The words ‘Old Age Home’ are enough to send chills down anyone’s back. One pictures dark corridors, smelly rooms, tattered furniture, unfriendly nurses and hospital food!!! None of us want to accept that we are getting old. But getting old in this kind of environment becomes a much harder thing to accept.

Furthermore, recent report in the media regarding patient abuse in old age homes are sufficient to dissuade anyone from looking at institutions of this kind.

The perceptions and stigma associated with old age homes have been crushed with the opening of a home in Bryanston (Sandton) called Westview Lodge. Westview Lodge represents a paradigm shift in the way old age homes are built and managed.

The Home was designed and built 11 years ago for the sole purpose of accommodating elderly people requiring nursing care. Built, in the style of an old farmhouse, it accommodates 20 residents in luxury bedsitters with bathrooms on-suite. It is surprising to see the level of comfort available to residents; rooms are equipped with private phones, automatic heaters, built-in cupboards, M-Net and satellite. Large patios lead onto lovely gardens specially created for elderly residents.

Residents are treated to delectable meals and have at their disposal a hairdresser, aromatherapist, reflexologist, podiatrist, and masseuse to pamper them. Other activities are available to residents who wish to keep active physically and mentally including a taxi service to shops and cinemas. Professional nursing is available on a 24-hour basis.

Innovative personnel management has ensured that the staff running the home is of the highest calibre and that high nursing processes are in place. Staff is trained in areas such as food preparation, garnishing, serving, as well as in more specialised areas such as people skills and customer service. Westview Lodge prides itself with what it calls ‘proactive nursing’.

Imagine a home with the same features and luxuries of your own home; imagine a lodge where you would happily want to spend a holiday… Imagine a home that offers a guilt-free option for the care of a family member…That’s Westview Lodge; certainly worth seeing.

Tel 011-462-8231, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .