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Finnish company brings choice, greenery to eldercare in S'pore

SINGAPORE/FINLAND — At a new senior activity centre at Turf City, clients may opt to groom and feed horses, pet rabbits, or do aqua therapy in the swimming pool.

The interior of Hovi Club, a new senior activity centre at Turf City where clients may opt to groom and feed horses, pet rabbits, or do aqua therapy in the swimming pool. They may also choose to stay indoors to play mahjong or watch Korean dramas together. Photo: Toh Ee Ming/TODAY

The interior of Hovi Club, a new senior activity centre at Turf City where clients may opt to groom and feed horses, pet rabbits, or do aqua therapy in the swimming pool. They may also choose to stay indoors to play mahjong or watch Korean dramas together. Photo: Toh Ee Ming/TODAY

SINGAPORE/FINLAND — At a new senior activity centre at Turf City, clients may opt to groom and feed horses, pet rabbits, or do aqua therapy in the swimming pool.

They may also choose to stay indoors to play mahjong or watch Korean dramas together. Meals are tailored to the tastes of each individual and, when the mood strikes, they may head to a specially designed wellness trail nearby.

At Hovi Club, a tie-up between Finnish aged-care provider Hovi Group and its local partner Hovi Care (Singapore), freedom of choice is key. Attendees decide which activities to take part in, and when.

The day-care centre, which can take in up to 25 to 30 clients from this month, aims to embody the Finnish ethos of flexibility and non-regimentation for its elderly clients.

Hovi Club is a tie-up between Finnish aged-care provider Hovi Group and its local partner Hovi Care (Singapore), freedom of choice is key. Attendees decide which activities to take part in, and when. Photo: Toh Ee Ming/TODAY

Occupying about 2,000 square feet at Turf City, it took a year to set up and is looking to take in independent and relatively mobile clients. However, those undergoing stroke rehabilitation and individuals on wheelchairs or with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are also welcome, said Hovi Care (Singapore) managing director Andrew Kwek, 61.

All potential clients will undergo an assessment that covers their medical history, risk of falls and whether they are able to perform the activities of daily living, among other things.

Monthly fees will range from S$1,800 to S$2,400 for a five-day week. Additional charges may apply for clients who opt for activities such as individual physiotherapy sessions and equine therapy.

Back in Finland, the Hovi Group – a 30-year-old family-run chain of care and IT service companies with annual turnover of S$22 million – runs six nursing homes and offers home care services.

Hovi Group’s chief executive Jussi Peltonen, 42, said Singapore was an ideal first stop for its planned expansion into Asia and a good place to translate Finnish qualities such as choice, fun and innovations into the senior care landscape. Photo: Toh Ee Ming/TODAY

Mr Jussi Peltonen, 42, its chief executive, said Singapore was an ideal first stop for its planned expansion into Asia - namely, China and Indonesia. He had studied business at the National University of Singapore about 20 years ago and said the country left an “unforgettable impression” on him.

Mr Andrew Kwek, 61, managing director of Hovi Club (Singapore), had visited Helsinki in 2015 and met companies looking to set up in Singapore and expand in the region. The former fund manager, who has also worked in voluntary welfare organisations, linked up with Mr Peltonen through a business networking session organised by the Finnish embassy here.

Singapore lags behind in care models that offer more autonomy and freedom of choice to seniors, said Mr Kwek.

In countries like New Zealand, seniors in retirement villages would travel to another city to “eat Japanese sushi at the restaurant and drink beer together”, living “the way they want to live”, he said.

“We would like the day-care centre to be as unrestricted as possible,” said Mr Kwek. “There is no fixed regime to do things...Choice is very important.”

Clients will be asked about their hobbies, interests and dietary preferences.

Programmes on offer include dance therapy, handicraft making, or golf or tennis practice, said Hovi Care (Singapore)’s head of operations Selina Lamsa, 43.

All activities will be supervised by a registered nurse or qualified personal trainer.

Ms Lamsa, a Singaporean, lived in Finland for six years when she studied hospitality at the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. She worked in home care services for five years before joining Hovi Care (Singapore).

Hovi Club has imported technologies from Finland, such as a 6,000 euro physio-acoustic chair that is said to improve circulation, release muscle tensions and alleviate minor aches and pains through low-frequency sound vibrations.

Through a device called Memoera, it will offer quizzes and memory games designed to help in the memory rehabilitation of dementia patients.

Electronic medical records and daily logs – such as of activity levels and sleep cycles – can be shared with clients and their families, so relatives can see how the clients are looked after, said Mr Peltonen.

The centre aims to create new experiences for seniors that allow them to have fun, he said.

While Hovi Club’s fees are higher than the S$900 to S$1,500 other local outfits are estimated to charge for social and maintenance day care -- according to Agency for Integrated Care’s Singapore Silver Pages resource -- Mr Kwek hopes to also cater to those from the lower-income groups. It has invited various day-care centre operators to view its services, and has received about 20 enquiries over the phone so far.

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