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New nursing home in Tampines North to open in second half of 2018

SINGAPORE — A new nursing home with 300 beds and a senior care centre will open in the Tampines North area in the second half of this year, Senior Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min said on Monday (Apr 2).

HEAL Residence at Woodlands Care Home (WLCH). It is the second nursing home operated by Vanguard Healthcare, which was set up by Ministry of Health to operate nursing homes. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

HEAL Residence at Woodlands Care Home (WLCH). It is the second nursing home operated by Vanguard Healthcare, which was set up by Ministry of Health to operate nursing homes. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — A new nursing home with 300 beds and a senior care centre will open in the Tampines North area in the second half of this year, Senior Minister of State for Health Lam Pin Min said on Monday (Apr 2).

The new facility will be the third and biggest to be run by Vanguard Healthcare, a nursing home operator backed by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The other two Vanguard-run nursing homes are in Woodlands and Outram.

Speaking to the media during a visit to the Woodlands facility, which began operations in October last year, Dr Lam said MOH examines the demographic profiles of various neighbourhoods before deciding where to site new nursing homes.

“We analyse where the demand will be ... and identified Tampines North as probably one of those areas where we need a new nursing home to support the growing demand there,” he added.

At Woodlands Care Home, 109 of its 248 beds have been filled. The nursing home expects to hit full capacity by August this year.

The Woodlands facility is also piloting a programme to teach patients how to live independently after they have been discharged.

For example, they will learn how to go to the toilet and shower on their own, wash their own laundry, and plan their own rehabilitation and daily activities. Nurses will also help them manage their medication as part of the Home Enablement and Autonomous Living (Heal) Programme, which began last month.

Mr Abraham Mizam, one of the three residents picked for the pilot programme, said he learnt a lot during the programme and was “looking forward to going back home”. The 43-year-old had his left leg amputated below the knee after a motorcycle accident in Batam, Indonesia, last year.

“I’ve learned how to survive alone. Before, I had to rely on the support of my friends,” added Mr Abraham, who was in a coma for several weeks following the accident. He was fitted with a prosthetic leg last week.

The Woodlands facility also provides caregiver training for family members of the patients so as to ease the transition to living back home.

Former bus driver Lim Kok Hua, 64, said the training has taught him how to conduct simple exercises for his wife, Madam Kong Hai Shian, 65. She suffered injuries to the brain following a car accident last May, and is unable to speak or move her right leg and arm as a result of the injury.

“My heart hurts to see her like this. But after coming to Woodlands Care Home, I am very satisfied with the care she has been receiving,” Mr Lim said in Mandarin.

 

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