Eltham Retirement Village - Update for Residents - Tuesday 27 December 2011 | mcm

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Newsletter for Independent Residents (Eltham Retirement Village)

I wanted to give you a quick update on the state of the Village following the flood on Christmas night.

The flood has entered all ground floor units in Rundle House, the Rundle House laundries, the resident’s Cottage and the adjacent laundry (No. 7) of Shepherd House. All of these areas have been significantly damaged by the water and mud that has washed through. Fortunately, no one was injured and every resident whose unit was affected by the flood was able to be relocated to alternate accommodation that night. Ongoing accommodation is arranged on a day by day basis as circumstances change.

Today, residents, their families & friends and many volunteers and staff from Melbourne Citymission are attempting to salvage as much as possible from the Rundle House units and temporarily store items in Metzner Hall. Over the coming days the ground floor Rundle House Units will be completely emptied as part of the activities to make Rundle House safe. Once that has been completed we will help the residents from the first floor units to move back in.

In the mean time the Rundle House units are officially declared as Unsafe Zones except for staff, residents and their families who are escorted by our staff. Similarly Metzner Hall, the resident’s Cottage, Rundle House laundries and Shepherd House No. 7 laundry, are off limits to residents and their families until further notice from me. Please do not venture to the back of Rundle House (railway line side) as this area will be quite unsafe for some time.

Please make all enquiries to reception (03 9431 0100) and we will direct your issue to the appropriate staff member. We are co-ordinating everything through my office so that resources can be directed to the appropriate priorities as needs arise.

Melbourne Citymission will open a public appeal tomorrow so that donations can be channelled through our head office and so that we at Eltham can focus on resident’s personal needs and future accommodation needs.

A big THANK YOU to the staff, family members, Emergency Services teams – named and anonymous – who helped on Christmas night. The Village’s Emergency Management Plan was activated and proved to be of great benefit in these circumstances. The residents who were directly affected have been traumatised by the flood and its effect. Please think of them and remember them occasionally – and be thankful that it could have been much worse and affected more people in the Village.

The cleaning will hopefully be completed within a week and the relocation of residents back into the Village will commence within a week, and will probably take many weeks to complete. Please be patient as this work progresses and as we deal with the many issues that will be faced every day.

Many offers of assistance have been made and our volunteers should be thanked for tireless and diligent work with, and on behalf of, our residents. We anticipate that this assistance will continue as the various stages of recovery from the flood are addressed over coming weeks. Assistance has come from:

• Village residents
• Staff – including some who are on leave and some whose own home has been damaged by hail and rain
• Resident’s family members
• Melbourne Citymission central office staff – in particular from our Property section
• Friends of residents
• Friends of friends

All of our residents have something to contribute to this recovery work – helpful hands, positive words of encouragement, your prayers, cooperative spirits, hope-filled hearts.

Please remember the residents who are temporarily living with family and friends outside of the Village. They will return to this precious community in the near future and will need your support and cheer as this happens. Some may not be able to return to their previous unit and may find themselves with new neighbours. It will be an opportunity for new friendships coupled with some sense of loss of what they knew before the flood occurred.

A reminder to contact Reception on 03 9431 0100 for any questions or issues. We will then find the right person to help you, although it may take a little time to get back to you as our staff is very busy and occasionally need to stop for a cup of tea throughout the day!

Peace & Joy to each of you.

Mark Sketcher

Director, Aged and Palliative Care