Orange Valley opens sixth nursing home, in Balestier
Orange Valley Nursing Homes has opened its sixth home, in Balestier, making it the largest operator of such facilities here with more than 1,000 beds.
Its latest nursing home started operations on Jan 2 and has 118 beds, supported by nearly 20 workers, Orange Valley told the media during a tour of the new home yesterday.
The new facility will also offer short-term stays, as well as step-down care options when caregivers or family members are not available, or when round-the-clock supervision and medical care are required.
It will also provide rehabilitation services for both inpatient and outpatient cases, such as for those who have had amputation or joint surgery, or suffered a stroke or Parkinson's disease.
It is the first privately owned nursing home to provide outpatient rehabilitation services, said Ms Cassandra Lim, assistant vice-president of ambulatory services and special projects at Orange Valley Nursing Homes.
The cost of staying at the home ranges from $3,500 for private patients who opt for the open ward to $9,000 for a private one-bed room a month.
The open wards are also available for subsidised patients.
According to the Singapore Silver Pages website by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), which oversees community care here, it costs between $1,200 and $3,500 a month to stay in a nursing home, before means testing.
"We are working very closely with the... AIC. Waiting time is always jammed up with dementia patients, so we are hoping to use one of the wards (in Balestier) for dementia patients," said Ms Lyn Edel Yip, deputy chief executive officer of Orange Valley Nursing Homes.
The other Orange Valley nursing home are in Changi, Clementi, Marsiling, Simei and Sims Avenue.
Orange Valley Nursing Homes is the nursing-home arm of Invest Healthcare, an eldercare service provider that also offers services such as home care, senior activity centres and ambulance services.
Invest Healthcare was acquired by media group Singapore Press Holdings for $164 million in April last year.
Econ Healthcare, NTUC Health, St Andrew's Mission Hospital and Catholic Welfare Services are the other top nursing home operators here, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Health.
Within three to five years, Orange Valley Nursing Homes is planning to provide services for psychiatric patients whose conditions have stabilised, said Ms Yip.
It also plans to explore mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures in countries such as Malaysia and Japan.
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