The Territorial Director of the Imserso, Verónica Aznar, has highlighted the investment of more than 158,000 euros for the facilities of the Polyvalent Center for Older People, popularly known as Senior Citizens Residence.
In an interview given to Televisión Melilla, the head of the Institute of Seniors has assured that they continue working on the improvement of the facilities. He explained that part of this item has been allocated to air conditioning, with the acquisition of 8 air conditioning consoles and 4 more for the treatment areas, and 25 portable air conditioners. He also recalled that last year they bought 20 air consoles and 70 portable units.
Within this “short-term” measure for the air conditioning of the Polyvalent Center, while the major project follows its administrative channel, he stressed that “we cannot forget that the need is in the day-to-day and that we must try to cover it in the best possible way”.
In this regard, he has detailed that right now they are with the adequacy and waterproofing of the elevators and with the construction of the new roof terrace of the main door, which had to be demolished last year because the infrastructure was affected by an earthquake.
With regard to the centres that depend on Imserso, he has assured that investments in the Base Centre and the Service for the Promotion of Personal Autonomy (SPAP) have been strengthened.
Addition of new staff
The Territorial Director has welcomed the addition of two new staff members, which entails the creation of one additional post in the area of benefits and another in the administrative management of the unit.
Aznar has explained that these two profiles come to respond to the existing social demand in the benefits service. “After analyzing the situation, we understood that the benefits were something we had to strengthen as a priority,” he said.
Regarding the residents of the Polyvalent Center, Aznar has acknowledged that they are still working on a “super close” deal. Thus, he has assured that they are improving the attention, not only in the day to day, but in the previous one. “We are trying to notify the next five on the waiting list and that they could enter the Residence soon”, with the aim of “having a family discussion time”.
He stressed that this is “a difficult decision” while he said that there were cases of families requesting entry to the Residence “in a situation of urgency and latent need” and when the turn came “paradoxically” they rejected the place.
Faced with this situation, they established the premise of warning in advance “so that they could mature the decision, so that they could approach and see the doubts they had, so that they could see the residence and a little break that coolness, that fear, and work with the team and listen”.
Group of hosts in the Residence
Aznar has positively valued this measure and has valued the creation of a “group of hosts” made up of residents and family volunteers at the time of the incorporation of a new resident. “If you accept the accompaniment of this host group, it will make your stay a little easier, resolving doubts for both families and residents,” he said.
It is a profile, that of the host, who, as the Territorial Director has defended, “is working very well to reduce the impact of institutionalizing your life and trying to keep the Center as your home.”