Here at Millvale House Lindale, we have enjoyed a refreshing and relaxing summer, making the most of the cool, fresh air. We opened our doors to the garden, allowing residents to step outside, take gentle walks, and spend time surrounded by nature.

This season, we expanded our vegetable garden, planting a variety of fresh produce including tomatoes, bok choy, spinach, lettuce, parsley, coriander and mint. It was a wonderful experience for residents to see the vegetables grow, and even more special to harvest them together.

Inside the facility, residents participated in indoor games that encouraged laughter and friendly competition. Puzzle sessions kept minds active and engaged, while drawing and activities allowed residents to express themselves artistically. Balloon games were a particular highlight, bringing energy, movement, and plenty of smiles to the room. We have also been enjoying pikelet making sessions in our kitchenette once or twice a month on Sundays.

We had some fun scenic drives to local beaches and lagoons with wheelchair access where we feed the birds or enjoy having afternoon tea outside. It’s fun visiting local spots and reconnecting with the community.

We were also delighted to host entertainers who brought music, energy and joy into our home. Alan and Adrian both sing relaxing music from an era when our residents were young. Andres performs using a variety of percussion instruments, including the conga, maracas, tambourine, triangle and cymbals. The residents always relish having live entertainers in our home.

We have recently experienced some changes within the team, and we are very pleased to welcome some new staff members, including our new Clinical Manager, Solomon. Please feel welcome to come and introduce yourself when you are around and about our Lindale home.

It has been a busy start to the year across the aged care sector. You may have heard about the MediMap outage – MediMap is the electronic medication management system which is used in our rest homes and across many aged care and healthcare services in New Zealand.

MediMap identified unauthorised activity within its system that resulted in some resident demographic information (such as name, date of birth, prescriber details or location of care) being incorrectly modified.

Importantly, we have been advised that there is currently no evidence that medication charts or medication administration records have been altered.

All of our rest homes are now back up and running using MediMap. In the meantime our staff have done a great job of implementing our offline systems. The MediMap outage gave us a good opportunity to review these systems and ensure they are fit for purpose if something like this happens again.

I’ve recently travelled around the country visiting many of our rest homes.

One of the things I enjoy most about this is meeting our new staff. I run a Vision and Values training session with each new staff member in group sessions. In these groups we talk about our families, where home is and what home feels like for each of us. We reflect on what makes our home feel like a home.

While the physical spaces we call home are often quite different, we find that the qualities that create a homely feel are quite similar. It is a space where everyone feels comfortable to be their true self, to express themselves and to be understood by loved ones.

We want our rest homes to feel like home for our residents, you our residents’ families, and our staff teams. That means that we want everyone to be comfortable in this space and we need to get to know one another in a meaningful way. This takes time, and it is something our staff teams work extremely hard on.

We very much appreciate your input into this; whether sharing information about your loved one and how they lived, participating in every day life around the home or letting us know when we haven’t quite got it right.

You can read through our Vision and Values here.

Ngā mihi

Andrew Sheard, Managing Director

You may occasionally see members of our clinical leadership team visiting your home. I’m Arah, National Clinical and Quality Lead, and I’m joined by our Regional Clinical Managers, Ranjit and Jenish, who support teams across our homes. Soumy also provides regional clinical support specifically for Aberleigh.

Our role is to work alongside Clinical Managers and Registered Nurses, offering guidance and support, strengthening clinical practice, and helping ensure the care we provide continues to reflect the kindness, respect, and genuine connection that matter so much to us all. Visits help us stay closely connected with residents, whānau, and the everyday life of each home.

I spend time with Ranjit and Jenish most days. We discuss resident issues that arise, sharing ideas and brainstorming solutions together. This means that I am well apprised of the things that are happening in the residents' home, the risks and the more challenging situations, and also the wonderful things that occur.

If you spot Jenish or Ranjit during a visit, please feel welcome to say hello. They always enjoy meeting families.

Arah Cartagena, National Clinical and Quality Lead

Introducing Rose

We are happy to share that Millvale Lodge Lindale has started sponsoring Rose through Tearfund and Compassion International. Rose is a one year old girl who lives in the Philippines and is enjoying learning to talk.

Our sponsorship will provide Rose with:

• Educational support and vocational training
• Character and confidence building opportunities
• A safe place to learn, play and grow
• Regular medical checkups and immunisations
• Nutritional support to treat and prevent malnutrition
• Emergency support in times of disaster and crisis
• A loving community and healthy relationships

We are excited to hear about Rose’s progress as she grows, and our activities team is looking forward to involving residents in writing supportive and encouraging letters to her as she gets older.  In your loved one's home, you will find a photograph of Rose with a bit of information about her. Take a look if you are interested.

Our sponsorship of Rose through Tearfund sits comfortably alongside our support of New Zealand children through Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou. Pillars is a New Zealand charity that actively supports the tamariki and whānau of people in prison or those serving a community-based sentence.

Tearfund is a non-profit organisation working for a just and compassionate world. If you would like further information, please visit their website: www.tearfund.org.nz

Jim Haines, Director DCNZ

Magic Moment

It’s amazing how something as simple as a handmade Valentine’s card can spark so much love and emotion. One day we were making Valentine’s cards, when a resident’s husband called in to pay a visit. She quicky hid the card underneath the table with surprise as she hadn’t been expecting him. Later, she gave the card to her husband. He was surprised and happy, which made the moment even more special. On his next visit, he came with a card for her, which is so touching. Our resident was surprised and became emotional with teary eyes. This shows how deeply those memories and loving feelings still live in her heart.

I offered our weighted dog to a resident who was busy watching an animal documentary, “Would you like this dog to keep you company?”, I asked. He eagerly answered, "Yes please," with a huge smile on his face as he started patting its head. I asked, do you love dogs? He answered me with a chuckle and briefly hugged the dog's neck. He smiled while he held the dog on his lap.