Palmwoods
District News

June 10,
1999

Page 1

New wing for Garden Village
by Joanna Jones

MAJOR building work has begun at Palmwoods Garden Village in Jubilee Drive, which will see the construction of two new wings on to the existing hostel.

The two wings, each consisting of 14 fully self-contained bedrooms with ensuites, will mean 28 extra beds will be available in the new year. Each wing will also contain a common dining area for residents.

One wing will be used as a special care unit, which will double the current special care capacity, from 14 to 28 beds. The special care unit caters for residents who need to feel ‘secure’ and have ‘high care’, specialised needs.

The other wing will operate as an open hostel catering for more independent residents who still need a certain level of care.

The 28 new beds are being provided by the government as a result of the successful "Beds for Palmwoods" campaign carried out earlier in the year by Sundale with the support of many local community groups.

Although the "Beds for Palmwoods" campaign was actually seeking Nursing Home beds rather than hostel beds, Sundale has gratefully accepted the allocation of hostel beds and as a result the construction of two new wings was deemed necessary to accommodate the new beds.

Hostel Supervisor Pat Smith says both the staff and the residents are excited about the extensions and that the wider community should be as well.

"These new wings mean that we will have the capacity to accommodate extra residents as early as next year," she said.

"Knowing that the retirement village is expanding should enable some elderly hinterland residents to feel more secure about their future."

"The completion of the two wings will also mean that we will have to employ more staff to cater for the increased number of residents. Hence, this building work will create employment in the local area," she said.

An access road is currently being built around the back of the hostel, and the hostel is being temporarily fenced to ensure the residents’ safety. Building work is scheduled to finish in December.

  ·=============== ===============·

Sunshine Coast
Index