Eltham Retirement Village - Update for Residents - Friday 30 December 2011 | mcm

Friday 30 December 2011

Newsletter for Independent Residents (Eltham Retirement Village)

This update follows on from the newsletter that was distributed to ILU residents last Tuesday.

The flood on Christmas night resulted in all ground floor units in Rundle House being damaged beyond repair. Unfortunately residents will not be able to return to these units but have already been provided with alternate units throughout the Village. Some people will move to Shepherd House, some to upstairs Rundle House first floor units (near to the lift) and one person to Herring House. We will publish a list of where people have moved to in the near future.

Cleaning and clearing of the ground floor Rundle House units is mostly complete thanks to the hard work and diligence of Mike Wheatley, Bridget Wickham (Melbourne Citymission’s Property Manager) and a team of staff, volunteers and tradespeople. The clearing of these units has been necessary as a safety precaution before residents could return to their first floor units. The pathways around the ground floor units and the gardens behind (Railway line side) of Rundle House are still unsafe areas. Please do not venture into these areas until we advise you that they are safe.

We still have many trucks, rubbish skips and tradespeople in and around Rundle House. The safety of our residents, staff and tradespeople is paramount, so we ask for your patience to stay away from these areas for a while. Residents in the first floor Rundle House units will be able to access that area via the lift. There is a huge pile of rubble in the grassed area behind Rundle House. This was pushed onto our property when the flood water broke through the railway embankment. It will be a major effort to remove this rubble and this work will commence on Wednesday 4 January and take two to three days to complete. There will also be some ‘make good’ to our garden areas to return this area be safe and pleasant. Again, please stay out of this area until all of this work has been completed.

Most of the 17 residents from the first floor Rundle House units will be moving back into their units over this weekend. Other residents will commence returning to the Village and into their ‘new’ units from next week. Metzner Hall has been turned into a temporary storage facility for items that were able to be salvaged from flooded units. Please do not access the Hall unless accompanied by a staff member to retrieve belongings when moving into your unit. The resident’s Cottage is still being cleaned and repairs will need to be undertaken before it is available for general use. Thanks to Alan Field and his volunteers for all of the work that they have undertaken to salvage items and clean extensively within the Cottage. For safety reasons, the Cottage will remain ‘out of bounds’ to residents until further notice.

We have great tradespeople and suppliers supporting the needs of the Village. Many have worked through from Christmas night to help us recover from the flood and to maximise the services and facilities available to staff and residents. Thank you to you all!

One of our suppliers returned yesterday from holidays in Lakes Entrance to organise, deliver and install equipment for the three laundries (two in Rundle House and No. 7 laundry for Shepherd House). These are now operational with brand new equipment. There may be a few times over coming weeks when the laundries are briefly out of action as final repairs are completed, but they should be quite suitable for residents to use immediately. However, an alert for residents who use these laundries – the equipment is new and different to the equipment that was there before. They will have slightly different operating instructions and may require special types of laundry powder. The Maintenance team will be putting up details about the equipment in the laundries soon.

The Maintenance books that were in these laundries will need to be replaced, so in the meantime please leave any details of maintenance requests in writing in the same spot in the laundries. You can be assured of having maintenance issues attended to if you follow this procedure.

Yesterday many of the re-located residents with their family attended a meeting here to catch up with the news, catch up with each other and learn something about what the future holds for them. Many were able to inspect a unit and accept that as their ‘new’ home on the spot. The State Government’s Department of Human Services sent Michael Meslan to explain to our residents their entitlements for Emergency Grants. He was able to interview each resident, take details and provide them with a ‘cash’ grant on the spot. He will return next week to explain and process enquiries for Emergency Re-Establishment Grants. These grants should assist residents to replace damaged furniture and personal belongings that were lost as a result of the flood. We will let you know when DHS will return to meet with residents again. Many thanks to our residents and their families for their patience and cooperation over recent days.

We are hoping to have a ‘Welcome Home’ celebration event in the next week or so. This will be an occasion for all residents to come together to catch up with residents who have been temporarily living with family and friends. It will also be a time to recognise some outstanding contributions by many people during the emergency and recovery processes.

Beyond the Village we have had many people working behind the scenes to aid with the recovery process, to gather resources and provide support in a variety of ways. Steve Herbert MP has been a long-time supporter of the Village and has helped with Metro (the railway organisation) to repair the grounds at the rear of Rundle House. Nillumbik’s Shire Council Mayor, Michael Young, has had a keen interest in the recovery effort and will remain as a strong supporter of the Village. Melbourne Citymission’s CEO, Rev Ric Holland has been involved since Christmas night and committed the support and resources of the whole organisation to deal with many aspects of the recovery process since then.

While much of our focus, and this newsletter, has been about the property, our first priority is our residents and their welfare. Julie Morris, Margaret Heyhoe and Fran Beall have remained in contact with all of the residents affected by the flood, particularly those who are temporarily living elsewhere. From Christmas night onwards we are aware that there has been much trauma, grief, loss and tears for residents. The shock of the flood, the loss of prized and loved personal items such as photos and letters, the fear of what will happen next – all are real and appropriate feelings and responses. The families of our residents have responded so well to their needs immediately after the flood. We do know that there will be more difficult times ahead and that more personal support will be necessary. Please remember to contact our Pastoral Care team if you need to speak with someone during these times.

A reminder to contact reception on 9431 0100 for any questions or issues. We will then find the right person to help you as soon as we can.

Peace & joy to each of you,
 
Mark Sketcher

Director, Aged and Palliative Care