Catholic Healthcare’s Croydon retirement village, The Brighton, has commenced the first installment of their Walking with Confidence program, with the goal to increase the strength, balance and mobility of village residents.

The initiative is part of an eight-week falls prevention program that was originally designed for individuals in their home environment, tailored to people who experienced anxiety around falling, or those seeking rehabilitation from a recent accident.

Developers of Catholic Healthcare’s Health and Wellness Unit saw an opportunity within The Brighton to adapt the program to cater to a larger group - allowing group encouragement and overall positive energy for resident participants.

Gary Kassab, Health and Wellness Coordinator and program instructor, makes a weekly visit to The Brighton, working with 13 residents over 55 years old to improve their health, as well as assisting in identifying hazards and implementing tailored strategies to avoid a fall.

“Working with an individual is great,” says Gary, “But as a group, they just respond really well to the program. You can see them laughing and encouraging one another – it’s a brilliant team effort.”

“The clients are already showing a significant response to the exercises, from their weekly involvement in the group sessions to their confidence in assessing their own strengths and weaknesses.”

The group program is showing an increased level of confidence even in early beginnings. The Health and Wellness research in the restorative programs run by the operator has shown that 90% of those involved have shown improvement in level of functioning and mobility, with the majority of all clients achieving at least one of their set occupational therapy goals.