1 NTUC Eldercare officially opened its 8th social day care centre - Silver Circle (Fengshan) today. The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat, Grassroots Advisor and MP for East Coast GRC, Mr Lim Boon Heng, Chairman of NTUC Eldercare, and other community partners.
2 Seniors in the Bedok community can now look forward to this new day care centre which boasts enhanced care infrastructure and capabilities to provide an integrated suite of eldercare services, catering to the varying needs and lifestyles of different groups of seniors.
3 Silver Circle (Fengshan) also becomes the second day care centre under NTUC Eldercare that is equipped to provide seniors with ‘Active Rehabilitation’ care.
4 Guest-of-Honour, Mr Raymond Lim, MP for East Coast GRC, said "I am delighted to have NTUC Eldercare set up the Silver Circle day care centre in Fengshan. The centre will provide the senior citizens living in this area a place to engage themselves in meaningful social interaction as well as a place to keep fit by exercising regularly."
5 Mr Leong Chee Sun, 80 years old, who has been coming to the centre for about three months, calls the centre his ‘second home’. He said that he is happier after coming to the Centre because he enjoys the company of the other seniors and can play games with them. Prior to coming to the centre, he spent most of his time alone at home during the day while his children are at work. When the staff in the Centre discovered that Mr Leong can write and draw very well, they took the opportunity to display some of his calligraphy artworks in the Centre. This is brought much joy to Mr Leong and his family members.
Active Rehabilitation’ Care for Seniors in Fengshan
6 On 7 Oct 2011, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) announced its plan to provide more resources and support to community-based eldercare services, especially those for the lower-income elderly, by increasing funding for Day Care Centres, Home Help Services and Seniors Activity Centres. The intention is to extend the reach and affordability of these services to more seniors.
7 As a significant provider in day care services for the elderly, NTUC Eldercare has gone beyond its social day care programme to provide services such as clinical care (since 1 Sept 2009) and most recently, “Active Rehabilitation” care. Separately, it also offers home care services for frail seniors who have difficulty leaving their homes and a care management service to develop personalised care plans for seniors.
8 The new day care centre – Silver Circle (Fengshan) follows the success of Silver Circle (Dakota) which has been accredited by the Ministry of Health in October this year, to provide community rehabilitation services. With this accreditation, seniors who are Singaporeans/PR can now enjoy government subsidies when they take part in the ‘Active Rehabilitation’ Programme at Silver Circle (Dakota). Going forward, NTUC Eldercare aims to attain the same accreditation for this day care centre at Fengshan. This will ensure seniors of the quality of care services at our centres.
About ‘Active Rehabilitation’ Programme
9 The ‘Active Rehabilitation’ Programme aims to help seniors affected by a variety of medical conditions to improve their functional abilities. Seniors suitable for such rehabilitation include those with, but not limited to, stroke, Parkinson's disease, orthopaedic conditions such as fractures, post amputations, and de-conditioning due to other medical conditions.
10 For example, if a post-stroke senior seeks rehabilitation service, he will be assessed by a professional therapist, who would customise therapy goals and treatment exercises to help him improve the range of motion, physical strength and balance. He will also be trained to use assistive equipment (for example, special utensils or crutches) to complete basic daily activities such as eating and using the bathroom. The therapist may also make recommendations on home modifications to enable the senior to rehabilitate better at home.
11 After the senior has completed the intensive ‘Active Rehabilitation’ Programme, he can continue to join the centre’s social day care programme to maintain his functional mobility.
Partnership with Silver Spring - Enabling Seniors to Continue to Serve
12 In addition to helping seniors with functional mobility needs, NTUC Eldercare also believes in partnering with seniors to create a better life for all. With this purpose in mind, NTUC Eldercare is partnering with Silver Spring, a social enterprise set up to create employment for seniors. As a pilot project, Silver Spring will provide meals which are healthy and nutritional for the seniors at Silver Circle (Fengshan) and Silver Circle (Dakota). It will then seek to extend this service to the rest of the Silver Circle daycare centres.
13 Silver Spring was set up by Ms Helen Lim, 64yrs. She started this social enterprise with the motto: ‘to put the bounce back’ into the lives of seniors. Thus at Silver Spring, she makes a conscious effort to hire seniors: seven out of eight employees are above the age of 55.
Going forward
14 It is the mission of NTUC Eldercare to provide a suite of integrated eldercare services, to enable seniors to age-in-place. These initiatives are part of building up NTUC Eldercare’s capabilities to become a service provider that offers a range of quality and affordable care services for the elderly and helping them lead happy and dignified lives despite their physical and material constraints.
15 At the same time, NTUC Eldercare being one of the 12 social enterprises with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) which was set up to help deliver social impact to workers and their families, will also continue its quest to ‘Do More Good’ and extend its reach to more people.
