Sometimes, support from family, friends, and neighbours may not be available or cease to be enough at some point. We all need some help now and then, especially when living at your home is no longer possible. It is important for older persons, family members, and all interested parties to have information about the possible alternatives that exist in Malaysia.
A residential aged care facility provides board and lodging with long-term care services that an elderly needs to maintain their health and wellbeing. These may include simple shelters, shared or congregate housing, elder hostels, old folks’ homes, care centres, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, homes with specialized services, retirement villages, and other multi-facility or continuing care facilities. Non-residential aged care services could be centre based (day care facilities) or home-based (home help, mobile nursing, care at home). Nowadays, you can get a gamut of services including grocery shopper, medical escort, and job / employment agencies.
It is difficult to compile a directory that is timely and accurate. This directory describes, in English (for starters), basic information of a residential or non-residential aged care facility based on our past studies and research on the subject. It is at best a work in progress, and we hope to translate our findings into useful applications, hence MDAC.
In this digital age, we witness a multitude of technological advancements that are being curated and developed to improve service delivery transparency and efficiency. The information is provided at no cost to the public, but there is a member-only area for users who would like to provide feedback or claim a page. This directory is supported with a platform for organizations to register or update their contact information. This is one major advantage of online directories over the print form.
The increasing importance of information has begun the process of interrelated changes of the whole society in today’s world. It is important to be ready to disruptions and to have critical information for planning, emergency response, and crisis situations. We cannot do it alone and we need everyone’s help to build, update and maintain this directory.
On behalf of the Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing, Universiti Putra Malaysia, I hope this initial effort will grow into something useful and permanent for the aged care industry. We could not have gotten this far without the support of our friends and colleagues, and we hope to grow the network in the coming years.
“With knowledge we serve”
Partners and Collaborators
Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing, UPM
Association for Residential Aged Care Operators of Malaysia
Family Health Development Division, Ministry of Health
Older Person Division, Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development