PETALING JAYA, April 15 — The number of ageing Malaysians is set to increase over the years.
A study published by Universiti Malaya’s Social Wellbeing Research Centre last year found that Malaysia will have 6.3 million people over the age of 60 by 2040, making up 20 per cent of the population.
This leads us to a situation where nursing homes for the aged is set to become a norm.
But currently, nursing homes often are perceived to be packed to the brim with more residents than they can handle, leading to a lack of privacy and comfort which eventually dampens a senior's quality of life.
Enter a place called The Mansion.
It has koi ponds, open spaces, and beautiful landscaping.
For the uninitiated, it can appear more like a resort than an eldercare facility.
Under the management of CARE Concierge, the home provides a place where senior residents live comfortably under the attentive eye of caregivers and on-site nurses and therapists.
Forty-seven residents aged between 60 and 96 currently call The Mansion their home where they each have a private room and plenty of holistic activities to fill their daily schedules.
CARE Concierge co-founder and chief executive officer Martin Yap told Malay Mail that the place was specifically designed to create a light and cheerful atmosphere.
Yap, who previously worked as an architect, said that doing so helps encourage the residents to come out of their rooms and socialise with their fellow housemates.
“When you see this entire space, it’s designed to be bright and airy. We did a lot of landscaping work outside as well," he said.
“The environment at The Mansion is focused on taking part in activities, it’s not just about the residents sitting down and living their life away."
Some of the activities include morning tai chi sessions and arts and crafts classes designed by their in-house occupational therapist.
At the end of the day, there’s always a friendly face at the home ready to keep the elderly residents company including Brownie the dog.
The pooch, who is a senior herself, was previously a stray who wandered into the premises and was later adopted by the home as a therapy pet.
Like many of the residents, she’s found a home at The Mansion where trained caregivers look after the seniors’ physical wellbeing while providing companionship at the same time.
Whenever the festive season comes, the management ensures that the seniors get to enjoy a bit of seasonal joy at the home as well.
“Anytime there’s an event like Christmas, Deepavali, or Chinese New Year, everyone dresses up and it’s a cultural affair that everyone gets involved in.
“When you look at this kind of model, you don’t actually feel like you’re in a nursing home.
“A lot of it has to do with empowerment. When people come to the home, they’re more excited about life and they start having chit-chats with their fellow residents.”
Family members are also encouraged to visit and make use of the many communal spaces around the home.
There’s an area with video game consoles and a ping-pong table to keep the young ones entertained during their visit.
As a result, CARE Concierge decided to start setting higher standards for eldercare with their services.
The company hopes to improve public perception about nursing homes by fostering a warm and welcoming ambience at The Mansion.
They also came out with the CARE Concierge App which allows family members to monitor the resident’s daily medication intake and health vitals in real-time.
CARE Concierge is currently encouraging other nursing homes to work with them and use the app for their own services.
Their future-oriented vision also led them to set up jomCARE, an accessible platform where people can receive in-house training on looking after the elderly.
The platform is the first in Malaysia to partner with Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman to provide certification for caregivers.
With Malaysia well on her way to becoming an ageing society, CARE Concierge hopes that the government can step in to recruit and train more professional caregivers in the coming years.
By having a larger pool of professionals, customers can have more options to choose from when it comes to eldercare including the concept of ageing in place.
One example is for seniors to be looked after by caregivers right in the comfort of their own home, a service which CARE Concierge also provides.
To find out more about The Mansion and CARE Concierge’s services, head on over to their website.
