KOTA SAMARAHAN: Senior living resort and nursing home Eden on the Park is setting the pace as an inspiration for others to emulate.
For starters, Rumah Sri Kenangan, a home for the aged in Kuching and Sibu under the Social Welfare Department (SWD), is now looking at adopting similar elderly care practices as those applied at Eden on the Park.
Women, Childhood and Community Well-being Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah in revealing this, said this would include putting emphasis on a ‘family concept’ of elderly care.
“They are to be respected, looked after and loved for the rest of their lives,” she said at a press conference after visiting Eden on the Park, here on Wednesday (Feb 23).
“With these core values, we can create a lot more (Rumah Sri Kenangan) similar to Eden on the Park where these values can be applied to allow for the elderly to live a dignified existence. This is what we want,” she said.
With that in mind, Fatimah stressed that preparations to adopt the new method of elderly care must be done early.
“I was also informed that Eden on the Park is allowing senior citizens to move in while they are still healthy.
“They have a building to house these healthy individuals and as their health begins to deteriorate due to old age, such as being less mobile and succumbing to mental and physical changes due to old age, they will then be placed in other categories of nursing care where they will continue to be assisted,” she said.
Throughout various stages of old age, Fatimah said the residents would be cared for with respect, security and safety assurance, and would be promised a healthy life with a dignified existence.
“We might not be able to construct a building as beautiful as (Eden on the Park), but the principle and programmes applied here can be set as an example,” she added.
Apart from that, Fatimah revealed that 60 elderly in Kota Samarahan and 25 in Sri Aman will be transferred to both Rumah Sri Kenangan in Kuching and Sibu respectively this March.