Martin schweiger the future use of the approximately 6,000-square-meter site of the livestock farm in obertheres was one of the main topics at the community council meeting in the firehouse on monday evening. Theres town council wants to pursue the project further.
Anke schaflein, the district manager of caritas, presented the concept of an "outpatient assisted living community for seniors" (abwg), which has already been implemented since 2011 in the sankt martha residential community in knetzgau and could also be realized on the viehhof site. The abwg is the latest generation of elderly care building. It consists of small units with a maximum of twelve places per apartment. A maximum of two wgs were allowed to be at one location. The wgs are close to home, so that the familiar living environment and social contacts are maintained.
One focus is on everyday life: there are no central supply units; instead, cooking, washing and gardening are done in the shared apartment. The residents are tenants without the status of a home resident. In addition to a rental agreement, a care contract and a maintenance contract are concluded – independently of each other. According to the bavarian care and housing quality act, the care provider must be freely selectable. However, the decision for a joint care provider can and should be made by majority vote. The provider of care and assistance can be changed and changed.
Relatives cooperate
The central element of an abwg is the members’ committee, which decides on all matters relating to the residential community. The care provider and the landlord only have an advisory function and cannot make decisions.
As a good example, anke schaflein cited the sankt martha residential community in knetzgau, where each user has his or her own room with a bathroom. For married couples, a shared room can also be arranged. The facility in knetzgau with twelve bursts cost around one million euros. Shared kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, utility and storage rooms. The low-energy building is sustainably equipped with a combined heat and power plant, a photovoltaic system and an air-conditioning system. The rents are within the "permissible" range according to the social welfare office, thanks to caritas’ own funds and the contribution of land and development by the municipality rent.
According to anke schaflein, the advantages of an abwg are, in addition to maximum security of supply and constant external monitoring by the district administration and medical services, easier orientation due to the small group of a maximum of twelve people and the closeness to everyday life. Another plus point is the maximum self-determination from the purchase of mineral water to the furniture to the care. Members can get involved – but not 24 hours a day. The familiar living environment is retained and thus integration into the home community is possible.
There is reportedly a greater willingness of volunteers of all generations to participate. The costs are no higher than in inpatient care for the elderly, schaflein emphasized. One prerequisite, however, is that members must get involved.
The mayor, matthias schneider (CSU), described the concept as a "rough little family" and announced that the municipal council will deal with the concept in the next meetings