Teresa’s story: “It’s the people that make it special.”

Teresa moved into her apartment at HBH Howick Views three years ago. Her sister, Loretta, was living in our Minerva Care Community at the time so Teresa had been a regular visitor for a while.

She and a friend who was in a similar situation started to do their ‘due diligence’ and visit different retirement villages in the area. Then one day, while she was visiting Loretta, she says, “The penny dropped. I thought, ‘of course, why don’t I come here’!” she recalls. Her friend was also very taken with HBH’s modern, comfortable apartments and decided to move in too.

Teresa was already aware of how important the decision was from her experience of looking for a suitable care facility for her sister after her last stroke. “Loretta had been in Middlemore Hospital, and we were told that she needed to go into full-time care. We looked at lots of different places and settled on another village, but she just wasn’t happy there, and after 6 months she moved to HBH.”

Fortunately, HBH turned out to be the right place for Loretta, and now Teresa. “I knew from my visits that it was a kind and caring place, and now I’ve experienced that for myself,” she enthuses.

Teresa says that she particularly likes that HBH feels comfortable and familiar. “I don’t mean it’s average because it’s well above average, but it is home-like and not trying to be flashy. I feel very comfortable here.” She loves the location as it’s so central to Howick Village and local amenities, but most importantly, she can easily visit Loretta each day and spend more time with her.

Teresa is also a regular at our Relatively Speaking  seminars, a free monthly speaker series providing knowledge and support for residents, caregivers and families. Teresa says it is “an hour well spent” with informative topics and plenty of opportunities to ask questions. “I enjoy meeting the other people and the talks always give me something to think about,” she says. She says that these free sessions are yet another example of HBH’s commitment to holistic care and support.

“HBH is a very friendly, well-run village but it’s the people that make it special. They are kind through and through – both the staff and residents. It is a wonderful community, and we are both very grateful to live here.”