Touriandi Lodge Board Members Susan Hutton, left, Ann Reardon, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, Touriandi Lodge Manager Jennifer Brown and Chairman David Young in the Willow Wing where the grant money will be spent.
Monday, 21 January 2019
A STATE Government grant of $25,000, announced today by Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, will give elderly residents at Bingara’s Touriandi Lodge a more modern and homely furnishing makeover.
Mr Marshall said residents in the aged care home’s dementia wing will benefit the most with new lounge and dining furniture.
“This money will be used to refurbish the Willow Wing, a secure wing of the 28-bed lodge, where there are 11 residents, most of them with dementia and some in palliative care,” Mr Marshall said.
“Touriandi Lodge is a community-based, not-for-profit facility which relies heavily on its fundraising committee and other donors, so being able to help the management committee source this funding for such a great benefit gives me a lot of satisfaction.
“Touriandi manager Jennifer Brown has done a great job in researching and designing the types of furnishings that will happen with this funding, with the emphasis on dementia-friendly furniture.
“The old furniture will be replaced with more modern pieces, but with a view to making them more like you’d see at home, so that residents can feel comfortable and relaxed.”
Miss Brown said she wanted to create a home-away-from home feel for the Willow Wing residents.
“The furniture in there is quite old and dated and looks a little bit institutional but we are putting in new pieces that makes it look more like home on a larger scale instead of the old vinyl and metal furniture,” Miss Brown said.
The project will see a modern makeover suitable for aged and infirm residents, like a new 65 centimetre Smart TV placed on the wall, eight wing backed chairs with coffee tables, and three dining room tables and matching chairs.
“The chairs are higher than we have now so it will be easier for people to get out of, especially those with mobility issues,” Miss Brown said.
Mr Marshall said Touriandi was a shining light when it came to aged care in the Northern Tablelands and its philosophy of caring, sensitivity and spirit was a beacon of goodwill and generosity for the industry.
“It goes above and beyond in its community including providing up to 19 home delivered meals to people in Bingara and that’s a great endorsement of its community spirit, aside from promoting the beautiful food it serves in-house too,” Mr Marshall said.
“Touriandi reported a profit of $221,000 last year and is looking at how it can put that back into the local community, either by expanding the lodge itself with another wing or perhaps even undertaking some independent living units in town.”
Touriandi currently has residents aged from 70 to 97 years young, with most in their 80s and 90s, with hopes the new furnishing pieces will be in place by April next year to brighten up their lives even more.