Koukkuniemi retirement home

Koukkuniemi retirement home (Koukkuniemen vanhainkoti) is a municipal care facility located in the Lapinniemi district of Tampere, Finland, on the shore of Lake Näsijärvi. It is described as the largest retirement home in the Nordic countries. The facility operates 35 wards, four of which are dementia wards, with each ward housing between 15 and 43 residents. It provides short-term and long-term care as well as day-centre activities for elderly residents of Tampere. There are 997 resident places in the care and nursing wards, and the staff numbers 436. The institution was built with funds from a testament left by wholesale merchant Gustaf Fredrik Ahlgren, who bequeathed 150,000 marks for the purpose. Construction took one year, and the inauguration was held on 1 November 1886. When completed, Koukkuniemi comprised a main building, a hospital building, an economic building (office, kitchen and dining hall) and an outbuilding (storehouse, stable, cowshed and sauna). Originally it functioned as a poorhouse (vaivaistalo) housing children, adults and elderly people in need of guardianship. A children's home was built in 1893, a mental hospital in 1902 and a work institution in 1906. In May 2010, the City of Tampere announced a broad plan to develop the retirement home through basic repairs and new construction. The intention was to turn Koukkuniemi into a complete "city of the elderly" by 2020, housing 1,200 elderly residents. Construction was planned to proceed according to the city's financial capacity, with total costs estimated at approximately one hundred million euros. In 2006, nurse Laila Koskela filed a complaint about insufficient staffing, as a result of which Koukkuniemi retirement home received a reprimand from the Western Finland Provincial Government on 30 March 2006. The retirement home was obliged to establish 103 new nurse positions by 1 February 2007 and thereby raise the level of care to satisfactory in accordance with quality recommendations issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. Stakes published a report on the situation at the retirement home in 2008. With the increase in nurses, the use of psychotropic drugs and sleeping pills at the retirement home was halved. The buildings of the facility include Sairaala, Koivula, Toukola, Havula, Lehtelä, Iltala, Urpula, Jukola, Impivaara, Varpula, Männistö, the administration building and the restaurant centre.

Koukkuniemi retirement home was built on the shore of Lake Näsijärvi with funds from the testament of wholesale merchant Gustaf Fredrik Ahlgren, who left 150,000 marks for the purpose. Construction took one year, and the inauguration was held on 1 November 1886. When completed, Koukkuniemi comprised a main building, a hospital building, an economic building (office, kitchen and dining hall) and an outbuilding (storehouse, stable, cowshed and sauna). Originally Koukkuniemi functioned as a poorhouse (vaivaistalo), where the residents were children, adults and elderly people in need of guardianship. A children's home was built in 1893, a mental hospital in 1902 and a work institution in 1906. In 2006, nurse Laila Koskela filed a complaint about insufficient staffing, as a result of which Koukkuniemi retirement home received a reprimand from the Western Finland Provincial Government on 30 March 2006. The retirement home was obliged to establish 103 new nurse positions by 1 February 2007 and thereby raise the level of care to satisfactory in accordance with quality recommendations issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. Stakes published a report on the situation at the retirement home in 2008. With the increase in nurses, the use of psychotropic drugs and sleeping pills at the retirement home was halved. In May 2010, the City of Tampere announced a broad plan to develop the retirement home through basic repairs and new construction. The intention was to turn Koukkuniemi into a complete "city of the elderly" by 2020, housing 1,200 elderly residents. Construction was planned to proceed according to the city's financial capacity, with total costs estimated at approximately one hundred million euros. The facility operates 35 wards, four of which are dementia wards, with each ward housing between 15 and 43 residents. It provides short-term and long-term care as well as day-centre activities for elderly residents of Tampere. There are 997 resident places in the care and nursing wards, and the staff numbers 436. The buildings include Sairaala, Koivula, Toukola, Havula, Lehtelä, Iltala, Urpula, Jukola, Impivaara, Varpula, Männistö, the administration building and the restaurant centre.

• 2010

  In May, the City of Tampere announced a broad development plan to turn Koukkuniemi into a "city of the elderly" by 2020.

• 2008

  Stakes published a report on the situation at the retirement home.

• 2007

  Koukkuniemi was obliged to establish 103 new nurse positions by 1 February.

• 2006

  Nurse Laila Koskela filed a complaint about insufficient staffing; Koukkuniemi received a reprimand from the Western Finland Provincial Government on 30 March.

• 1906

  A work institution was built at Koukkuniemi.

• 1902

  A mental hospital was built at Koukkuniemi.

• 1893

  A children's home was built at Koukkuniemi.

• 1886

  Koukkuniemi retirement home inaugurated on 1 November, built with funds from Gustaf Fredrik Ahlgren's testament.

The largest retirement home in the Nordic countries, municipally owned and operated by the City of Tampere.

• Short-term care

• Long-term care

• Dementia care

• Day-centre activities

1. 1Koukkuniemi retirement homewikidata.org
2. 2Koukkuniemen vanhainkotifi.wikipedia.org