Mid-Winter Family Gatherings

Ofa and Rudo homes: Tuesday the 22nd of July, 2.30-3.30pm

Pyaar home: Wednesday the 23rd of July, 2.30-3.30pm

Hoa Pumau and Awhi Whanau homes: Thursday the 24th of July, 2.30-3.30pm

Mahal home: Friday the 25th of July, 2.30-3.30pm

We would love you to join us!

As we embrace the cooler months of winter, our activities and menu have been thoughtfully adapted to reflect the season. Our winter menu has been a hit with residents, offering comforting and nourishing meals perfect for the chilly weather.

We’re delighted to continue hosting a wonderful lineup of entertainers - something our residents always look forward to. Our regular performers include a number of entertainers who do singing and guitar: Lito de Torres, Rod, Siona Glassey and Dave Trent; Neville, who does singing, guitar and a touch of magic; and Chris Williams who does a mix of Māori and English songs. We love the unique approach that they each bring to our home.

We continue to enjoy regular visits from Paddington, our beloved furry friend. Paddington never fails to bring joy to our residents - there are always smiles and cuddles when he’s around!

Recently, students from Sacred Heart School visited and performed action songs for our residents. It was a heartwarming experience that brought joy to all.

Our commitment to providing the best possible care means our staff regularly participate in comprehensive training. Since our last newsletter, our team has completed training in Palliative Care; Critical Thinking; Infection Control; Falls Minimisation; Restraint Minimisation; Medication Management; Dementia, Delirium, and Depression; Airway Obstruction Management; Nutrition; Wound Care; Pressure Area Management & Skin Tears; Health and Safety; and Manual Handling. These ongoing trainings ensure our team is equipped with the latest knowledge and skills to provide exceptional, person-centred care.

In our continuous effort to enhance our care environment, Aroha, one of our wings is currently closed for refurbishment. We look forward to enjoying a refreshed and improved space and we will communicate further about this in the near future.

We’re excited about our upcoming Mid-Winter Gathering and look forward to spending a warm and festive time together with residents, families, and staff.

Stay warm and well.

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 happening.

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, 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

Thank you for your feedback

At each of our rest homes around the country we have a regular family focus group. These groups are facilitated by Peter Hume who works for Dementia Care NZ from Christchurch. The sessions are aimed at getting some feedback from family members who visit often about how we can improve.

We ask questions like: How can we make life better for your loved one here?  How can we make life easier for you?  How can we support you more? At these meetings we often receive a gem of an idea that we take forward and put into action.

This year we had two sessions at Avonlea. Family members commented positively about the care, saying that staff live up to the vision and that there is a lot of openness between staff and families.

The attendees also raised several issues which we are following up:

• Maintenance of furniture such as side table and chairs.
• Giving further notice around GP visits that are scheduled.
• Cleaning windows in one wing.
• Reviewing clinical events to ensure they are followed up well.
• Providing education resources and support to family members as needed.
• Staff engagement with residents particularly during activities.

We would like to thank everyone who was able to come to the family focus group. We really appreciate your time providing us with this feedback. We will continue to update you as we make progress with the issues raised in the focus groups.

If you have some feedback for us please do get in touch, and we also appreciate hearing your thoughts through the EPOA survey.

Magic Moment

I was cleaning one of the lounges when a resident came to me and announced that it was going to be her birthday this coming Saturday. I said, “That’s great! That's very timely because we are having an entertainer that day!” She was very happy to hear this and she's looking forward to it! She also added that she’s thankful to all the staff for looking after her well. She said that she really appreciates that her choices and food preferences are well respected and that the team is really listening and she feels heard.