St Bernadette Lifestyle Village, a pioneer among Singapore’s growing eldercare space, has launched a residential assisted living facility in an unusual location.
Unlike most of their other senior homes, their latest residence isn’t in a recently senior-proofed landed property, nor a refurbished conversation shophouse, but instead, on the grounds of a school dormitory – Temasek Polytechnic’s (TP), to be exact.
The groundbreaking assisted living facility in an institute of higher learning – which director and co-founder Belinda Wee believes to be the first of its kind in the world – serves as both retirement village for mostly independent seniors, and as a practical experience centre for students to gain industry-relevant eldercare skills.
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St Bernadette Lifestyle Village at TP: Vacancies available
St Bernadette Lifestyle Village at TP is located on the eighth and ninth floor of TP’s Glocal Connect Village, Block 45. At the moment, there are four units, each housing up to five seniors in single or double rooms.
The residences are kitted out with safety implements like grab bars in the toilets; movement sensors and handheld alarms in the bedrooms; and ramps at the residence’s doorway.
There is a team of live-in caregivers on rota, who will take care of chores like cooking, cleaning and laundry. They will be supported by a professional medical team, who will monitor the health of residents and assist with medication management.
Prices are comparable to other St Bernadette Lifestyle Village residences, ranging from $3,600 to $4,800 per month depending on the choice of room.
Although the assisted living facility is only about a month into operation, some beds have already been snapped up – no surprises there, seeing as how it’s the assisted living facility operator’s second outpost in the east.
The company started with just one care home in a Bukit Timah landed property back in 2015. It now serves over 100 seniors today in 10 facilities across Serangoon North, Stevens, Sembawang and Joo Chiat.
Opportunities for learning and intergenerational bonding
The lifestyle part of St Bernadette’s lifestyle village model typically comes in the form of planned excursions, workshops and social activities for resident silvers, who must be able to do at least four of the six activities of daily living – washing, dressing, eating, going to the toilet, moving around, and transferring themselves from a bed to an upright seat – without assistance before they can check in.
Naturally, these residents must also be open and tolerant to frequent social interactions with other seniors, and willing to receive care, says Belinda.
After all, they’ll be spending most of their day chatting with their neighbours and roommates, playing mahjong, solving Sudoku puzzles and heading out for daily walks.
Residents of St Bernadette’s new Tampines facility, of course, will have a slightly different experience thanks to TP students from disciplines like Gerontology, Culinary & Catering Management, Pharmaceutical Science, Food, Nutrition & Culinary Science, and Medical Biotechnology.
For example, instead of meals cooked solely by the team of live-in caregivers, some lunches and dinners will be prepared by students from the Culinary & Catering Management and Food, Nutrition & Culinary Science courses.
As the students are trained in geriatric nutrition, food safety and general meal production, all food produced will be of the highest quality, assures Belinda. In fact, the intergenerational interactions with students during lunches at TP’s student-run cafe, Sugarloaf, will only “benefit” senior residents in the long run, she adds.
For what it’s worth, Yeak Choon Eng, a 60-year-old resident of St Bernadette Living Village at TP, says the food is “restaurant-standard”.
"I will tell my friends when they come – make sure you go and try the food!"
The silver is one of the assisted living facility’s pioneer residents, having heard about the operator from a medical social worker when he was residing at St Luke’s Hospital after having a stroke.
Compared to life at the community hospital, he finds his days at TP far more “lively”.
He also enjoys his daily walks around the polytechnic’s green areas, and especially the view of the nearby Bedok Reservoir.
Interactions with students will eventually expand to observational learning journeys and practicums in foundational nursing skills. Belinda adds that there will also be regular “off-curriculum” events like shared meals and movie nights to foster intergenerational bonding and inspire students to “think of eldercare as a concrete career path”.
She hopes to replicate this concept in other institutes of higher learning, simultaneously refreshing the pipeline for the “perpetually short-staffed” eldercare space while providing seniors with a greater range of retirement care options.
"And at the end, it’s the seniors who will really benefit."
Saint Bernadette Lifestyle Village at TP
Location: Block 45, Glocal Connect Village, 21 Tampines Avenue 1, Singapore 529727
Opening Hours: N/A
Tel: +65 8492 1735
Website: https://www.saintb.com.sg/
