SINGAPORE - A wellness centre for seniors, called SilverCove, was launched by NTUC Health on Tuesday morning (April 19) at Marsiling Road's blocks 180A and 180B.
The centre boasts a senior-friendly gym, offers health and dental check-up services and hosts an array of activities, including mass exercise sessions and cooking classes.
For $10 a year, senior citizens from both blocks can go to the centre, as often as they want, to take part in the activities and use the facilities. Senior citizens living outside the blocks can become members for $300 a year.
They can also consult the community nurse who goes to the centre from Khoo Teck Puat Hospital twice a week for free, or see the Eu Yan Sang Traditional Chinese Medicine specialist who goes there once a week and offers services at a discounted rate.
NTUC My First Skool also takes a group of pupils from its Marsiling branch to the centre once a fortnight, for mass exercise sessions and other activities.
The centre is a Ministry of Social and Family Development initiative. NTUC Health is one of the trade union's social enterprises, which aims to provide quality and affordable health and eldercare services, supporting more than 300,000 people in the community every month.
At the launch event, MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC and Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob said: "One important aspect of happy ageing is having a healthy network of friends you can continue to share life with.
"SilverCove plays a crucial role in enabling seniors in this area to remain engaged in the community, to make new and long-lasting friendships and provide emotional support to each other."
Retiree Salmah Nasir, 64, used to walk with a stick due to a knee operation, and stayed at home, as she did not know the community well.
After two weeks of joining exercise session when the centre opened in September 2015, however, she did not need her walking stick any more. She now enjoys the cooking classes every Thursday, and gym sessions three times a week on top of the centre's exercise sessions.
"I like being able to mingle with the people here," she said in Malay, adding with a smile: "If I didn't have this, I'll be sleeping at home all the time."
