HOPE Aged Care residents were so excited about the prospect of getting out and about more often, they held a welcome party when a minibus arrived from Melbourne.
And they wasted no time taking advantage of their newfound freedom, enjoying drives around Swan Hill, to Riverside Park and across the river to Murray Downs.
Lifestyle co-ordinator Donna Salathiel, who drives the bus, said the trips were so popular, she’s putting together a roster to make sure every resident who wants to go for a drive is given the opportunity.
“They’re very excited,” she said.
“They want to take trips to Tooleybuc, to here, there, everywhere and it’s going to take a little bit of planning.”
The minibus is an 11-seater former maxi taxi with the capacity to take two wheel chairs and a winch at the rear for loading and unloading passengers.
Hope Aged Care owner Afif Hadj, whose centres in three Melbourne suburbs have similar minibuses, said he’d been searching for a suitable vehicle for quite some time.
“They’re very hard to come by because of the lifter,” he said.
“You’ve really got to wait until somebody decides they don’t want a maxi taxi anymore.”
Mr Hadj said the centre’s elderly residents were unable to drive and relied on family members to take them out on excursions.
“Even though we’ve got a lot of activities within the facility itself, it’s good that they’re able to get out,” he said.
“When you’re stuck indoors it doesn’t matter how many activities you can do. The facility’s also got a lot of outside areas but they’re still confined.”
Ms Salathiel said many of the residents hadn’t been able to get out and about very often, especially those with mobility difficulties who relied on a walker or wheelchair.
“It’s been especially difficult because we’ve been in lockdown on and off for a long time and some people don’t have family here,” she said.
“Or their families don’t have wheelchair accessible vehicles, and it becomes a challenge for them to go out.”
Residents Mrs Tyne O’Bree and Mrs Gladys Bryant said they’d enjoyed their sightseeing trips to Riverside Park, Murray Downs, and to see Swan Hill landmarks, such as the Big Cod, the town hall and the Swan Hill bridge.
“We’ve also been and had a look at the new homes going up in the area and we’ve talked about areas of interest,” Ms Salathiel said.
