Retirement village excitement as facilities open once again
The sounds of stirring coffee cups at morning teas, hair dryers, bingo calls and splashing in the swimming pools. The Bupa retirement village facilities are back open and more popular than ever.
This week was the first time a morning tea had been held since before the Covid-19 lockdown at Bupa Parkstone Retirement Village in Christchurch. The weekly social cuppa is a chance to catch up on the neighbourly news in the spacious community centre. Resident Robyn Wilson says she has been in her own bubble for weeks and now it’s nice to have interaction in person again at Level One.
“A couple of us belong to the village knitting group and so we spoke about a knitting problem we were having. I’m glad we’re able to share a hot drink together again and catch up.”
The village regular exercise programme schedule is back, as are the movies in the village screening room. Exercise is an important part of health and wellbeing for residents and the village gym is now available for use once again. Robyn says she’s also looking forward to being able to use the village swimming pool again.
“I love the swimming pool and I regularly swim lengths with a friend. I’ve missed swimming and I can’t wait to get the exercise again,” she said
There’s also been a lot of anticipation around the return of bingo this week in the spacious village lounge area at Bupa Hugh Green Retirement Village in Albany, Auckland. Resident Kath Coffman says she's glad the wellness clinic is back, a special feature of the village where a Registered Nurse visits to offer health advice to all residents.
“It’ll be nice to see the nurse again and get back to my routine,” Kath said.
Bupa Hugh Green Retirement Village Manager Keith Thorpe says the residents have been supportive of the safety precautions taken by Bupa over the past few months and are delighted to have all facilities available to them again.
“Infection, prevention and control measures were priority during lockdown and both residents and families appreciated the safety precautions. We’re welcoming new residents in and it’s been wonderful to offer everyone a chance to socialise in person once again with all village facilities open,” Keith said.
