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A Message from your Facility Manager
Dear Twilight Grace Gardens Family,
We hope this message finds you well. We have some important updates and exciting new developments at Twilight Grace Gardens.
On behalf of Grace Gardens we would like to welcome our new CEO, Niamh (pronounced 'Neeve') Mannion.
Her experience with delivering services that support people to have a better quality of life and her personal values that people need to have dignity, choice and control in their lives aligns wonderfully with our Twilight Family Model of Care.
We look forward to introducing Niamh to our staff, residents and families.
With the colder weather, we are in full 'Flu and Covid season. Thank you to those who have given their consent for their loved ones to receive this year's vaccinations.
In the 'Care and Services' section below, you can find more information about the vaccinations we recommend,and how to access them.
The New Aged Care Act has been deferred until November 1st, to allow more time for providers to ensure that their systems are well prepared for the changes. One change being implemented for Twilight is the introduction of our Quality Lifestyle Fee ( also known as HELF) for new residents only from July 1. This fee will allow us to continue to offer the rich and diverse lifestyle opportunities our residents deserve and enjoy. You can read the HELF fact sheet here.
Resident Relative Meetings
We hold Resident Relative Meetings on the last Monday of each month. These meetings are a great opportunity to discuss any concerns or suggestions. Please check the schedule at the home for the meeting time, as it may vary slightly each month.
Your feedback is important and always welcomed to enable us to improve our services and the quality of life for our residents. In this newsletter ( article below) we share the details of our improved and streamlined process for you to give us your feedback.
We have been renewing the floors in our home over the recent past. Thank you so much to all of you for your patience with this process, which will improve the quality of life for our residents in terms of their environment.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your loved ones.
Warm Regards until next time,
Dee
Dee Banton
Appointment of New Twilight Chief Executive Officer
It is with pleasure that I inform our Twilight Family of the appointment of our new CEO for Twilight Aged Care, Niamh Mannion, who will commence her role on 21st July 2025.
Niamh's previous role has been Executive Director of Vinnies Services, one of the largest social services delivery agencies in NSW, supporting people experiencing disadvantage to have a better quality of life and shaping a more just and compassionate society, as well as part-time board director of Scalabrini Village and The End Street Sleeping Collaboration.
Niamh is a passionate leader with considerable experience of making a difference for community in the private, government and more recently not-for-profit sectors. She brings over 15 years’ experience developing and implementing strategy and leading cultural change, all with a focus on improving people’s lives. Her heart for service and her leadership skills align with Twilight's vision mission and values, and the legacy of our former CEO Neil Wendt for providing exceptional care to our residents with unwavering dedication.
Niamh said she was drawn to the mission of Twilight and our long history of caring for older Australians. She is attracted to sectors with a mission to care for people, which deeply aligns with her personal values.“I am inspired by Twilight’s rich history of responding to the needs of vulnerable people in community and its family model of care, which is special.”
“A focus on people having dignity, choice and control has always been central to my previous roles, and I look forward to building on that at Twilight as we create a home for our residents and families.”
On behalf of the Board and our whole Twilight family, we welcome Niamh's appointment.
We envision that under her leadership she will provide Twilight the means to continue delivering inspirational care and support that creates fulfilled and meaningful lives for our residents and furthering our ability to innovate and improve our responses to the changing needs of the aged care sector.
We would also like to thank James Carter for his support and contribution to Twilight as Acting CEO throughout the recruitment process.
Kind regards
Lorraine Lovitt
On behalf of Twilight Aged Care Board
From Niamh to you...
Dear Twilight Family,
Hello and thank you, for this opportunity to introduce myself to you.
A little about me: I originally hail from the very beautiful west coast of Ireland. I have always loved to travel! I moved to Australia 16 years ago and was fortunate to meet my husband in Sydney, where we live with our two beautiful girls aged 4 and 1.5.
When I am not running around after my little ones and spending quality time as a family, I am someone who enjoys being in nature, spending time with close friends over a delicious meal, and loves a good book recommendation.
I have a passion for people, hearing their stories, connecting and learning from them.
In my first few weeks at Twilight, I’m going to be doing a lot of listening. I want to spend time with you and hear your stories, what you would like me to know about you and about Twilight. I am honoured to join the Twilight extended family and look forward to understanding more how I can support you to live your best lives.
See you very soon,
Niamh.
You're at Home, with Twilight.
Around our Home
Volunteer week
In May, we acknowledged Volunteer Week with a celebration and some tokens of appreciation for our wonderful volunteers. We truly appreciate the time and energy they share with our residents. They are an integral part of our Twilight Family and we couldn't do without them.
Volunteer Story
There are as many reasons for becoming a volunteer as there are people who volunteer, and at Twilight we are so fortunate to have many wonderful individuals who give freely of their time and energy, supporting our residents in living meaningful and fulfilled lives.
We thank our Grace Gardens volunteer Natalie for sharing her deeply personal and inspirational volunteer experience with us.
International Nurses Day
We also celebrated International Nurses Day in May. On Florence Nightingale's birthday, 12 May, we acknowledge our Registered Nurses, who show up every day to lead in the care and support of our residents. We have a bit of fun on this day too!
At Twilight our Family Model of Care is designed to support residents to feel 'at home' where they live, no matter how they choose to spend their time. There's always something wonderful happening at Grace Gardens.
Music, dancing, food, flowers, games, intergenerational connection, creating art, and just spending time with friends are all the threads that weave us together into a community, our Grace Gardens Twilight Family.
Music and Art Therapy Collaboration
Our wonderful Music and Art Therapists are always coming up with new ideas for collaborations, offering different ways for our residents to engage and participate with their creativity . During this Art and Music Therapy collaboration session residents made their own 'worry dolls'. Worry dolls are small trinket-like dolls that a person can express their worries and fears to. They can be a really good way to help people express and externalise fears and anxieties. Worry dolls can be used anytime and can be taken anywhere. For a musical twist, our residents first engaged in lyric analysis at the beginning of the session. Residents looked through a variety of printed lyrics and were invited to select some phrases that resonated with them. These phrases were glued on the base of the doll thus personalising and setting the tone of the doll. Residents shared their selected lyrics and engaged in discussion reflecting on the significance of their chosen phrases. Residents then decorated their dolls, bringing them to life with their own personality.
Celebrations
Diversity and inclusion are always on our agenda, so we have lots of opportunities to acknowledge both the solemn and special cultural days and the fun times together as a Twilight Family. There's something for everyone to enjoy. Congratulations to the RAO/ Lifestyle Team for their creativeness during the Rhinovirus Outbreak we experienced over the Easter and Anzac Day period . Easter Mass and Anzac Day services were conducted under isolation precautions, a HUGE effort from the Team, and much loved and appreciated by our Residents.
Anzac Day
Easter
Twilight News
Your Feedback is Important to us!
We have recently improved our process for accepting “Feedback and Complaints” from our residents, families and staff, making it simpler for you to give us your feedback electronically.
“Your Feedback is Welcome” can now be submitted through a QR code and URL link.
However, if you prefer to continue using the hard copy available at every home, you are also more than welcome to continue that process.
Feedback entered through the QR code or URL, will be submitted directly into Twilights electronic database. You will receive immediate notification when you submit the feedback.
Your feedback is important and welcome; we encourage all feedback to assist us in improving the quality of care to our residents.
Use the QR Code above to leave your compliments, comments, complaints and suggestions.
What's in a name?
"Client, Customer, Consumer,Older Person, Resident". These are all terms that have been used at various times in referring to older people receiving residential and home care in Australia.
Over the past few months, we at Twilight have been consulting with our Twilight Families as to their preferred mode of address.
At Hunters Hill Village, a specific survey was conducted, to allow residents to express their feelings and make their own choices.
We are happy to announce that "RESIDENT" has won the day, right across the board! This is a great result, aligning with Twilight's purpose to create a safe, welcoming and supportive home for each individual.
Let us know what YOU think!
Welcoming New Residents
It's not always easy to transition into a new home, let alone living in a community environment. As part of our Twilight Family Model of Care, our wonderful residents have come together and formed a 'Welcome Committee' within each of our homes.
The committee members are residents who understand how it feels to be in a new place, and are happy to be asked anything to support their fellow Twilight Family members during their 'settling in' process.
Twilight at the Dementia Australia Memory Walk in May
Did you know that 1.5 million carers, family members and friends are involved in the care of someone living with dementia in Australia?
Our Twilight team of Physios, volunteers and staff, along with furry friends did the Sydney Memory Walk & Jog on Sunday 25 May to raise funds for the 421,000 Australians living with dementia. Thank you Tayla, for organising this event, which raised $1.144.00.
The Dining Experience
The Winter Menu is Here!
Our menus are developed on the basis of our residents preferences, likes and dislikes, as well as their needs and requirements with the consultation and support of dieticians and nutritionists. Over the next four week period, this seasonal menu is trialled with residents and all feedback is taken into account. This allows our catering teams to make adjustments to accommodate the choices and preferences of our residents.
Overnight Menu
All homes now have access to meals for those residents who are hungry and would like a hot meal overnight. Staff are being trained to prepare the meals for our residents so that they have 24 hour choice of mealtimes.
Resident Food Committees
We are pleased to report that Resident Food Committees are now up and running in all but one of our homes, with that final committee almost ready to commence regular meetings
These committees support our residents to exercise choice and empower them to partner with us to ensure that they are part of the development of all our menus.
One of the wonderful suggestions from the Glengarry Food Committee was to have a 'curry night'. This developed in a full-scale Sri-Lankan food celebration complete with music, with the input of one of our Sri-Lankan residents. It was a delightful occasion, enjoyed by one and all! A great confirmation that Food Committees are a fantastic addition to our Twilight Family life.
Maggie Beer Foundation Update:
The Maggie Beer Foundation is dedicated to improving the nutrition and flavour of food for older people in aged care. Established in 2014, the foundation believes that access to food full of flavour and nutrients can bring about life-altering change to the well-being of older people.
In our March newsletter we announced the exciting news of our acceptance to be part of the Maggie Beer Foundation Trainer Mentor Program .This program will pair our Glades Bay Gardens kitchen team with a qualified chef trainer to help us refine our catering services and enhance the dining experience for our residents.
What This Means for Our Residents:
Improved meal quality with dishes full of flavour and nutrients.
A focus on continuously meeting and exceeding dining expectations.
A commitment to enhancing the overall quality of life for our residents through
nutritious, enjoyable food.
About the Trainer Mentor Program:
The program is FREE, delivered in the Home, and is tailored to meet our specific needs.
Over the course of 12 months, our kitchen team will:
Receive hands-on training and mentorship from an experienced chef.
Have a review of 3 weeks of our menus by an Accredited Practising Dietitian.
Use feedback from residents, families, and staff through Food Satisfaction
Questionnaires to continuously improve our dining services.
By participating in this program, we aim to:
Build the skills and capabilities of our kitchen team.
Support the health and well-being of our residents.
Set a benchmark for food and dining excellence in aged care.
We are excited to work alongside the Maggie Beer Foundation to bring positive changes to our dining program, creating a warm, welcoming dining experience for everyone at Glades Bay Gardens, as well as accessing the benefits that will flow through all of our homes as a result of our shared learning and development over the course of this program.
Recent meetings have introduced us to our Mentor Trainer, Magda, and allowed the Foundation dietician to thoroughly assess our menu. We will be commencing the in-house part of the program very soon, so keep watching this space for updates.
Until next time
Rahul Manjrekar
Hospitality Manager
Annual Intake for Twilight Resident Advisory Committee
Resident Advisory bodies can give you a way to talk about care and service quality with others and share this with your provider's governing board, providing opportunities for improvement.
This is an annual invitation to participate in the Twilight Aged Care Resident Advisory Committee for 2025/6.
Members are appointed for a period of one year and can renominate for further periods if they choose.
The Committee will consist of residents or their representatives who represent the diversity of backgrounds and services applicable to Twilight Aged Care.
If you are interested in expressing you interest to participate, or want further information, please contact your Facility Manager.
You can also find more information and a dowloadable fact sheet online at https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/older-australians/consumer-advisory-bodies
Your voice matters and we value your input!
Training Updates
Congratulations to Twilight Staff who have completed training which improves our delivery of care to residents.
Congratulations to Mari Reyes and Parbati Thapa for completing the Dementia Australia "Train the Trainer" workshop. This will allow Twilight to educate our staff in better Dementia care for our residents in - house.
Congratulations to our RN's who completed the Foundations of Infection Prevention Control Course run by the Australian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC), in April 2025.
- Nisha Gurung – RN Grace Gardens
- Jomy Joseph -RN Grace Gardens
- Miltha Lama- RN Glengarry
- Nilam Sharma – RN Hunters Hill Village
- Ashish Shrestha – RN Horton House
The overall learning objectives of the course are:
· Comprehensively understand the role of the infection prevention and control practitioner and apply this learning in their setting.
· Understand the application of clinical indicators to their practice and apply this knowledge through audit and surveillance activities.
· Develop and design an infection prevention and control program and a site-specific infection management plan relevant to their setting using a clinical governance framework.
· Understand the rationale for and apply standard and transmission-based precautions in their setting.
· Evaluate, review and develop site-specific tools and strategies to aid compliance with evidence-based infection control practice, policies, and guidelines.
· Critique and apply site-appropriate strategies to support clinician-driven change in organisational behaviour.
· Initiate and communicate effectively within the interdisciplinary team in the management of infection prevention and control.
Congratulations to Finance Officer Rupal Shah for completing all modules in the Parkinson's MOOC offered by The University of Tasmania and the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre.
From Rupal: “ Being a finance person I am in “Direct Care” of numbers but on the personal front I am in “Direct Care” of an elderly family member, which motivated me to join this course. The course gave me awareness about the Parkinson’s condition/symptoms and things you need to know about being a carer. The entire course was well designed, specially for people like me who are from a non-clinical background.
I would like to Thank Fiona and Twilight Aged Care for the opportunity to complete the education. "
Conferences
Our Music Therapist Tamia attended the the inaugural Positive Ageing Summit 2025 in Adelaide during May—Australia’s premier event dedicated to advancing excellence in aged care.
This transformative forum brought together industry leaders, innovators, and aged care professionals to explore strategies and solutions that promote independence, enhance wellbeing, and drive organisational success.
With a focus on reablement, mental health, nutrition, and advancements in business practices, the Summit equipped attendees with evidence-based tools and insights to make a real impact.
Tamia says "Attending the 2025 Positive Aging Summit was an enriching experience that deepened my understanding of holistic approaches to aging through reablement and empowerment. As a Registered Music Therapist, I was particularly inspired by the growing recognition of creative therapies—like music—as essential tools in promoting emotional well-being, cognition, and social connection among older adults.
The summit highlighted innovative research, inclusive practices, and community-driven models that reaffirmed my commitment to person-centered care and the transformative role of music in supporting healthy aging. It is clear there is a growing demand for innovative and holistic approaches to health and well-being within the sector, and I feel proud to be practicing Music Therapy at Twilight. I look forward to utilising the knowledge gained from this event."
NSW Falls Prevention Forum 2025
Our Board Chair Lorraine Lovitt gave her final farewell as Senior Improvement Lead for the Clinical Excellence Commission at the NSW Falls Prevention & Healthy Ageing Network Annual Forum, an opportunity for providers and practitioners to come together and learn about the latest on fall prevention and healthy ageing. Our Twilight teams attended the forum online.
Ageing Australia NSW/ ACT State Conference
Great to see our Twilight Acting HR Manager Madelyn joining this prestigious panel at the Ageing Australia NSW/ACT State conference with leaders in workforce strategy, care delivery and migration to explore what sustainability truly looks like across the aged care workforce.
Care and Services Information Round-Up
Vaccination Season 2025 Updates
Even though we are just coming into winter now , there have been as at week ending 17 May 2025 31,000 cases of Influenza, 29,920 cases of Covid and 27,870 cases of RSV in NSW this year. Australia’s flu season usually follows the pattern in the Northern Hemisphere - Europe and USA had their worst flu season recently, and many people had to be hospitalised.
Our homes have held vaccination clinics for Flu, Covid, RSV and Shingles, but if you have not yet received your vaccinations, please speak with the Facility Manager or Clinical Manager to arrange.
Our residents are recommended to have vaccinations as below:
These are free once they turn a certain age (or have certain health conditions). Vaccines can be given by their family doctor or a community pharmacist.
Our residents are also recommended to have the vaccines below. They have to pay for these vaccines. They can also get these vaccines from their family doctor or a community pharmacist.
All these vaccines can be given on the same day. We recommend a maximum of two vaccines on the same day so residents don’t get too many side effects
Measles outbreaks in Australia
There have been 21 cases of measles in NSW since the start of this year, more than the total for last year. Although most were infected while overseas (especially Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan), some cases caught their infection in NSW. There is also an ongoing measles outbreak in Melbourne.
Measles is very infectious. People who get the infection are often very unwell with fever, rash and cough, and can get serious complications such as a chest infection and inflammation of the brain. The best way to protect against measles is to get 2 doses of the measles vaccine. If you do not know whether you have received 2 doses of the measles vaccine, it is safe to get another one. The measles vaccine is recommended for adults born after 1965 Measles outbreaks in Australia
Ref: NSW Respiratory Surveillance Report – week ending 17 May 2025
Public Health update for Residential Aged care home Newsletter 5 May 2025
New Rights-Based Aged Care Act
New Aged Care Act to start from 1 November
The Australian Government has announced that the start date of the new Aged Care Act 2024 will be briefly deferred.
The deferral will allow aged care providers to better prepare clients, support workers, and ensure their systems are ready for the changes.
It will mean providers and workers will have more time to talk to older people about how aged care is changing to make sure:
- the rights of older people are protected
decision-making support is their choice
care assessment is easier
aged care service information is transparent
what older people should expect from providers and workers is clear
Meditrax News
Downloadable information booklet on Aged Care in Australia
2025 has seen many changes come into play within the aged care sector. This new information booklet gives an overview of everything from looking for aged care support and advocacy to the current government reforms.
Strengthened Aged Care Standards
Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect in aged care.
The Aged Care Quality Standards define what good care looks like in Australia. They apply to all aged care services that receive funding from the Australian Government.
The Aged Care Quality Standards are being strengthened as part of the proposed new Aged Care Act and regulatory model.
to find out more about the Aged Care Standards, you can visit
https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/providers/quality-standards
Are you following Twilight on social media?
Make sure you follow us on social media to stay connected with your Twilight family.
"You're at home, with Twilight."
Twilight Aged Care
Grace Gardens
454 Old Northern Road
Dural NSW 2158
02 96341354