St Luke's ElderCare counts on tie-ups to transform care for seniors

A new senior care centre to be built in Temasek Polytechnic in 2026 will give students the experience of what community care is like, through hands-on training, internships and learning journeys.

- Chin Soo Fang Senior Correspondent

They will also contribute to the centre's programmes, which may include technology-enabled cognitive games and virtual reality experiences.

The centre, a collaboration between St Luke's ElderCare (SLEC) and TP, is the first within an academic institution and reflects the emphasis that SLEC chief executive officer Kenny Tan places on partnership as he works to bring his vision of eldercare to life.

Dr Tan, 51, who joined the eldercare sector over 15 years ago, believes the future of eldercare should involve the whole society, and that partnerships can amplify impact.

Since he became SLEC's CEO in 2016, he has overseen several new partnerships with different community partners to offer their services together. This creates seamless care for seniors, who can access multiple services all in one place, he said.

SLEC has expanded from 12 centres in 2015 to 30 senior care, day rehabilitation and active ageing centres in 2025, as well as two nursing homes. The elders it serves grew from 220 in 1999 to 22,000 in 2025, and is projected to increase to 45,000 by 2030.

For his work in advancing community care in Singapore, Dr Tan is the first recipient of the inaugural Platinum Leadership Award, which he will receive at the Community Care Manpower Development and Excellence Awards ceremony organised by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) on Sept 24.

Speaking at an exclusive interview with The Straits Times at SLEC's Active Ageing Centre (Care) at Northshore on Sept 12, Dr Tan said: "We hope to be that catalyst, an aggregator... for willing partners to come together. We look at what assets are on the ground as we don't believe in needing to recreate things. We see how we can collaborate and synergise."