KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Luxury senior living centres like Pacific Senior Living’s Acacia, Sunway Sanctuary and GreenAcres are redefining elder care in Malaysia.

These centres aim to change public perception of senior residences, moving away from the "old folks home” stereotype.

Acacia chief executive officer Dr Ramnan Jeyasingam said terms like "senior living centre” or "care centre” were an important distinction from the facilities of yesteryear.

"Before we opened our doors, he had a few trial sessions to introduce the place, there was a lot of education needed for the public to understand differences between a plain accommodation and an accommodation that came with assistance, and how it is not a nursing home,” Dr Ramnan told Malay Mail in an interview.

What’s the difference?

These centres offer different levels of care, from independent to assisted living.

Independent living seniors are mobile and can handle most daily routines on their own.

Meanwhile, assisted living residents require support with daily activities like mobility, feeding, dressing, toileting and transferring.

Nursing homes provide around-the-clock nursing care in a more clinical setup.

At some senior living centres, residents may also bring along a caregiver, which could be their private nurse or a domestic helper.

What will it cost?

One misconception that often occurs is how such centres could feel like a "prison” whereby residents’ movements are restricted.

"There is no such thing here. This centre is their home, and so the residents are free to move in and out of the premises, but they are required to inform us of where and how they are head out and what time should we expect their return,” Dr Ramnan said.

Acacia’s rooms replicate studio apartments with en-suite bathrooms and emergency alarm buttons for safety.

For medical concerns, while Acacia do not have an in-house physician, they provide scheduled doctor visits and their staff are also trained and equipped with on-site emergency response so that they can do the part of a first responder.

Acacia also offers a daycare service that caters to seniors who need assistance during the day but do not wish to live in the centre, operating from 7am to 7pm, inclusive of meals for the day.

Apart from accommodation, dining area and a daycare, it is equipped with a mini theatre, a games and craft area.

Acacia has 136 rooms in total with prices starting from RM8,500 per month.

As for Sunway Sanctuary, it offers serviced apartment-style units, each with an en-suite bathroom and kitchenette.

General manager Leonard Theng Boon Liang said that at Sunway Sanctuary, there are two categories of seniors that could look forward to calling the serviced suites their forever home.

"If you are an active senior, mobile, and looking to downsize but yet you want to reconnect with the community, they will fit in quite well here.

"The other category would be assisted living, for seniors who perhaps need a little assistance in their day-to-day living, we have staff in-house to help with the necessary arrangements needed,” Theng said in an interview.

Their residents have access to recreational areas and fitness facilities, promoting an active lifestyle, as well as social programmes including music classes.

It is also strategically located near Sunway Lagoon, allowing residents easy access to various amenities.

Sunway Sanctuary unit prices start from RM8,800 with a total of 235 rooms.

As for GreenAcres, which provides villa-style accommodations — offering a more residential feel — with lifetime leases and refundable deposits, a financial safety net for residents.

Total Investment Sdn Bhd executive director John Chong said GreenAcres was modelled after retirement villages abroad with a goal to reconnect the elderlies who may have lost touch of their day-to-day social life.

"Here, we are trying to bring these senior citizens together so that they are able to build a community of their own among their peers,” Chong said in an interview with Malay Mail.

It also designed for seniors who are looking to downsize but yet would still like to live on a landed property, as the retirement village provides lifetime leases on its units that come in villa concept with prices starting from RM310,000 for the lease deposit.

There are monthly charges, which include maintenance fees and a sinking fund that starts at RM368, which varies between different size units.

Similarly, Care Concierge offers assisted living residences in Klang Valley and Penang with monthly packages starting from RM4,800 for private rooms and RM3,000 for shared rooms; The Manson Ritchie charges RM6,000 per month for private rooms; while Woodrose Residences packages for independent living starts at RM3,800 per month and its assisted living for RM4,500 per month.