Choosing residential aged care for yourself or a loved one is a significant decision, yet many families find that the reality doesn’t always match their expectations. The glossy brochures and sales pitches often leave out crucial details that can impact quality of life, emotional well-being, and overall care standards.

As we age, one of the biggest decisions we—or our families—face is whether to age in place at home or move into residential aged care. Both options have their pros and cons, and the choice often comes down to balancing independence, care needs, safety, and quality of life.

As we age, our living environment plays a crucial role in our overall well-being. Traditional residential aged care facilities have long been the norm, but they often come with institutional settings, rigid routines, and a lack of personal connection.

Food is more than just nutrition—it’s about comfort, culture, and connection. For elders in aged care, meals play a vital role in health, happiness, and overall well-being. Unfortunately, in many traditional aged care facilities, meal planning prioritises cost efficiency over quality, freshness, and personalisation.

As we strive to build a more inclusive and compassionate society, it is essential to shed light on topics such as habilitation and dementia. By promoting understanding and implementing effective strategies, we can enhance the well-being and quality of life for those affected by this condition.

At Honey Bee Homes, we offer a premium, small home-style aged care alternative, focused on high-quality, personalised care in a real home environment. Unlike traditional residential aged care facilities that rely heavily on government subsidies, our private model provides a different level of care, independence, and dignity.

Being physically active helps you maintain healthy bones and stay on your feet. It can be difficult to come to terms with your body changing with age, but remember that exercise is not only for the young. Research shows we can substantially reduce our risk of a fall by doing moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week and by incorporating balance and leg strength exercises in our daily routine.

There are many reasons why people lose confidence as they age. Retirement can lead to feelings of loss-of-purpose. Deteriorating health can affect our faith in our physical and cognitive capabilities. Losing friends and family as they move on or move away, can cause deep loneliness and a sense of feeling less supported. All of these can have a detrimental effect on our social and emotional confidence. 

We were so thrilled to sponsor the screening of a wonderful film—The Mole Agent—at the 2021 Bangalow Film Festival. And we’re even more thrilled this week to learn that this gorgeous tale from Chile has nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. The film is wonderfully conceived, moving, funny, tender and timely, but does take an earnest look ageing. It follows the travails of 83-year-old Sergio who is recruited by a private investigator. Armed with a smart phone, a camera-pen, and camera-equipped thick-rimmed glasses, his mission is to make sure that a client’s mother—a resident at an aged care facility—is not being abused or having her things stolen.

When you think of food in an aged care facility, what comes to mind? Nondescript slop? Something boiled and processed and pureed within an inch of its life? We are passionate about sourcing, preparing and serving real food at Honey Bee Homes. We’re lucky—our regional location and boutique model of small, share care homes means we’re not under any pressure to mass produce and prepare, well, anything. In fact, we grow many of our own veggies, get eggs from our funny chooks, and have our own bees for honey and pollinating our gardens.

Staying socially connected is the most efficient way to build and grow your brain as these human connections activate all parts of the brain. For instance, when you engage in a deep, meaningful conversation you are pushing the frontal lobe to grow because it has to think and process the information and interpret it.

In Okinawa, they say that anybody who grows old healthfully needs an ikigai.  Gardening can give you that something to get up for every day.

Loneliness is a sign that we need to form more meaningful connections with others, and as we age, it’s not uncommon for relationships to decline due to the loss of loved ones to advancing age or illness. A recent investigation into loneliness, The Australian loneliness Report, reveals that 1 in 4 Australians feel lonely three or more days a week, and nearly 55 per cent of the population feel that they lack companionship sometimes.

It all begins with an idea.

Two local aged care professionals are taking an entrepreneurial leap and redefining aged care in the Norther Rivers with their business, Honey Bee Homes.