, the new Care Centre at the Buh-Rein Retirement Village was opened on a beautifully sunny day. Set amongst landscaped gardens and architecturally pleasing apartments, the Retirement Village is a beautiful place to be. The first phase of the estate was opened in late 2018 and a year later, the Care Centre at Buh-Rein has been opened. This includes both a frail care facility and memory centre for people living with dementia.
Says Riaan Roos, Managing Director of the Multi Spectrum Property (MSP) group of companies: “MSP has gone to great lengths to achieve a Care Centre that will offer excellent care that will make a real difference in older people’s lives, by working within the guidelines of the recently released Macadamia Foundation’s ‘Memory Care specification for Dementia Care Facility Design and Implementation’. We were aided in this effort by input and advice from the architects, the Dennis Moss Partnership; Medwell, the care service providers; Shire Retirement Properties, as retirement living consultants; and dementia specialists, DementiaSA.”
Families of those who require the Care Centre’s services will be wowed by the focus on de-institutionalisation and the work that has gone into making the Care Centre as pleasant as possible a place to live, while still being under close supervision.
“The Memory Care Centre is the first of its kind in the Western Cape, with the kind of bespoke architecture designed to reduce frustrations that result from institutional environments and restrictive settings. Given the high incidence of dementias among ageing populations world-wide, and the effort that has been taken to create an appropriate space, the Care Centre is likely to experience high demand from the public and from within the estate. Several rooms have already been booked.”
DementiaSA was instrumental in advising MSP on the build and facilities for the centre. We have also established a satellite office in the centre to provide ongoing care and support to the memory centre and the care-providers, Medwell. We look forward to providing training, support and larger awareness about dementia from this lovely location, in 2020 and beyond.
