Parkwood Retirement Village & Lodge

other. The staff are there for the residents. They’re all like-minded and the residents have a large say in the decision making. In fact, a number of them are on the board. The village has a strong residents’ association and a singular vision for its direction going forward. “We have 209 units and each one is different,” says Rouse, “unlike the current model for retirement villages. And we also have a rest home and hospital. Parkwood Lodge was built 33 years ago and was the first of its type. The rest home apartments are Licence to Occupy, so this is well before anyone thought of it commercially. It was built at a cost of $10 million dollars and put the Trust in a lot of debt at the same time as the stock market crashed in the ‘80s, so the trust was in a fairly precarious position for a number of years. Lloyd was the one who fought to get the lodge built.” Today, Parkwood Lodge has 25 studio hospital rooms and 54 modern apartments which are principally filled by residents from the village, just a gradual process of care. With 154 people on staff, Parkwood is the biggest employer in Waikanae and one of the bigger ones on the coast. There are two centres, geographically, with each part of the village featuring all the usual amenities – dining rooms, meeting halls, billiard rooms, a big library, fitness centre, arts and crafts room, two restaurants, bowling greens, croquet. Plus 27 hectares of grounds, where residents can walk with a friend or family member, or enjoy being on their own. The scenery and wildlife are quite incredible, as the land joins up to a forested nature reserve. Once someone is living in the village, they can transition to the lodge as their care needs change or increase. A group of nurses known as the ‘Village Carers’ keep in close contact with the residents – take them to doctor appointments, test their blood pressure, deliver meals when people are unwell, check up on them … and that’s all part of the monthly fee. There is no extra charge for visits. Residents really enjoy that service, it’s like an insurance policy. They Braddock Painting Ltd PAINTING & DECORATING 027 5511547 john@braddockpainting.co.nz PO Box 405, Waikanae 5250 know that even though it’s part of their fee, they may not need them from one year to the next. But one year they might need them every week to help. Those ‘Carers’ are a very big part of the village. They also assess whether people need more services brought into the home and also whether they need to move to the lodge. Currently, there are 59 couples in the village and three in the lodge. And if one of the couple needs to go into the lodge, the other one can remain living in the village. When it comes to challenges with operating the facilities, Rouse remarks, “As with everyone in the aged care sector, the funding is dreadful. We hemorrhage money in our rest home and hospital every year and we have to recover it through the sales of our licences in the village. That’s by far the biggest challenge. And also, getting qualified staff. The problem with the Carers Pay Equity System that came into New Zealand is that everyone thought it would increase the number of people entering the PARKWOOD RET I REMENT V I LLAGE & LODGE