Hawthorndale Care Village: A province with solutions, not problems
“It’s a result of the Southland generosity of the 100,000 people in our region and a can-do attitude. It blows me away."
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Nine years ago, Margaret Brown - the manager of Calvary Hospital - floated an idea to the board.
Brown suggested they should look at a different way of going about age care - in particular for those living with dementia.
That was the moment that sparked a $39m project. A project that has seen a new purpose-built state-of-the-art aged care facility constructed at the old Hawthorndale School site in Invercargill.
On Thursday the Hawthorndale Care Village will be officially opened, with residents set to move in May.
Hawthorndale Care Village board member Paddy O’Brien said it was a surreal feeling to reach this point as he reflected on what has been achieved since Brown’s suggestion nine years ago.
Initially, the fundraising target was $6.5m to get the project off the ground. Although as Covid took charge, and construction costs climbed, the figure required to be fundraised increased to the $10m mark.
There were some doubters that a region with a population of just 100,000 could rustle up that sort of cash for such a project.
At the same time, there has been another significant fundraising drive taking place in Southland in the form of the Southern Charity Hospital, which was also officially opened this month.
It put some pressure on community funders, potential donors, and everyday Southlanders who wanted to chip in.
But despite all of that - and those doubts - the $10m target was reached.
“It’s a result of the Southland generosity of the 100,000 people in our region and a can-do attitude. It blows me away.
“It’s very surreal and I’m very proud,” O’Brien told The Southland Tribune.
“It has been a massive task, but we’ve got there. $10 million raised from the community is just outstanding.
“We are very lucky down here with our community funders, but we’ve got some very generous people out there as well. A lot of them are anonymous.”
The concept of the Hawthorndale Care Village has been inspired by the innovative Dutch care village, The Hogeweyk.
It has been set up like a mini wee suburb where that “locked-in feeling” is removed for residents living with dementia.
They feel like they are living in as close to their normal environment as possible in a village-type setting.
There is the “Hawthorndale Shops” on site which includes a mini Four Square where residents can purchase food, a salon, library, cafe, chapel, and movie theatre.
The movie theatre includes old seats from the Reading Cinemas which Joc O’Donnell spotted and arranged to be put into the Care Village.
There are also play areas included at the facility to allow residents to watch their younger relatives play during their visits.
“When visitors come, they are not just sitting at the end of a bed visiting mum or dad, or a loved one. They are actually in a village environment sitting there having a coffee. People can get out and about and that’s really encouraging,” O’Brien said.
Included in the development are 10 2-bedroom independent living villas, on top of the 13 care houses which in total is home to 86 beds.
Those beds will include a mix of residential, dementia, and hospital-level care.
Hawthorndale Care Village chair Frank O’Boyle said the village has been made possible through the collaboration of local businesses and organisations that have contributed expertise and resources.
O’Boyle thanked project manager Nick Hamlin, the architects, and local construction teams, including South Roads, ABL, Hendersons, and Bennett Homes.
“Their hard work and commitment have been essential in keeping this project on time and within budget,” O’Boyle said.
From the start of site works to the build completion has been three years.
The fundraising drive was for the capital costs required to get the Hawthorndale Care Village set up. Once opened it will be a sustainable operation.
At some point, there is the potential to expand further on the 10-acre site. If that were to be the case, then it would probably require another fundraising effort.
In the meantime, Southlanders should all be proud of a province that looks for solutions rather than problems and makes things happen.
Well done Margaret for having the vision to do this and everyone else involved.