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I was able to daydream (which I know I probably shouldn't) partly because I'm actually no stranger to NTUC Health. Although many of my friends still conveniently mistake Fairprice as the entire NTUC LOL. Many years ago I too visited one of the NTUC Silver Circle Day Care Centre which also takes up 1 of the 9 levels in this building. And more recently I did an article where I was given the opportunity to job shadow one of the healthcare worker from NTUC Health – Care@Home. As you can see, this problem about health and future is always lingering on my mind. From "is having a kid a solution" to "will be having 2 kids make things easier." Still no answer.
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Seth brought a lot of fun and laughter into the family. I would say that Seth's presence made us closer as a couple and a family. Although we talk a lot more about Seth than ourselves now, we are spending a lot more time together and doing silly things that we would probably never do if not for him. And I actually enjoy these things. We might have a lot more time to ourselves, a lot more money and less things to worry if not for him, but having Seth around is just different. I can't imagine a day without him now. Actually I can lah, sometimes he just drives me up the wall with his constant "papapapapapapa".
It's strange how I enjoy his company so much now and previously I wasn't even into having a kid. The decision changed after a few years into our marriage when I was convinced by my wife that having a kid would be good. I gave it a thought and I thought it's ok to give it a try and I was surprised we got pregnant so quickly.
Fast forward to 2017 and Seth is almost 2 years old and the wife has been activitly trying to convince me for a number 2 which I'm very apprehensive about. (Stop making use of my body like I'm just a piece of meat. #Justsayin) Do we have enough time? Do we have enough resources? What if the 2nd one is not as cute or easy? Will we be biased? (I'm sure we will) What if she is not a she that we want? What if they don't get along? Too much uncertainty for a control freak like me and there are too much risk on the table isn't it?
My wife begs to differ. She see opportunities and she feel that a single child might grow up with a lot of issues all summed up as '1 child syndrome". I've seen a lot of my friends growing up fine and doing good in life despite being only child so what's the worry?
That being said, I feel the downside of being a single child comes when your parents are both old and need attention. Back in the olden days when only 1 parent was working, the wife usually would stay at home to look after the kids as well as the in-laws which ain't the case anymore these days. To adapt to our current standard of living as well as our wants and needs, usually their own parent will be working which makes taking care of parent rather difficult.
One of my friends actually gave up her career and stayed home to look after her mother after she got a stroke. It was too expensive for her to get a personal care and at the same time she was unable to balance her career and look after her mother as she was the only child. It got me thinking, would things be better if there were more of them to split the responsibilities?
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It's strange how life works in full circle for me all the time. While I was having all these thoughts and talks with my wife, I was invited to visit NTUC's new nursing home located at Chai Chee.
To be honest, half my mind was in deep thoughts while they were giving their presentation. Not because I'm thinking of what's for lunch but more of how our son, being part of the next generation will handle the new standard of living considering how tough it already is now as compared to our parents' era. Things will only get more competitive and difficult isn't it? I'm not saying our parents' era had no problems. Of course they had. They had another set of problems which required them to take a lot of hardship as compared to now but it's just different. We can't compare apple to apple.
Will I become a burden to my son?
Will having another child help to deal with the cost of living in the future?
Is there anything I can do to make things easier for him?
Is money the solution?
I was able to daydream (which I know I probably shouldn't) partly because I'm actually no stranger to NTUC Health. Although many of my friends still conveniently mistake Fairprice as the entire NTUC LOL. Many years ago I too visited one of the NTUC Silver Circle Day Care Centre which also takes up 1 of the 9 levels in this building. And more recently I did an article where I was given the opportunity to job shadow one of the healthcare worker from NTUC Health – Care@Home. As you can see, this problem about health and future is always lingering on my mind. From "is having a kid a solution" to "will be having 2 kids make things easier." Still no answer.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The thought of growing old scares me. A lot. So much so that sometimes I rather go out in a blaze of glory style than to grow old and be left with a body without soul, not able to contribute and just wait for my days to pass. I mean that's a very negative thought and probably selfish one to the people around me but I guess that's me. *shrugs*. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. That probably also why some of the uncle and auntie we meet on the streets are so grouchy lol.
So to overcome such issues and not let them feel like life has no purpose, many of these elderly are staying at the nursing home. They will get to socialise with others, and most importantly have proper healthcare which is what they need most. The main objective of the nursing home is definitely to get them well and send them home. For those who still need help with spending time with friends can be part of the Silver Circle day care. Such facilities really give the elderly a sense of fulfillment each day!
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So besides health care, they also have gym, social activities such as craft work, and even this little "fake house" for elderly to be prepared and ready to stay in a proper home environment where they can do day-to-day tasks themselves.
NTUC Health as the name suggests is one of NTUC social enterprises. For the uninitiated, the main thing about NTUC Social Enterprise has always been to help moderate cost of living for the average Singaporeans, to help them stretch their dollar.
For a while now, NTUC social enterprises have been expanding their services from addressing one core of “managing the cost of living” to managing four major social concerns. Singaporeans’ four main social needs in the next 10 years are: cost of living; ageing, health and healthcare costs; and social mobility (yes, the fear of being left behind). NTUC social enterprises are disrupting themselves to provide integrated services to address Singaporeans’ needs at every stage of their lifecycle.
So for NTUC Health,it is hoping to tackle the challenges of an ageing population as a country and also manpower shortage. With the right eldercare facilities and services, including nursing homes, day and senior care centres and even home care services, the elderly can be well taken care of, and the working people can have peace of mind at work when their parents are tended to which is very important. Can't imagine going to work each day with 2 hours sleep because you need to stay up and look after your parents.
From what I gathered during my visit, with all the help and grants from government, the cost can go as low as few hundred dollars per month.
Besides this nursing home in Chai Chee, there are also 2 more centres located at Jurong as well as Geylang.
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This nursing home has different themes on each level. The themes are things that the elderly are familiar with. Mostly of them are mock ups of places they grew up seeing and spent time at, for example the old school hawker, barber, HDB units, classrooms and more. I was joking with my friend that when it's our time, they probably have to build places like Clarke Quay and Zouk. Especially the toilet area of the old Zouk where everyone sits around hahaha. These designs are actually very good for dementia patients, it's what they call the reminiscence therapy where it will encourage them to recall their past, engage in conversations and feel at home. Yup, mine's definitely some drinking place, the gym, basketball court, and also my office. LOL.
Such visits always give me a heavy heart by the end of the day. It's inevitable that we all grow old but is it inevitable that we cannot have a good retirement? I guess at the end of the day, health really is everything.
NTUC's second nursing home was launched on Thursday Nov 2. NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing had previously said that such efforts are part of its push to offer affordable services for working people.
NTUC's second nursing home was launched on Thursday Nov 2. NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing had previously said that such efforts are part of its push to offer affordable services for working people.