A buffet celebration to mark the end of a three-year building programme at Grest Care Home, Lezayre, saw the unveiling of a commemorative plaque by Treasury Minister Eddie Teare.
The completion of the project means that residents and visitors can now relax in a delightful new sun room with views to the northern hills, and gain easier entry to the building thanks to a new entrance porch with wheelchair access.
Offering residential care for up to 16 residents, the facility is administered by the Grest Trust, one of the oldest Manx-registered charities, whose current trustees are Dr Andrew Kelsey (chairman), William Christian CP and former director of education, John Cain, with hon. secretary John Strickett. The manager is Mrs Linda Bowker-Howe.
The celebration on May 6 gave the trustees an opportunity to acknowledge the generosity of three main donors whose combined gifts of £135,000 enabled the work to be carried out. Dr Kelsey expressed special thanks to the donors - the former directors of the now closed Park Crest Home, trustees of the Eric and Marion Scott Trust and the trustees of the Gough Ritchie Trust.
He then introduced the treasury minister who began with a reminder of the origins of Grest Home, which dates back to the 1880s when two sisters, Margaret and Esther Clucas, responding to the needs of the poor and elderly of the rural north, donated the land on which it now stands. The services the home provided have steadily adapted as social and medical changes evolve, but the focus on providing the best possible care for the elderly remains central to the home’s philosophy.
‘Life has changed enormously since those early times and each generation of trustees has responded to the changing needs of society by adapting and improving the home,’ he said.
‘I am impressed by the major improvements which you and your colleagues have made in recent times. It seems a happy environment with well motivated and committed staff which is a tribute to the manager and the team’.