New nursing home designed to be 'home away home' opened in Riverstick

The launch of a new nursing home designed to be “a home away from home” in Riverstick was announced at a special event held on Saturday afternoon.

The nursing home in Riverstick is one of three nursing homes launched by Silver Stream Healthcare Group, one of the largest providers of residential care for older people in Ireland, that will see its current bed count double to 750 and the number of homes within the group grow to 11.

The announcement was made at the Riverstick home by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and CEO of Silver Stream Healthcare Tom Finn.

The nursing home comprises 92 single and two double ensuite bedrooms spanning almost 4,500m2 In addition, Silver Stream announced the opening of a state-of-the-art transitional step-down care centre at Riverstick to help alleviate the demand on Cork University Hospital (CUH) as it provides an extension to the acute bed capacity.

Speaking at the event, Mr Finn said that the nursing home is designed to be “a home away from home” but is also a home designed to be a transitional care service for the HSE and CUH.

He said that following discussions with the Chief Executive Officer of the South/South West Hospital Group (SSWHG) and CUH, it was decided that this was how new care centres would look.

“Yes, we have long term care, dementia care, palliative care, but we also have a different type of care which is where nursing homes are going. We’re not going to have people in nursing homes for 10 years anymore, we’re going to have them in for 18 months, maybe two years maximum and that’s what this building is designed to cater for.

“So, we’re very excited that we can create a home from home.” “It’s that our residents feel at home here and feel safe here,” he said.

Echoing Mr Finn’s comments, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: 

People want to be cared for in their own homes for as long as possible so what we have to do is provide for what we call a continuum of care.

He said that maybe that has been “too demarcated” in the past.

Mr Martin said that there will always be a need for long term residential care at some stage in the journey of life and that the good news in Ireland is that people are living longer and said that the Programme for Government commits to creating an Age Friendly Ireland, while Sláintecare aims to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

Speaking to The Echo about the importance of the residents’ wellbeing, particularly during the pandemic, Chairman of Gabriel Scientific David Woolfson, whose filtered bedding products Silver Stream have invested in, said: “We have very innovative mattresses, pillows and duvets and they’re filtered. 

They are a proven barrier to coronavirus so it can’t get in or out of the pillow and mattress but, in general, it’s more hygienic and it’s really important for wellbeing and will immediately benefit the residents as part of the holistic approach to improve personal care.

The group is currently recruiting for roles in Nursing, Physiotherapy, Housekeeping, kitchen, Facilities, and for Care Assistants and Activity Coordinators.