Peninsula Villages at Umina Beach may not be the set of a Jim Carrey movie, but it has its very own Trueman Show going on, with four members of the Trueman family moving in to the facility.
Brothers Don and Keith and their respective wives Sylvia and Elaine are all residents of Pozieres House, a record number of family members living under one roof for Peninsula Villages.
“I think we may just have the world record for the most 90-something-year-old family members living in the same residential care home,” Elaine Trueman said.
The most outspoken of the Truemans, Elaine is known among staff members and fellow residents for her quick wit and endearing story-telling abilities.
Pozieres House Wellbeing Manager, Judy Moroney, said it was Elaine who inspired the nickname The Trueman Show.
“Elaine is always sharing titbits so while we don’t always know what she’s going to say, we can almost always guarantee that it will be entertaining – she is the star of The Trueman Show,” Moroney said.
While all four members of the Trueman family live under the one roof, they each live within a different household of Pozieres House to reflect their varying care requirements.
Unique to Pozieres House and a first for the Central Coast, the household structure allows the Truemans and other residents to live as part of a close-knit household with up to 14 residents.
Each household specialises in an area of care, including aged, dementia and palliative.
Peninsula Villages CEO, Colin Osborne, said the modern approach to care reflects current patterns within the industry, as residents typically move into aged care facilities later in life so their care needs change more quickly.
“The average age of residents who enter residential aged care homes is now around 85, which has significantly increased over the past 20 years (with) people wanting to stay in their own homes for longer,” he said.
“As a result, residents’ health and care needs tend to change more quickly over shorter periods of time so the model of care available in Pozieres House takes on a more modern approach to ageing in place, but within small tight-knit wings of only 14 residents.”
The Truemans spend plenty of time together during mealtimes and leisure and lifestyle activities, with Elaine saying the model works well for her and husband Keith as they can each participate in activities with purpose that support their individuality and choice.
“Keith and I have been married for over 70 years, meeting when we were just 16, and while we have always loved spending time together, we also enjoy our independence,” she said.
“I love to play Bingo, but Keith couldn’t think of much worse, so we just choose which activities suit us then enjoy lunches and excursions together.”
Source:
Media release, Nov 22
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