Bishopscourt nurse manager Sarah Wilson told the Otago Daily Times yesterday there had been a noticeable increase in inquiries seeking the end-of-life care in the past three months.
``Residents in the village come to regard their room as their home and are able to die in their home.
``This suite caters for those people who come for five days, two weeks or two months and their family want to be part of the process.''
The suite had a larger bed for the resident, to allow some intimate time with family members and there was also a roll-out couch which turned into a bed, she said.
Bishopscourt often found it was providing support for the family as well, feeding them and helping them through the grieving process.
Chief executive of the listed retirement care group, Julian Cook, was in Dunedin inspecting the facility and said it was the second end-of-life suite to be introduced at a Summerset facility.
It was part of the group's philosophy to meet the needs of those people living in a Summerset village but also those wanting support from outside the villages.
Rather than dying alone, people had the option to be surrounded by their family.
Summerset had opened a dementia unit in Levin and a dementia unit would be added to all new villages.
``If we see a need, we try meet it to make life so much better for our residents.''
Ms Wilson said Bishopscourt had 42 care units and 20 specialist care beds.
The village could accommodate family members in all the units with specially-designed comfort stretchers.
