Raetihi backs rest home plan

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 436, 12 May 1992, Page 1

Raetihi backs rest home plan

BY

RIC

About 60 people attended a public meeting to discuss the building of a Raetihi rest home, last week. At the meeting, held Monday 4 May and chaired by mayor Garrick Workman, it was decided that the demand for a rest home has always been here. Previously the elderly could be admitted to the Waimarino hospital permanently, but since the hospital has now changed to a health care centre, this can no longer be done. At present the elderly are having to go to rest homes in Wanganui, which creates difficulties for their families for visiting them regularly. A rest home in this area would allow the elderly to live out the rest of their lives in the familiar surrounds of the Waimarino area, the meeting decided. The type of home envisaged would cater for people who could no longer cope on their own, but who do not want institutional care. The building would initially include recreation facilities a drop-in-centre and 10 rooms, of which one or two would be double rooms for married couples. There would be provisions for extending this building, if and when needed. Two sections are available for this project, one is next to St Mary's church in Seddon Street and the other one is a section previously owned by the croquet

club. Both sections are suitable because they are flat and close to shopping facilities and the doctor's surgery. The cost of this building could be $600,000, and $200,000 of this would need to be raised by community fund raising before any other

money could be applied for. To do this a steering committee was elected who will make the decision of where the home is to be sited. Joy Cox, Dorothy Scarrow and Dorothy McNie, who instigated the project have contacted many organisa-

tions. The had visited Patea, a town equally as hard hit economically as the Waimarino and a home has recently been opened there. The steering committee are: Dorothy Scarrow, Bob Peck, Joy Cox, Dorothy McNie, Val Parkes, Faith Wise,

Bill Peach and one representative each from the Maungarongo and Raetihi marae's. A chairperson is to be elected from this committee. Garrick Workman said it is only with community support that such a project can be achieved.