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Lockdown in a retirement village – what new residents and managers say about their recent experience

Written for the RVA by Janet Brown, Head and Heart Ltd

What is living in a retirement village really like? We asked new residents who have experienced lockdown both in and out of a retirement village – What is it really like?

“Being in lockdown at Parkwood isn’t like being in lockdown at all.” Graham McLauchlan says, leaning back in his outdoor chair and soaking up the sunshine. “We’ve got 68 acres to walk around, and that takes quite a while. And there’s the psychological effect of everything being open, the houses aren’t isolated behind fences, so people wave from their windows when you’re out walking. Here we know people spread throughout the village, when in our old community we only knew our immediate neighbours.”

Graham and Kathy are relatively new to retirement village living, having moved into Parkwood Retirement Village in Waikanae between the 2020 level 4 lockdown and the 2021 one. They’d been on the waiting list for several years. Kathy says, “I’ve preferred being here during lockdown than in the community. Even in lockdown we could walk around and talk to everybody. The village organised our grocery shopping twice a week, and that worked really well. Looking out your window you could see your neighbours, and people out walking. It made you feel connected.” Graham adds, “It’s almost like a commune, everyone looks out for each other.”

Further south in the Hutt Valley, Lynn and Roger Newman also moved into their retirement village, Ryman Healthcare’s Shona Macfarlane, between lockdowns. Like Graham and Kathy, they had coped well in the 2020 lockdown - Lynn says with a laugh, “We’re a couple that doesn’t mind being on their own” - however they noticed the differences with lockdown in a village context. “We were very well looked after: milk, bread and biscuits delivered once a week, and a happy hour delivery of beer or wine, soda, chippies or chocolate on Thursday. Because our community centre and café are under development at present, we also got a morning tea bag three days a week. The village emailed us newsletters, sudoku, crosswords and colouring pages. There was always something to look forward to.”

The Newmans particularly appreciated the Zoom sessions organised by Ryman Healthcare: cooking with Simon Gault, Seniornet tutorials, and experts sharing tips about wellbeing. Like Kathy and Graham, they enjoyed walking round the village and catching up with friends at a distance. For two family birthdays that fell during lockdown, birthday cakes and presents were exchanged at the gate through the staff on duty there.

As it happened, four residents in the village died in the first week of level 4 lockdown, one independent living resident and three in care. Residents found it difficult being unable to visit and offer support, so the village distributed heart-shaped printouts for residents to put up in their windows to show their sympathy. Templates were also given to residents so they could write messages of gratitude to the staff for their continuing efforts to keep everyone safe and happy. Roger comments, “I haven’t heard anyone complain. The DomPost was even delivered every day by the gardeners. The whole place was very well organised.”

Over the Wainuiomata Hill, twenty-nine foundation residents sat out lockdown in the new Wainuiomata Masonic Village currently under development. While new to retirement village living, they were all long-term Wainuiomata residents with strong community connections, and some knew each other well before moving in. Hazel Collow explains, “Because we’re all from Wainuiomata, we knew each other, even if only by sight, so settling in and getting through lockdown wasn’t hard.”

Joke Van Duin remembers, “I did find the first lockdown hard at times. I like my own company but in my old house I did feel isolated. Here, if I want company, I just walk out the door.” Joke noticed one key difference: “In the village during lockdown it was great being able to get crucial maintenance done, for security and safety.” Dot Forde agrees: “I’m never stuck for something to do, and the phone keeps you in touch. In the village I felt safe – you could see people waving as they went past.”

Diana Riley moved in just before lockdown; she says “In the first lockdown, the lack of human contact made me quite tearful, I really missed the grandchildren. I kept safe, but it was at a high price. I already had my name down for the village, but that experience confirmed it.” Fae Christie remembers how pleased she was when the construction team returned to work: “I quite like watching the construction going on – it was good at level 3 when the building crew came back, watching the work was a real distraction.”

The village allows small pets, and already there are a number of resident cats and dogs, which added to the sense of community during lockdown. Ian Swift’s cat Muffin is one of these, and kept him company through lockdown. Ian, another long-term Wainuiomata resident, was part of the group lobbying for the establishment of a local retirement village. He moved in during January as one of the first residents, and values the sense of community within the village, which mirrors the wider Wainuiomata community spirit. Currently less mobile following a broken hip, Ian particularly appreciates his neighbour Hazel bringing him his morning paper each day.

Village Manager Esther King worked mainly from home during level 4, but maintained close contact with residents by phone, text and email, as well as a weekly newsletter and checking safely from the boundary. Because the lockdown took effect only hours after the announcement, she texted residents immediately to reassure them and let them know what would happen. Esther says the regular check-in phone calls really helped to keep connected and be aware of anything residents needed. At level 3 she was consistently on site, and provided a QR code sign for each villa, which has proved useful for contractors as well as visitors.

Stephen Lyons had been Village Manager at Parkwood for only two months when the country went into lockdown. It was a real contrast with his experience of the 2020 lockdown, when he was leading a team remotely, with many of his staff based in Australia. He remembers that the focus then was primarily on systems and processes, whereas in his new role it was on people and how best to support residents. His staff were quick to respond, instituting twice-weekly shopping for residents, and checking in with residents regularly. Stephen was impressed with how residents also looked out for and after each other. The Village Care Team, nurses on site weekdays and on call 24/7, also provided reassurance and advice for residents.

Stephen observes wryly, “The biggest challenge isn’t going into lockdown, it’s coming out of it.” He’s noticed some trepidation among residents, and increased uncertainty about Covid 19, especially the Delta strain. He’s addressing that by restricting access to the village community facilities to residents and staff, and is currently focused on how to best protect residents whilst maintaining social activities for them – with a dedicated staff member taking care of arrangements, trips away, the theatre and dining out are still possible. He was touched at his residents’ concern for how he was coping with lockdown while so new in the job: “Residents said to me, ‘You’ve come at a difficult time.’ But it’s even more difficult for residents, and they all made it easier for me. That’s what the village is all about – making it easier and better for everyone.”