By Emily Chapman Laing
Calvary Hallam welcomed community members into their residential aged care facility during an open day on Friday 2 June.
Home Manager Toni Buckley said the residents are “really proud“ of their facility.
“They wanted the community to come and see it,“ she said.
“We wanted to invite the community in and some residents wanted more community involvement.“
The open day featured tours of the facility, balloons, lolly bags, a face painter, a balloon artist and happy hour.
Residents were also able to enjoy “armchair travels“, where documentaries from international destinations are screened as a proxy for physical travel.
“All the residents were enjoying happy hour,“ Ms Buckley said.
Ms Buckley said residents were encouraged to invite their family and family-friends.
“It was mainly relatives and friends that came,“ she said.
“Since then we’ve had a lot of enquiries from the community.“
Resident Maggie was thrilled when she was chosen to feature on the flyer for the open day.
“It was really sweet,“ Ms Buckley said.
“When I showed her she was so excited to see herself on the flyer, and she was even more excited on the day.“
Prior to the event, Maggie handed out some of the flyers at Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, her church and tenpin bowling.
Ms Buckley said it was great to see residents showing their enthusiasm and promoting Calvary’s unique, wholesome approach to aged care.
“We are a smaller facility, it’s just one long corridor,“ Ms Buckley said.
There is high visibility between staff and residents.
“It’s like an extension of a family.“
Ms Buckley said Calvary Hallam has “long standing“ and “dedicated“ staff.
“It’s not about bells and whistles, it’s about the care provided,“ she said.
Established in 1885 by the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, Calvary is a not-for-profit Catholic health care organisation.
The Calvary Hallam residential aged care home is set among beautiful gardens, and boasts a “welcoming and family-friendly environment delivering a new benchmark of aged care services in Victoria“.
