CHOOSE TO LIVE WELL
WORDS Anna Scaife PHOTOS Dave Richards
May marks the opening of an exceptional community facility and a significant milestone in Arvida’s mission to enhance older New Zealanders’ lives. Cutting the ribbon at the Arvida Good Friends community Living Well Centre in Addington opens the door on a new chapter for the company, making a suite of new services available for seniors who live in their own homes.
The Arvida Good Friends at Park Lane team envision a vibrant hub where older people from all around Christchurch gather. The architecturally designed centre is a place to meet family and friends, enjoy superb food and make the most of all that’s on offer for fitness and wellbeing.
Arvida has ambitious goals, and that’s great news for older residents in the city and all around the country. Arvida Chief Executive Bill McDonald says, “In ten years, I want the world to notice how well older New Zealanders live. And I hope it can be traced to Arvida’s commitment to transforming the ageing experience through person-centred care – what we call the Attitude of Living Well.”
Good Friends’ beating heart is bound to be Café Natter, the domain of Head Chef Josh Monaghan, who recently returned from Switzerland and has a food philosophy based on fresh, nutritious meals with plenty of vegan options. The welcoming interior is airy and fresh and opens into an expansive outdoor area surrounded by the orchard and shaded by one of the area’s stunning protected oaks. Plans are in place for a micro-bakery turning out fresh bread and sweet treats six days a week.
Next door, the Gorgeous George hair and beauty salon is open to the public, offering manicures, pedicures, haircuts and colour, facials, waxing, and massage.
Adding to the all-encompassing approach and supporting fitness and wellbeing, members can enjoy the state-of-the-art exercise centre led by Laura Organ, a qualified exercise scientist. The facilities include a 15-metre swimming pool, hydrotherapy spa, and a specialist gym with electronic equipment that’s easy to use with automatic resistance settings, so there’s no setup or heavy weights required. Based in the centre to provide additional support for wellbeing are On the Go Physio and the Older Adults Health Collective, offering services from counselling to podiatry.
On the second floor, club meetings, technology tutorials, yoga, Pilates, wine tasting, and even boxfit will all be held in the generous events space that opens onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard.
Arvida Good Friends’ memberships make available a range of accompanying services at levels to suit individual needs. A subscription can open up access to safe rideshare transport and in-home care delivered by trained and verified helpers. These options will help to make it possible for people to remain in their homes and adjust their level of support over time. The services are all backed by intelligent technology, carefully designed to make it easy and secure.
“Living Well is about having choices on how and where we live, being able to find the help we want when we need it and finding it easy to stay active and connected with friends, family, and hobbies. Arvida is here to help older New Zealanders choose to live well wherever they decide to live,” Bill McDonald says.