New Health Check Stations to Help the Elderly Manage their Health
Elderly in the vicinity of the NTUC Eldercare Senior Activity Centres (Silver Ace Centres) in Singapore will soon be able to have access to regular health monitoring. NTUC Unity will be setting up self-help health check stations at five Silver ACE centres, with basic equipment for measurement of blood pressure and weight. There will also be quarterly blood glucose monitoring, medication review and counseling conducted by pharmacists from NTUC Unity. These services will be provided free-of-charge to the elderly.
Said Mr Chua Song Khim, Group CEO of NTUC Unity Healthcare and Executive Director of NTUC Eldercare, “We want to empower the elderly to take charge of their health. Regular monitoring of basic health indicators such as blood pressure, body weight and glucose level can help detect early signs of illness and identify conditions which should be attended to in a timely manner. Many health problems faced by the elderly today can be avoided or delayed if more attention had been paid to looking after their health and managing chronic conditions well.”
“The health check is beneficial to me because with the available equipment now, I will be able to check on my health condition regularly. This will help keep me healthy and I’ll instead be able to take care of my next-of-kin who are unwell”, said Madam Elizabeth Ho, 63, from Redhill Silver Ace Centre.
The five Silver Ace Centres are estimated to be able to reach out to more than 1,200 elderly living in the vicinity of the centres. The Silver ACE Centres are located in Henderson, Telok Blangah, Lengkok Bahru, Taman Jurong and Redhill.
The new health-check service was announced today at the official opening of NTUC Unity’s 50th pharmacy store opening at 100 AM (former Amara Shopping Centre) by Guest-of-Honour Mr Lim Boon Heng, Chairman, NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Limited; the holding entity of the NTUC Social Enterprises. Mr Sam Tan, Member of Parliament, Radin Mas SMC was also present to grace the occasion.
Year-long Supply of Supplements for Needy Elderly
In conjunction with the celebrations for the opening of NTUC Unity’s 50th outlet, 50 needy elderly from NTUC Eldercare’s Silver Ace Centres have had their health assessed and will each receive a year’s supply of NTUC Unity housebrand supplements such as Vitamin C, Multivitamins, Omega3, and Calcium which will help address their existing health needs.
Mr Foong Ban Fatt, 74, from Lengkok Bahru Silver Ace Centre who was one of the selected 50 to receive a year’s supply of NTUC Unity housebrand supplements has hypertension. He lives alone in a one-room flat in Lengkok Bahru. Expressing his appreciation, he said, “If not for the generous sponsorship by NTUC Unity, I would not be able to afford these supplements. I’m grateful that these supplements will be able to help me stay in good health as I age.”
“NTUC Unity Healthcare has been caring for the healthcare needs of working families since 1992. As the Singapore population continues to age, we strive to do our part to reach out to more families to meet their health and lifestyle needs through affordable healthcare products from Unity pharmacy and dental services at Unity Denticare ”, concluded Mr Chua.
