In an ongoing capacity, Wall Planning Group has been involved in the Seniors Living Project for the Belyando Enterprise Network Inc (BENI).

The issue of gaps in aged care provisions in Clermont has been raised, through surveys and focus groups. The town of Clermont has been challenged to consider options and look past the standard offerings for retirement and aged care services.

Isaac Regional Council have advised of their intention to conduct community and stakeholder engagement for the future utilisation of Monash Lodge before the end of 2019.

Ongoing research and discussions have shown a recent increase in the ways that other communities around the world have found innovative solutions to aged care deficiencies.

Sustainable Rural Communities

Rural towns like Clermont suffer a loss of population without proper seniors living options and choices available. As retirement approaches, community members begin to plan where they might move to that has the services that they need – and often their families will follow.

The benefits of innovative seniors living services will roll out into the greater community, with the potential for an increase in growth and sustainability in both the local population and economy.

By finding a way to retain the ageing population, opportunities arise with a great economic impact for the town. Jobs will be created to sustain the population and the services it requires; a stable customer base will bring about more successful opportunities for local entrepreneurs and business owners; and more money will be spent within the community rather than outside it.

Innovation in Seniors Living

Most often, innovation is associated with advancements in science and technology, but many of the innovations that happen, sometimes almost unnoticed, are more about the advancement of society itself.

Across the world, communities are looking for alternative ways to maintain demographics and provide positive seniors living experiences that are tailored to the specific needs of that community or a particular sector of aged care.

Aged care services will need to collaborate with housing providers and technology innovators accommodation that is desired by seniors. The co-location of accommodation and services, blended by social care with traditional health care, and the use of tech to combat the detrimental effects of isolation, which so often impact older people.

In Perth’s south-east, a village hub has been created – a community hub for people over 55, run by social housing provider ‘Connect Victoria Park’. The hub is the first of its kind in Western Australia and only the second in Australia, inspired by the “ageing in place” village movement that began in the United States.

The goal is to engage and connect older people with one another, to help them live independently in their community for longer.

Yet despite their overarching similarities, there are still small but vital differences in the design and function of these types of facilities. There has been a recognition that innovations need to be adapted and evolved to suit communities and also need to be designed to change with the community’s needs.

We can’t wait to see the innovations that come out of the Clermont community!

For more information about the Clermont Seniors Living Project, please contact Wall Planning Group.