Elderly home to start works on extension in coming days

Casa Arkati, the first private home for the elderly which at present is residence to 120 elderly persons, will soon be able to take up to 180 residents following an extension project which will be commencing in the coming days, Caremalta chairman Nazzareno Vassallo announced at an event commemorating the home's 20^th anniversary.

In June 1993, Casa Arkati, the first purposely-built private home for the elderly, welcomed its first three residents with a starting workforce of six employees.

Casa Arkati is today the place of work of 110 employees, mostly female.

Addressing an audience of over 400 guests, Vassallo gave an overview of the home's evolution and how in a span of 20 years Caremalta had consolidated its position as the leading private care provider for older persons in Malta, operating eight facilities - Villa Messina, Roseville, Zejtun Home, Bormla Home, Dar ill-Madonna tal-Mellieha, Zammit Clapp Hospital Residential Home and Prince of Wales.

Caremalta CEO Natalie Briffa Farrugia said that 67% of Casa Arkati residents were female at an average age of 75 for males and 82 for females. 66% of residents hailed from the central part of the Island, mostly from Sliema and St Julian's, 29% from the northern part, and 5% from the south.

Minister for Family Affairs and Social Solidarity, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, who was present for the event, stressed that her government was actively working to develop the concept of active ageing in Malta.

"Elderly persons deserve to live an active life since old age should not merely be considered as the last part of one's life but as part of a process in the person's development."

Minister Coleiro Preca praised the service Casa Arkati has been providing for the past 20 years and reiterated her government's intention to work hand-in-hand with the private sector in the provision of a quality service to the elderly.

During the celebration three employees from the home, Carmen Debono, Euphemia Muscat and Dorothy Iguanez were honoured for being the longest-serving employees with 20 years, since the opening of the home.