Model Facilities

Agecare standards, quality of services and protocols for elderly care and facilities has been identified as a major gap. To evolve, formulate, document and demonstrate standards for elderly care HelpAge India has in the recent past taken several pilot level initiatives on its own and in collaboration with government and private sector.  Significant among these are:

Shelter/Old Age Home: HelpAge India-NDTV Viewers’ Elders Village Cuddalore:   This model age care free stay facility for rural poor with a capacity for 100 persons is designed, constructed, managed and run by HelpAge India. Situated in Cuddalore, about 20 Km from Puducherry, it is today recognized as a model demonstration project by the Government of Tamil Nadu and which proposes to establish several similar facilities in the state. 

Kalyan Ashram Kolkata:  This model age care facility also designed and managed by HelpAge India is for women from urban middle and lower class, with a total capacity for 20 persons and is located in a donated double storey residential building in South Kolkata.  The facility also serves as a service-hub for elder care for senior citizens of Kolkata and surrounding areas, providing support through a toll free Elders Helpline, Physiotherapy Care and Medical Services.  Service to 38 old age homes of Kolkata is also provided from this facility. 

Bamloe Cottage Shimla:  This model age care facility is designed to serve as a short-stay holiday home for elderly from Shimla and other urban metros including Delhi.  It also serves as the service-hub for elder care for senior citizens of Shimla city and Shimla district.

Vishokanand Vridh Ashram on the Ganges, Bijnor: This novel Agecare facility, in one of India’s most spiritually vibrant areas is located in a donated 5.5 acre fruit orchard next to Vidhur Kutir. It is being designed to serve both rural and urban communities from Delhi, Moradabad, Meerut, Bijnor, etc. Pilgrimage tours for elders from Delhi in old age homes and home-residents to the Ashram, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Shukratal, etc will address emotional and recreational needs of the elders. A short-stay facility in the Ashram will ensure a rural-get-away (3 hours from Delhi by road) for the urban aged inclined to solitude, spirituality and writing. The Ashram will also provide a much needed elderly need response, usually completely absent in the non-family context, of‘bereavement support’.

Old Age Home Management: Computer based software customized for implementing standards and management functions has been developed by HelpAge India and field tested in old age homes in Delhi & National Capital Region. The software enables Managers and Caregivers to rationalize and increase time to care giving functions, generate MIS on occupancy, map and calendarise external voluntary service providers such as doctors, citizens, youth, etc. thereby creating an unique customized institutional facility-memory for each Home. This results in streamlined and cost-effective functioning mitigating risk due to change on account of old staff leaving or new staff joining without overlap period.

Care Givers:  HelpAge India Care Givers Certificate Courses started in 2008 with a view to standardizing quality of services and creating a cadre of trained professional-care givers across the country, with priority to selected urban ‘elder-hotspots’ with greatest identified need requirement.    Certificate Course modules are aimed at training managers and care givers in old age homes, family/domestic care givers in private homes, representing the largest need-segment for such services. Other categories of care givers to be covered in due course will include staff of specialized-institutions and professional service providers such as nurses, etc.