rest homes are in "a deplorable state'', reporter Kim Dismont Robinson and photographer Arthur Bean toured Pembroke Rest Home to see just how bad the conditions for the elderly residents are. This is what they found.

Few dispute the idea that after a lifetime of service, Bermuda's elderly population deserve to be well-cared for.

And there have been calls from both the public and private sectors for a revamping and refurbishing of local rest homes.

The new Progressive Labour Party Government made it clear in its election platform and the Throne Speech that Bermuda's seniors can expect to have many of their needs addressed.

And Health and Social Services Minister Nelson Bascome has named a revamped elder care system as one of his top three priorities.

The Royal Gazette took a tour and spoke with the matron of the Pembroke Rest Home -- generally considered a facility in need of renovations -- to find out what needed to be done to make seniors' lives happier and more comfortable.

Matron Julia Dears and her husband Ronald, who is a superintendent and handyman, were hired 19 years ago as a live-in couple for the facility which currently houses 20 residents.

Mrs. Dears, a registered nurse, said that in the course of her tenure at the rest home the elderly are living much longer.

As a result, they require more care than in previous years and the facility has not expanded to take these additional needs into consideration.

"For the elderly, their needs increase the longer they live and you don't want to take away their dignity,'' said Mrs. Dears. "Several years ago, I had about 12 women here and only two needed additional care. Now, out of 12 residents, ten need care so that's how it's changed.

"(The rest homes) will have to become equipped and adapt to meet these increased needs,'' she added.

Mrs. Dears showed the reporter her office, which was outfitted with homemade cabinets built by her husband, donated guest house furniture and an antiquated word processor.

"We need better office equipment -- if someone has to go to the hospital, we should be able to retrieve all the information and send a copy instead of having to type it in,'' she said. "It's so time consuming, and we need a better way of keeping records.

"Rest homes have evolved without much thought, but it's time to sit down and have a brain-storming session.

"No two rest homes in this Island are run alike -- the legislation has never been tabled, so all operate differently,'' she added.

"I don't believe in reinventing the wheel, we've got to use our resources wisely to provide safe care for the elderly.'' The Pembroke Rest Home itself is a very old building -- originally built in 1791 as a rectory for the Anglican Church.

From 1850 to 1950 it was the "Poor House'', providing care for the indigent, before being refurbished in 1953.

Few structural changes have been made since then, and Mrs. Dears said there was much that could be done to improve the facility.

"The wood floors should be concreted,'' she said. "There is a problem with vermin and mice because the floors are so old.'' Mrs. Dears said the home needed hospital beds or beds that wind up to elevate the resident to help with breathing problems and are fitted with side rails to keep patients safe.

"Bit by bit, we've gotten people to donate beds but they're still old relics,'' she said.

She led the reporter through a narrow hall to where a ladder was positioned below an open roof access of a hatch where Mrs. Dears explained that her husband was doing electrical repairs.

"The wiring has been here since 1952 and two years ago we had a small fire -- but there are no funds,'' she said. "And the halls are too narrow for when an ambulance stretcher needs to get through the door.'' The narrow halls and wooden stairs also made the rest home more difficult for any residents in a wheelchair.

None of the facilities -- including toilets and bathtubs -- were suited for wheelchair-bound patients.

Mrs. Dears demonstrated how the patients must be lifted from the low tubs in a way that is safe for the employee and the resident.

"Westmeath has the ideal tubs, but they're very expensive,'' she said. "I taught my staff body mechanics to take care of the elderly...we try to maintain our staff.

"Since we are a rest home, we focus not only on the residents, but on the employees as well.

"(Older employees) work mainly for economic reasons because a few don't have sufficient pensions, and we believe if they're healthy, they should be allowed to work.

"The rooms should be more purpose-built and personalised and the porch rails are rotted and unsafe -- but there are just not the funds to do it,'' she said.

Employee Linda Bennett, who has worked for the home for 30 years, and Elise Viera, who has been an employee for 25 years, both agreed that the rest home needed more staff to enable them to meet more than the patients' basic needs.

"We're so busy caring for their physical needs that we don't have time to attend to their emotional needs,'' said Mrs. Dears.

"We used to go on picnics -- they need movement to keep their bodies supple and we need an activities person to stimulate them.

"We have 19 staff members -- ideally, we need four more. We have the challenge of having something old and making it new.

"People say you come to a rest home to die, but we think you come to a rest home to live,'' she added with a smile.

HOME IMPROVEMENT -- Superintendent Ronald Dears repairs Pembroke Rest Home's old wiring.

THINGS FALL APART -- Pembroke Rest Home Matron Julia Dears is pictured holding the rusted and detached door to the staff room's refrigerator.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME -- Pembroke Rest Home resident John Calvin Butterfield is seated on the narrow bed of a room he shares with another patient.