Services that go the extra mile

Can you tell us about the amenities available at Ardency Kennedy Place?

At Ardency Kennedy Place, we offer a range of amenities that greatly enhance our residents' lifestyle and wellbeing. Our dedicated concierge team is available from 8am to 8pm to assist residents with any needs, ensuring a smooth and comfortable move in process and ongoing support.

Our wellness team is committed to promoting overall health by focusing on the six pillars of wellbeing: spiritual, physical, mental/emotional, social, financial and intellectual/cognitive. These pillars guide the programs and seminars tailored specifically for the residents, fostering a strong sense of community and overall happiness.

Additionally, United Physiotherapy, located at our wellness reception, provides individualised physiotherapy consultations and personalised treatment plans. They offer rehabilitation services for post-surgery, illness or injury, as well as small group exercise classes, hydrotherapy and a balance and strength exercise program.

These comprehensive amenities contribute significantly to the vibrant and supportive environment here, promoting a holistic approach to residents' health and happiness.

Tell us about the exceptional services that are on offer? 

At Ardency Kennedy Place, we are proud of our vibrant and active community, with a primary focus on lifestyle and wellbeing. Our entire wellness wing, managed collaboratively by our team and United Physiotherapy, brings a wealth of expertise and personalised care, ensuring they are well-acquainted with residents' needs.

We embrace a holistic approach to wellness, which is deeply appreciated by our community. The most favourite activities among our residents include Pilates, dance, strength classes, meditation, walking groups, the 12-week challenge, Tai Chi and Reiki classes.

In addition to these engaging activities, we also offer innovative services like virtual reality experiences and host health seminars. Our wellness offerings are further enhanced by the presence of a podiatrist, nutritionist, massage therapist and hairdresser, all of whom contribute to the comprehensive care and comfort of the residents.

This extensive range of amenities and activities highlights our commitment to fostering a well-rounded and fulfilling lifestyle for everyone at Ardency Kennedy Place.

How do you personalise wellness and services to residents?

We have a wonderful and close relationship with United Physiotherapy who personalise and tailor wellness to each resident. We have a social group who we meet with to find out what activities residents are interested in attending. Our services are very personalised as we listen and take on board the residents interests. We plan and organise any requests from a resident and we can place this service on their account like a concierge would do in a hotel. In terms of services we have a dry cleaning service, cleaning services, you can book a chauffeur service to the airport, our team helps to organise theatre tickets, flowers and also recommends restaurants and things to do in Melbourne.

We also offer all business centre needs and we do a newspaper, parcel and pharmaceutical delivery each day.

We  plan and organise any requests from a resident and can place this on their account like a concierge would do in a hotel.

How do you gather feedback from the residents?

We have monthly meetings with residents which are like pulse checks which allows us to make sure we are meeting their needs. We communicate anything new we are doing and we make sure to ask if they are enjoying the services.

I like to move at a fast pace and to take on direct feedback and then alter or add to the services and amenities we have. If the residents want a particular dry cleaner then we will arrange to have an agreement with them to drop off and pick up their items. We take this approach to all new lines of enquiry.

What makes Ardency Kennedy Place so unique?

Our most unique area would be our rooftop. With uninterrupted views of the city and styled by Coco Republic, it is the perfect place to unwind for any number of our events, including Happy Hour. With two BBQs and spacious outdoor area, it is a wonderful place to get together with friends or family. We also have a private dining room where you can hire a chef to cook for your event or order in some catering. We also have a café style area to enjoy reading the paper and your coffee in the morning.

We are also fortunate enough to have one of the original pianos from the Wertheim. The original 1908 building was first home to the Wertheim Piano factory. In its day, Wertheim was the piano of choice for a myriad of famous performers, not least Australian operatic soprano Dame Nellie Melba. Accompanied with a pool table, also designed by Coco Republic, it is our most unique space.

Read more about the rich history of Ardency Kennedy Place. 

How do you promote community engagement and address resident concerns?

The residents are very tech savvy and have chosen for us to communicate with them via group texts, email blasts and also a physical ‘What’s Happening’ to place on their fridge each week that highlights all events. We are also waiting on the Ardency App which will enable the residents to book any of our activities from their phone.

We take onboard all suggestions and then we may float the idea through the residents as our monthly forums or just implement them straight away.

How do you collaborate with your team and other service providers?

We make sure it is a priority to establish and maintain good relationships with all our suppliers. We make sure that we take them on a tour to understand the product and the needs of the residents and our expectations to deliver high standards. We then trust that they will come on each journey with us to deliver these expectations.

To mention United Physiotherapy again, who manage some of our wellness spaces and activities. We work with them like they are our own staff and part of our Ardency family. They dine with us in the back office and we always openly discuss what the residents need and want. They know us well, our product and the residents which enables them to offer a seamless product.

What are the most popular amenities and services and are there any other additional services planned in the future?

The residents often inform management and the concierge about their love of the wellness centre and activities. They feel that they can get all these services in the one place which is also their home. With access to the pool, gym, hydrotherapy, physio, Pilates, yoga, podiatrist, massage, meditation, Tai Chi and a hairdresser and not to forget Sylv’s café. Residents also comment to me a lot about the friendliness of the staff and how this makes a difference in their daily life.

We already have many suggestions that have been made to us since moving in. We had one resident interested in dance, so we now have dance lessons each week. We had other residents interested in a Reiki class we put on for the day as an expression. They enjoyed it so much, the Reiki teacher will now stay on and offer her services from one of the consultation suites. We had recommendations for documentaries instead of movies, so we downloaded the SBS App, to play anything of their choice in the theatre. We are constantly acting on their interests to keep adding to the services we have.

We are constantly acting on their interests to keep adding to the services we have.

What is your special approach to supporting residents? Can you state some examples?

We all operate on a mantra of going the extra mile and going out of our way for residents. I have always been under the belief that it is the small things that make a greater impact. This comes when you love where you work and you really listen to what people are saying. Some of these small things that add up would be watering plants while people are on holidays, putting on the heater the day residents are due to arrive home from being away for a while.

We are also flexible in our style, so if some of the grandparents look after their grandchildren during the school holidays, we remind them that we are happy for them to put on and watch any movie of their choice in the theatre.

There is one particular instance of when a resident had an accident in their car and the bumper bar had come off. We organised to secure that part from the car, drive them down to a local repairer to inspect the damage. Over the next couple of days we liaised with the repair company to organise quotes and make sure the resident was taken care of. In the end out of good faith, the repair company ended up doing the works for free and we still have a good relationship with them to this day. This allowed this resident to focus on their move in as moving house can be a stressful event, so it is important to put the resident at ease.

We are here to help and take pride in assisting in any way possible where we can. We have been really blessed to have built a strong team, we have an amazing new building and have wonderful residents who have built such a good culture at Ardency Kennedy Place.

Learn more about Ardency Kennedy Place.

For more information about the lifestyle and support offered at our retirement villages, call our customer service team on 1800 550 550 or send us an email here.

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