Recently, the LDK team sat down with one of our new residents, Greta, and her daughter Jo, to talk about their experience finding a new home for Greta, that catered to her care needs.

Prior to living at Greenway Views, Greta had spent seven years living in another Independent living village in Canberra, but after experiencing several falls and an extended hospital stay, Greta needed a higher level of care. Jo first looked at moving Greta to an onsite nursing home at the retirement village she had already been living in, but a lack of availability forced her to look at alternate options in the area.

“When I was trying to contact the village Mum was at already, I left multiple phone messages and sent emails and explained ‘I’m really desperate, Mum is in the hospital she can’t stay there for much longer’. I eventually received an email back three weeks later and was told they had nothing available. There was no compassion at all.”

Jo looked around at other traditional nursing homes in Canberra but had no luck finding a place she thought would suit Greta.

“Their rooms were very clinical, and I didn’t think Mum was ready to go into a full-time nursing home. I knew Mum wasn’t allowed to come home, at one stage we planned on moving her in with us until we could find what’s right, but that was only a temporary solution. The hospital told us to just get her in anywhere, and I thought, no, this isn’t like dropping a dog off to a kennel…. this is my mum.”

“I emailed Mum’s GP and told him we were struggling to find a place, and he suggested LDK. I didn’t realise there was high care on offer. So, I called on Monday morning, booked in for a tour Monday afternoon, I brought my sisters back on the Friday and paid the deposit then and there.”

“When I came and did the tour I thought ‘this is so nice’, I was waiting for the hard sell. Everything was so upfront; we talked numbers, it was all black and white. I was waiting for the ‘but’. I still can’t believe there is no catch. All of the information was given to me upfront and was completely transparent.”

“I just came out thinking why don’t they have this model more. There needs to be a step in between what Mum had originally and a nursing home, because what’s on offer elsewhere is very much like a hospital. We didn’t have any doubt about moving in here at all.”

Although cost was a factor to consider, the primary consideration for Jo was the space where Greta was going to live.
“Originally Mum thought it was too expensive to move into LDK but if Mum went into a single room apartment somewhere similar it would be a similar cost, and she would be in a tiny little room. If she wanted a penthouse where she previously was, it was $950,000 without everything else, so it’s not expensive when you compare apples to apples. At LDK, Mum has a studio apartment which has plenty of space and a beautiful view. She has had a few visitors since moving in, and they’ve all commented that it feels like you’re on holidays. The village has a lovely atmosphere.”

When we asked Greta about how she has found living at Greenway Views, she was over the moon about her new home.

“I feel much better, having someone look after me. I just love it here!”.