Winter Family Gathering

Friday the 25th of July at 2pm

We would love you to join us!

Welcome to our newsletter for Winter 2025. The weather has cooled down, but we are grateful to have our new heating system in the lounges to keep everyone toasty and warm!

As we hunkered down for winter, our residents have enjoyed indoor activities, including hand and foot massages and pampering. Some of our ladies particularly enjoy getting their nails painted. We love to see them looking smart with their freshly painted nails. Another popular activity is colouring in. This is such a peaceful and enjoyable activity for many of our residents. We bring in the Horowhenua Chronicle for one of our residents who enjoys reading the paper. Our residents also enjoy balloon games and snakes and ladders.

We also try to have some live entertainment every fortnight which is always a hit. The drumming circle we held recently was a big success and we hope Andres will be back soon to entertain us. We also have Alan with live music from the seventies onwards. Hannah also sings music which our residents remember.

When you visit, you may notice that several trees in one corner have been taken down. This has increased the light entering some of the residents’ rooms and has made those spaces brighter at this time of year. One of our residents really enjoyed watching the arborist through the window. He watched him scale the tree and then carefully cut it down, section by section.

We have changed over to our winter menu as we head into the cooler months. We are enjoying different meals like hearty pies, casseroles and of course our much-loved Sunday roast and “Fish & Chips Friday” are still enjoyed regularly.

We had a special time on Mother’s Day. Family members came to spend time with their mothers and the mothers in our home enjoyed chocolate, cupcakes and pampering.

We enjoyed a wonderful high tea of savouries, club sandwiches and fresh baking in celebration of the King’s Birthday.

In staffing news, we said goodbye to our Registered Nurse Nina, and Stephanie our cook. We have had Divya and Divine join us as Registered Nurses, and Simone joins us as a cook. Anu started as a Caregiver. A very warm welcome to all our new staff.

We were also sad to say goodbye to our Clinical Manager, Larry. We very much appreciate Larry's work and his leadership of the clinical team here at Millvale House Waikanae. We wish him all the very best as he continues his nursing journey.

We are very fortunate to have had Ash (Ashwathy) join us as our new Clinical Manager. Ash joined our organisation as a Caregiver at Millvale House Levin and completed her Competency Assessment Programme course to become a Registered Nurse. Since then she has impressed with her clinical skills, leadership and communication with families. We are excited to have her on board.

We are eagerly anticipating our Winter Family Gathering which is coming up on Friday the 25^th of July. We hope you can join us for a bite to eat and to enjoy spending time together with family and friends. Everyone is welcome. 

Greetings everyone

It feels like we are now well into the winter months and we are needing to keep everyone rugged up around our homes. Our winter menu helps to keep everyone warm too with lots of hearty food and warm soups. I always enjoy the smell of these wafting through our homes when I visit.

We had some disappointing news recently, that the pay equity claims were stopped by the Government. Caregiver pay has effectively been paused since 2022 and we had been working as part of an employer group to help progress these claims. This has a large impact on our team. It is hard to see the wonderful work our care team do not rewarded in the way it should be.

I am reminded of the quote “work is love made visible”, and this is never more true than for our care staff. Whether it be sharing a funny story, enjoying some music or just having a cup of tea together in the sun, our team work to ensure our residents enjoy some magic moments each day. These actions flow through to all of our lives.

We have been writing to MPs and Government ministers about this and we would encourage you to as well if you feel strongly about this cause.

On another note, as you will see in this newsletter we have a lot on the go to improve and extend our aged care services. It is really pleasing to see this underway.

Andrew Sheard, Managing Director

Rhea Abordonado has taken up a new role as the National Operational Support Leader around our homes.

This is a new role which includes travelling to our homes and working with the operations managers and coordinators to assist them in various aspects of their roles. Rhea will be helping them to grow and develop, looking for areas for improvement and facilitating learning from each other within the operations side of our homes.

The operations role is a varied one which is crucial to the running of our homes. It involves:

• Looking after our staff teams
• Overseeing our food service
• Quality requirements
• Overseeing the laundry service
• Managing building maintenance and contractors
• Marketing our home

Rhea knows our organisation inside out and has already been taking a leadership role around our homes in the wider Wellington area. It is great to have her expanding this role and helping our operations team to build on the great work that they do.

Resident Long Term Care Plan

A long-term care plan for residents in aged care is a structured process used to assess, document, and meet a resident’s physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. It ensures that each person receives personalised and consistent care based on their preferences, health conditions, and overall wellbeing. Developing a care plan is crucial to the care of a person.

Its importance:

• It promotes holistic, person-centred care.  We think of the four dimensions of the Māori health model Te Whare Tapa Whā and consider physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and family/social wellbeing.
• With family involvement we learn more about the person being cared for and we hear family thoughts on care.  Often family/EPOA are sharing the journey with their loved one.
• It helps staff provide safe and appropriate support.
• It guides day-to-day decisions and helps manage changing health needs.
• It ensures continuity of care across shifts and disciplines.

Family Involvement

Families are a valuable part of the care planning process. Your insights into your loved one’s preferences, routines, history, and values help us create a plan that truly reflects who they are.

We encourage you to:

• Participate in initial and regular care plan meetings.
• Share any changes or concerns you notice.
• Ask questions and provide feedback at any time.  This also can give us an opportunity to support you too.

Our Role

The facility’s care team, including registered nurses, caregivers, allied health professionals, and diversional therapists and activity coordinators take responsibility for a care plan.  

To begin with, we bring the person into our mind and our hearts and together we ask questions to help us work out what is required to meet the holistic needs of each resident.  This team is responsible for:

• Assessing your loved one’s needs.
• Developing and reviewing the care plan regularly or when needs change.
• Communicating with families and the resident about changes in care.
• Ensuring all staff follow the care plan to provide consistent support.

A Living Document

The care plan is not a one-time document – it is living and evolving. It changes as your loved one’s needs, preferences, or health status change. Regular reviews ensure it stays relevant and responsive.

By working together, families and the care team can ensure your loved one receives the most respectful, dignified, and compassionate care possible. Your voice matters and you are always welcome on this journey alongside your loved one.  You are part of the team.

Dementia Care NZ Clinical Team

Magic Moment

We recently had some trees cut down to let more light into our home. I had some residents in mind who would I thought would enjoy watching. The arborists were climbing right up to the top of the trees and chain sawing them from the top down. I took two residents to a window which had a good view of the proceedings. One asked for a chair so he could sit and watch. We sat there together for a while, both immersed in the interesting activity outside.