Dr Geetha MK’s days are packed. “Only in the nights, when I go to bed, do I have time to think of anything that could make me even remotely unhappy. Everything is taken care of. Otherwise my days are full and fun-filled; there is no time to brood,” says the septuagenarian dentist who has been living in a retirement community for the last two years.
A retirement community is not the same as an old age home, explains Jacob Thomas, one of the partners of Graceland, a retirement community with 72 apartments/villas on a 4.5 acre property near Mulanthuruthy. “The perception of old age homes is that you dump parents there; hence the stigma. With retirement communities such as ours, we seek to change that view. These are places where people are proud to stay, where they are comfortable and have a good life.” Built in 2017, Graceland was born when one of the elders in the family needed such a space to live.
With a growing population of senior citizens and changing social mores, such communities are becoming popular here. The accent is on premium and luxury and the buzzword is ‘active retirement’, which indicates an active group living together, interacting with each other and enjoying a quality life. Interestingly, senior citizens shop for retirement communities on their own, as Dr Geetha did. Jacob says that it works both ways, “sometimes the parents comes to see or the children put their parents on to us.”
Babu Joseph — of Bless Retirement Living on the outskirts of Aluva — feels the community life “ensures that there is neither loneliness nor alienation. And no loneliness-related diseases. Seniors are safe and secure; their self esteem is intact as they are independent. There is a professional system in place to take care of them.”
Bless Retirement Living , which began functioning in 2016, has 64 apartments (studio, one BHK and two BHK), on three acres and is building around 100 more apartments. “Initially we were sceptical; but the response has been good,” says Babu. “There is acceptance.”
Such communities also give children the comfort that their parents are being cared for, says Dr Jeeji Palocaren, Head of Biochemistry of MOSC Medical College, who is on the core team of ‘Ayana Doctors Retirement Retreat’ at Thevakkal. This retirement facility, exclusively for retired doctors, will have 50 apartments and will be ready in a couple of years.
“We decided to keep it exclusive as most of us have known each other, studied together, lived in hostels together. There will be a sense of living with friends and the comfort that comes with it,” she says. She visited many such facilities as part of her research and spoke to the administrators of other similar facilities before finalising the plans for Ayana.
“There are so many doctors who, post-retirement, don’t have much to do. They have experience which can be used for the community and keep the doctors busy,” says Dr. Jeeji. An out-patient clinic at Ayana, she says, will ensure that the doctors are busy and doing their bit for the community
Dr. Shobhana Lekshmy, in-charge of the Palliative Home Care Department at Amrita Hospital, has been working in the field for the past 10 years. Ayana Doctors Retirement Retreat, is her and Dr. Jeeji’s brainchild. “All aged people need is love and care. Unfortunately it is a luxury not many have since the children, are usually, not living with them. Hired help may not give that kind of care. They live alone, either the couple or the surviving partner. There is nothing to look forward to. When I broached the topic with my family - my husband and children - was dead against it. I don’t want to trouble my children, they are both abroad and lead busy lives. Now they have come around the idea, it is not the conventional old age home. In ‘old age homes’ there is no quality of life, most often a person is confined to the four walls of a room. When you live in a community, you enjoy life together with like-minded people,” she says.
She has also been counselling senior citizens and their care takers. Working with seniors, she realised that behaviour changes were a concern, especially for the family and caretakers, which she says needs to be handled sensitively.
The focus is on community living, says Babu. Food is prepared at a common kitchen and everybody eats together.
“People form friendships and find companionship. They are engaged here; they go on holidays together and even organise family functions here. It is like a second home. It works for people who want to go abroad and live with their children for some time and return,” he adds.
In fact, there are some who live in these communities but have not really retired. They commute to work from here.
Babu says that research took three to four years. “We visited facilities in Bengaluru, Theni and Coimbatore to understand what is needed and studied UN guidelines. We even got the head of the geriatric department at a city hospital to take a look at the facilities.”
Silver Lining
1. Age of admission to the retirement communities is 55.
2. A fixed monthly amount, akin to a subscription, is paid – for food and other facilities.
3. The prices of the premium apartments start at ₹30 - 40 lakhs. Each apartment/villa is equipped with a kitchenette, there is provision in the common kitchens to cook once in a while.
4. There is guest accommodation. Guests can stay on the properties while visiting.
5. Attention is paid to the construction with guard rails, anti-skid flooring, and ramps. Open spaces, clubhouses, recreational area, reading rooms, libraries and swimming pools are bonuses.
6. Ayana is planned on an ownership model, as also Graceland. But not Bless, which leases the apartments and if/when a person moves out or passes away, a part of the payment is refunded to the family.
7. Facilities include round-the-clock nursing staff, weekly doctor’s visits and/or on call doctor. Bless has digital records of medical history of those living there which comes in handy in case of hospitalisation while Graceland has a three-bed clinic and 24 hour nursing care. Ayana would have doctors on campus as also the clinic. It will also have palliative/assisted living care.