A Retirement Village is a complex operation of housing and care. To function well they need to be fully integrated with the wider community and fully understood by statutory services. They are also most effective when fully interwoven with local GP’s and the NHS.
The devil is in the detail. Each piece of the jigsaw matters. For the village model to be complete and operating at its best, all the pieces need to be in place.
So let’s look at some of the small but key steps in the operation :-
- WELCOME & INTRODUCTION. —- long before a new village is opened “friends groups” are established to explain all aspects of the lifestyle on offer and the opportunities to live an active life. Ambassadors from other villages are by far the best at explaining this. After a village has opened this welcome still needs to be made available to new arrivals and a friends club needs to continue to support prospective applicants on the waiting list for vacancies.
- RECEPTION DESK — on arrival visitors to the village you are greeted by resident volunteers which immediately signals the important role residents play in managing the village.
- VOLUNTEERS — the shop, the coffee bar, the drinks bar and several other functions are all run with the help of residents. Also the majority of the activities are totally organised and lead by residents with control over activity budgets.
- OPEN COMMUNICATION — is essential in a village of several hundred residents, otherwise gossip and misinformation fills the void. Monthly manager meetings open to all residents; smaller street meetings; newsletters and a suggestion scheme are key components. Open doors, the village manager walking the floor and regular directors visits are also important. So too is an elected Residents Association.
- TECHNOLOGY — has the power to collect and analyse data on the operation of the village. It can also facilitate research and future development of the village model. However it is not a substitute for face to face communication.
IT REQUIRES ALL THESE ASPECTS OF THE RETIREMENT VILLAGE TO BE WORKING IN HARMONY AS ONE BIG TEAM OF RESIDENTS AND STAFF FOR THE VILLAGE TO PROSPER AND REFRESH ITSELF AS NEW CHALLENGES ARISE.
GrumbleSmiles 
Stop read and listen!!!! Today we go on wards and reach our village average age achievement of the residents at 90+ years
all of us residents staff, friends have a lot to be thankful for. NOW WE MUST ENSURE WE FOLLOW OUR DREAMS AND THE AS MENTIONED PHILOSITY AND ETHOS OF THE ‘EXTRACARE CHARITIES DREAM OF A RETIREMENT VILLAGE. Onwards and upwards. dear readers.
as one gently reflects the past, and the ideals acheived and the as stated philosophy and ethos of the ‘EXTRACARE CHARITIES TRUST COVENTRY. I now have to be like my fellow villagers be realistic, and trust the EXTRACARE CHARITIES TRUST COVENRTY, to bring my dreams and hopes to fruition with realistic costs within the parameters of the ‘retail price index'[RPI] and current political ‘jargon’ which at the years of 80+old, and modern termanology and communications [which at times I find confusing and unclear, both in the media and web sites], i have to sit down shake my head and clear my thought processes. It can be difficult at times.
What I am looking for is a clear honest policy [s] from the government and THE EXTRACARE CHARITIES TRUST, as to what weekly/daily/monthly costs will be in the next few years, to live to full the dreams as expressed by ;DEAR JOHN’ in his blogs on the the SMILES and GRUMBLES Network, I do not want o be a fish stranded in the ‘NET’, on my own without sound advice and common sense to understand, in both the financial day to day events and the future for us all as residents.
I trust the ethos and policies of the past will still stand, and I am not in dreamland, but happy in reality in my EXTRACARE CHARITIES RETIREMENT VILLAGE.