Eleanor Yap
Hovi Care, the new day care centre that has sprung out at Turf City early this year, is very different from other senior activity centres or day care centres. Not only does it have a buffet of activities from enjoying a spa, grooming and feeding horses to aqua therapy in a swimming pool, thanks to its surroundings and organisations at Horsecity, it also centres on the idea of freedom of choice – clients can choose to do whatever they want to do, and when to do it.
Eighty-one-year-old Pauline Wong, who has dementia and is mobile, gets to do some dancing, craftwork and colouring when she comes to the centre for a full day once a week. She especially loves watching comedy movies. But before these indoor activities, she gets to enjoy the lush greenery on the ‘wellness trail’ where she walks to the playground, horses’ grounds, pony rides’ trail and around the neighbourhood.
Shared her Indonesian caregiver, Susi, who has been with her caregiver for the past four years, “We prefer a more personalised service and individual attention as compared to other day care centres which they don’t do. Pauline is happy being at the centre and it gives me some time to run errands while she is here.”
The 2,000-sq ft day care centre, which currently opens everyday including weekends, can take upwards of 30 clients who are independent and relatively mobile. Most of their current clients have dementia and are semi-mobile. Hovi Care offers choice in its packages as well – from half-a-day or full-day, to a few days or a full week of day care.
Prices start from S$300 a month, which is more than the price of attending a regular day care centre. There are also additional charges if clients opt for activities such as individual physiotherapy sessions and equine therapy. Currently, one of the things that Hovi Care does not provide is transport services; clients need to find their own way to the centre.
Selina Lamsa, head of operations, said: “Though our services are open to the public, we are not able to offer a subsidised rate. However, we will not turn away clients who are in need of help and we will offer the family alternatives such as joining us for once, twice or thrice a week. They also have the option to join us for a half a day session once a week. These options can keep the cost affordable.”
Hovi Care is a tie-up between Hovi Group, a 30-year-old Finnish family-owned company that specialises in senior care, and local partner, Hovi Care (Singapore). Hovi Group runs six nursing homes and offers home care services in Finland. Hovi Care aims to follow the Finnish ethos of flexibility and non-regimentation, and has brought in some technologies from Finland such as a physio-acoustic chair which helps clients with mild Parkinson’s disease, insomnia, stress and migraine, and the Memoera device that helps with cognitive training for dementia.
Each morning begins with exercise sessions and walks, followed by a circle of conversation where the clients get to talk. After that, they can choose to do what they want, even if it is just watching TV. Even for lunch and tea, clients have a choice and are not relegated to bland, boring food. Said Lamsa, “Clients get to choose what they like to eat as it is individualised. We even have menus for them to choose from which have local food, which most of our clients are used to. For clients with dietary restrictions, we will consult the family for advice on what type of food the clients usually have and we will do our best to arrange it.” For Pauline, she opts for noodles, popiah or Indian food for lunch.
The day care centre also offers its clients excursions once a month to places like the museums, gardens and other places of interest and attractions. Added Lamsa: “To us, freedom of choice is equivalent to independence and therefore, we prioritise our clients’ needs first, even before their families.” She added that they have plans to expand this concept to other parts of Singapore and Asia in the next few years.
