New Ren Ci home in Bukit Batok will share spaces with public

SINGAPORE — The Ren Ci nursing home in Bukit Batok, slated to open early next year, will not be just another home for the elderly. Some of its facilities such as the multi-purpose hall and gym room will also be open for use by residents in Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak, in line with the Health Ministry’s (MOH) plan to bring aged care services closer to the community.

The idea to create public spaces came after Bukit Batok residents in 2011 objected to the relocation of Ren Ci’s nursing home to its current site.

The residents had raised concerns about possible traffic congestion and the loss of a hard court area for their recreational activities, among other reasons.

“Certainly it came about from some of their concerns, this place used to be an activity area where they do Tai Chi … where their children used the playground here,” said Ren Ci’s Chief Executive Officer Loh Shu Ching at the topping out ceremony yesterday.

Noting that the concerns were a “turning point”, Ms Loh said it made them rethink how nursing homes were being built and how perceptions of such homes could be changed.

Speaking at the ceremony yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said nursing homes have been placed in the community to encourage visits from family members and the involvement of the community in the home itself.

In 2012, the MOH had announced plans to build 10 nursing homes by 2016.

Last year, Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor said nursing homes were evolving into “eldercare hubs” that could benefit more seniors and their caregivers by offering services beyond nursing home care.

Besides its community facilities, the new Ren Ci home will house a senior care centre that provides services such as day care, day rehab and nursing services. A floor will also be dedicated to residents with dementia.

Ren Ci has been taking steps to engage the community even before the home has opened by holding talks on rehabilitation, care-giving, and the prevention and management of chronic illnesses, as well as conducting health screenings with the Residents’ Committee.

When completed, the seven-storey home will offer 257 beds. But with leases for Ren Ci’s current facilities in Buangkok and Moulmein expected to end within the next few years, 90 beds at the new home will be reserved for existing residents.

At present, about two to three residents from their nursing homes return to the community each year — a figure that Ms Loh hopes will improve at the new Bukit Batok home.

She added that it has plans to set up another nursing home sometime in 2017.

“For the Ren Ci residents, the increased contact with the community would make them feel less isolated from the world outside the home … the residents would be further encouraged to work towards recovery and integrate back to the society with ease,” said Ms Loh.