Elders in the North-east Region to Benefit from St Luke's ElderCare's Ecosystem of Care
Singapore, 10 January 2024 – St Luke’s ElderCare (SLEC) celebrated its official opening of the SLEC Punggol Centre today with Guest-of-Honour, Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health, gracing the event.
SLEC One Punggol Centre extends senior day care services to frail elders and those with dementia. Additionally, the centre offers rehabilitation programmes that address a variety of conditions, specialising in musculoskeletal-related issues for individuals of all ages.
With the opening of SLEC One Punggol Centre, SLEC is able to provide a seamless care journey for elders and their caregivers by being a single point of contact to meet their multiple care needs. Residents living in the North-east region will have access to a full suite of services and programmes at five SLEC locations namely, Anchorvale, Northshore, One Punggol, Rivervale and Sumang. In the pipeline is also SLEC’s second Nursing Home, SLEC Residence@Punggol, slated to open in 2025.
A/Prof (Dr) Kenny Tan, Chief Executive Officer, St Luke’s ElderCare, said, “The addition of SLEC One Punggol Centre marks a significant milestone for SLEC’s One North-east Cluster Strategy, underscoring our mission to build a future-ready and seamless ecosystem of care. Through integrating our operations across our services, we hope to provide a more coordinated and convenient access for residents in Punggol. Beyond serving our elders, we also hope to build a robust community through meaningful and purposeful collaboration with our community partners.”
Nestled within One Punggol, an integrated lifestyle hub, SLEC is one of the nine key co-location partners, providing community, cultural, civic and lifestyle facilities. Beyond the Primary Care Networks with General Practitioners, SLEC has collaborated with community and care partners within the One Punggol complex, with its aim to provide a multi-faceted approach to engage and enrich the lives of the elders.
One of its partners is Skool4Kidz Campus @ One Punggol, where SLEC launched a structured 30-week intergenerational programme, to facilitate intergenerational bonding and interaction between preschoolers and elders through a buddy system. On a weekly basis, the children and elderly would gather at either the intergenerational room at the Senior Care Centre or Skool4Kidz Campus @ One Punggol for arts and crafts activities, singing, games and cooking classes. The group also enjoys excursions together such as a visit to the National Gallery, where they toured art galleries, and learned Chinese calligraphy.
87-year-old Madam Kang Swee Leng was initially reserved and reluctant to participate in activities. Through this signature intergenerational programme, she is more outgoing and cheerful and looks forward to the weekly visits by the preschoolers. She shares an indelible bond with her buddy, 5-year-old Evan Hartono, who attends Skool4Kidz Campus @ One Punggol.
Madam Kang shared, “Evan and his friends are always so full of energy. It is such a joy to be around them. The trip to the National Gallery was also something different from our usual routine and I really enjoyed painting apples and flowers during the Chinese calligraphy session with Evan.”
Other partners include the National Library Board, where the rehabilitation team hosted a public talk on workplace ergonomics at Punggol Regional Library. SLEC One Punggol Centre has also partnered with Sengkang General Hospital to push out a series of curated outreach programmes, such as a health screening programme at One Punggol. As part of the health screening, a fall risk assessment was conducted with two functional tests – Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) and Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test (5STS), to assess mobility, balance, walking ability and fall risk.
Sonya Selvinder Kaur Gill, Principal Physiotherapist at St Luke’s ElderCare, said, “We recognise the importance and the need to reach out to elders in Punggol. One of our key priorities and focus is on upstream activities, including health and prevention care, and through that, we hope to build a resilient community, where our elders can age meaningfully, with dignity and health.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Jimmy Tan
Assistant Director
Communication & Partnerships
St Luke’s ElderCare
+65 8748 6705
jimmytan@slec.org.sg
Myra Tan
Senior Executive
Communication & Partnership
St Luke’s ElderCare
+65 9687 3155
myratan@slec.org.sg
ABOUT ST LUKE’S ELDERCARE
St Luke’s ElderCare (SLEC) is a Christian healthcare provider committed to meeting the evolving needs of the community, excelling in social care and clinical excellence for ageing well. Our ecosystem of care comprises centre, community, residential and home-based services. SLEC’s range of centre-based services includes dementia day care, maintenance day care, and community rehabilitation including pulmonary, musculoskeletal, physiotherapy, speech, and occupational therapy. Community-based services offer active ageing and wellness programmes, diabetic screenings, dietetic services, and nursing care. Home-based services provide dietetic, medical, nursing, and therapy services. Residential-based services provide long-term care for those that require daily living and nursing care. In FY2022/2023, SLEC had the privilege to serve over 9,200 elders through our services. We operate 24 Senior Care and Rehabilitation Centres islandwide, three Active Ageing Hubs, one Active Ageing
Centre (Care) and one Residence (nursing home), serving mainly older persons regardless of race, language and religion.
Incorporated in 1999, SLEC is a registered charity and an Institution of Public Character. Find out more at www.slec.org.sg or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.
