New $5m centre for elderly confirmed

Glenwood Masonic Hospital in Masterton is to be moved to a new $5 million aged care facility to be built in the town.
Warick Dunn, Wellington Masonic Villages Trust chief executive, said yesterday the relocation and construction of a 48-bed facility bordering the Wairarapa Masonic Village in Edith Street would happen within the next two years depending on the granting of resource consents and the availability of funding.
He said the proposal came about earlier this year after the Wairarapa District Health Board called for community organisations in the town to help bridge a predicted shortfall in residential care for the aged as the region has the second highest aging population in the country.
"It is fairly unusual for a charitable trust to be involved with this level of resource but it must be stressed that this is a community project," he said.
"The trust responded to the request by the Wairarapa DHB to find providers who were able to increase the number of beds available for the aged care sector and an offer to lift our bed numbers to 48 was accepted."
Mr Dunn said Wellington Masonic Villages Trust is a charitable trust established in 1960 and which which now provides aged care for 152 people in centres in Levin, Lower Hutt and Masterton, with more than 200 "retirement accommodation options" from rental flats to licence-to-occupy villas as well.
The Glenwood Masonic Hospital has stood on its present site in Cole Street since 1910 and is now home to 27 patients, he said, with another 30 community-based trust residents also living in the town.
"The trust decided to make the investment of around $5 million necessary for a purpose-built new community facility that would meet the future needs for care of older people and we hope that this opportunity engages all sectors of the community that have an interest in care for the older person."
Mr Dunn expects that the involvement of other interested parties will ensure "that as wide a range of care needs as possible can be met" at the proposed facility.
A master planner is conducting a wider review of trust properties, Mr Dunn said, which will provide early design proposals for the planned Masterton facility.
Wairarapa companies will be used for design and construction where possible, he said.
"During this formative process we will be seeking input from interested groups that currently have a role in care and services for the older person," said Mr Dunn.
"We are keen to engage local knowledge, and contribution, so that the end result reflects the needs of the Wairarapa community."
Glenwood Masonic Hospital nurse manager Anne Savage anticipates "a very flexible facility" to cater for needs such as palliative care, short term restorative care, respite care and rehabilitation as well as more traditional rest home or hospital care.
"This broad mix of care needs will also allow us to extend our staff training and offer career pathways and professional development.
"We hope this will increase the appeal of this crucial sector as a potential area of employment for care givers and heath professionals."
Wairarapa District Health Board chief executive David Meates said he is "delighted" the trust is moving ahead with the proposal as a response to the growing population of older people in the region.
"This will bring much needed extra residential care capacity to Masterton," he said.