Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health, at the official launch of St Joseph’s Home Infant and Childcare and Intergenerational Playground, 28 August 2017

Mr Thomas Tan, Board Chairman, Catholic Welfare Services

Mr James Chew, CEO, Catholic Welfare Services

Sr Geraldine Tan, Executive Director, St Joseph’s Home

Mr Desmond Kuek, President and Group CEO, SMRT

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1.     Good morning. I am very excited to join you today at the opening of the infant and childcare centre and intergenerational playground at St Joseph’s Home. 

Acknowledging the Good Works of St Joseph’s Home 

2.         I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the newly re-developed St Joseph’s Home.  It seems not long ago when Minister Gan Kim Yong, Sister Geraldine and I were at the former St Joseph’s Home, taking a last picture against its iconic red brick walls.  Now, fast forwarded to 3 years later, I am happy to be standing here at a brand new and bigger St Joseph’s Home, ready to welcome new residents.  

3.         St Joseph's Home has undergone quite a transformation. Apart from increasing its bed capacity to serve more seniors, the new Home incorporates improved design principles and additional services such as assisted living. Together, this new facility enables St Joseph’s Home to further engage, embrace and empower its seniors.

4.         While this newly developed facility has been intensified and looks very different from the Old Home, the underlying philosophy of love and personalised care remains unchanged.  Sister Geraldine and her dedicated team of sisters and nurses spend hours caring tirelessly for the seniors in the Home.  Their selfless service enables seniors to feel a sense of belonging and dignity. This unwavering commitment is personified in every aspect of the design of this new facility, making this Home truly a labour of love.

Pioneering New Care Models

5.         Sister Geraldine says that the seniors must not be “hidden” but must be embraced.  This philosophy is exemplified in the innovative and welcoming design in the Home which invites the different segments of the community into this facility.  This morning, we are here to witness and celebrate the launch of an innovative and welcoming initiative at St Joseph’s Home.  The opening of inter-generational playground, as well as the infant and childcare centre in the redeveloped St Joseph’s Home, signals a clear call to invite more members of the community to join the Home in its journey in embracing our seniors.

6.         The Home’s inter-generational playground is a trailblazer among nursing homes in experimenting with shared spaces for the young and old. The playground has special design features, such as a see-saw with a ramp to facilitate wheelchair access. The merry-go-round comes with wheel-lock features for wheelchairs and custom-built seats for toddlers, such that both the young and old can enjoy outdoor play together. By leveraging the simple yet universal concept of play, this playground aims to attract more children and young ones to interact with the seniors.  Perhaps, some of us could also try out the see-saw and merry-go-round later to experience it. At this point, I would also like to express my appreciation to SMRT, which pledged $100,000 to support the development of this playground.

7.         Similarly, the co-location of the infant and childcare facilities at the redeveloped St Joseph’s Home provides ample opportunities for creative programmes and curriculum design, to better engage our nursing home residents. Apart from the playground, the redeveloped Home has many other shared spaces, including a cafeteria with senior- and child-friendly furniture and a “Funhouse” where nursing home residents, children and volunteers can engage in activities such as art-jamming. Such activities help to improve seniors’ psycho-social well-being while adding meaning and enjoyment to their daily routines. In addition, the Home is planning sessions for its childcare teachers to bring the children to visit seniors at the resident rooms. The Home also plans to involve children with seniors in its music and art and craft sessions, together with its volunteers.

8.         I am also delighted to note that some of the current young volunteers at St Joseph’s Home find it enriching to interact with the seniors in activities such as exercise sessions.  The youth volunteers also learn from seniors’ wealth of experience and wisdom including positive character traits such as resilience and optimism.  The Government will continue to partner the community in supporting these initiatives, such as through our dollar-for-dollar matching grant under the Community Silver Trust.

Government Support in Promoting Inter-Generational Facility

9.         Beyond St Joseph’s Home, the Government shares the vision of promoting more inter-generational facilities to create a tighter knit community across generations. We are planning for eldercare and childcare facilities to be co-located in some 10 new HDB housing developments. The first such site is at Kampung Admiralty, which has just opened, where a Child Care Centre and Active Ageing Hub will be located side by side.  By co-locating the facilities and having operators that will provide inter-generational activities, we hope to create more opportunities for the seniors to gain from the infectious energy of the young, as well as the young to better understand the seniors who share their community.

Everyone can play a part

10.       St Joseph’s Home will be a personification of our vision of a community for all ages, where seniors are embraced, in a warm community full of love and compassion.  It will be a place where the days of our seniors will be filled with joy and laughter from children, and the days of children will be filled with love and affection from seniors.  Once again, I would like to congratulate the Catholic Welfare Services and St Joseph’s Home on this innovative initiative, as well as the volunteers, grassroots and corporate donors who have made this possible.  I wish you every success and hope to encourage more of such intergenerational initiatives in our community and appeal to the larger community to also get involved in St Joseph’s Home.  

Thank you.