AWO senior citizens' centre in Penzberg: A day care centre is being built in the main building, which is currently being renovated. © Wolfgang Schörner
It is still up in the air whether further rooms will actually be converted for "assisted living" in the AWO senior citizens' centre in Penzberg. There could be twelve such apartments in the main building. What is certain, however, is that a day care center is being built in the main building, which is currently being renovated. It is scheduled to open this year.
Penzberg – Following the completion of the new building, the renovation of the main building at the AWO senior citizens' centre in Penzberg is currently underway. At the request of the city, among other things, a day care center is to be built there, in which seniors will be cared for during the day and which can be booked for one or more days. According to the current status, there will be twelve instead of the previously planned ten places. "We've already come a long way," says Hans Kopp, managing director of AWO München Stadt, which operates the senior citizens' center on Gartenstraße. In September, he hopes, the day care could be opened, if a director is found by then.
There are already ten apartments for "assisted living" in the new building
On the other hand, it is still up in the air whether additional apartments for "assisted living" will be built in the main building – there are ten such apartments in the new building. At the end of 2022, Kopp had raised this possibility with the Heimatzeitung. Since there is a shortage of nurses and therefore some of the nursing rooms cannot be occupied, the idea was to convert some rooms in the main building for "assisted living" as an alternative.
More "Assisted living" - consideration for a further twelve or so apartments
This consideration still exists, as the managing director confirms when asked. After completion of the day care, around twelve smaller apartments for "assisted living" could be built on the upper floor of the main building, while the care rooms on the first and second floors could remain. However, this is not certain. Kopp speaks of an option. He could imagine this in principle, but he did not want to commit himself yet. According to him, the reason is that there is growing hope of getting more nurses, which are a prerequisite for being allowed to occupy nursing places. Some new nurses from countries such as Tunisia, Albania and Bosnia will finish their recognition exams this August, he says.
Shortage of nurses is a nationwide problem
The shortage of nurses is a nationwide problem. Too few people do this training, while others are poached by hospitals that have a better rate. To make matters worse, many nurses are about to retire. The senior centers themselves are required to have a 50 percent quota of skilled workers. If they don't have enough caregivers, they can't take in more people.
This is also the case in Penzberg. According to Kopp, the number of senior citizens in the AWO senior citizens' centre on Gartenstraße has recently risen slightly again. In April, there were 72 residents, there are now to be 86, with actually 130 rooms. With the number of staff, he says, things are progressing bit by bit. In May, there were 48 nursing staff (equivalent to 37 full-time positions).
164 care places - original goal is unrealistic
Originally, it was planned that the Penzberg AWO senior citizens' center would have 164 care places after the completion of the new building and after the renovation of the existing buildings. However, because of the lack of nurses, Managing Director Kopp is skeptical that this scenario with 164 nursing places will become reality. Even 150 care places, he still considers to be too high. Therefore, according to Kopp, an offer of additional "assisted living" is realistic. However, he adds, every effort will continue to be made to get nurses through training and immigration.
