From the GM - St. Andrews Ballina · 2019. 12. 24. · Sound Synergy Interactive Drumming Session We had Gareth from Sound Synergy come in and show us a truly unique experience with

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Issue 2 | December 2019Keeping St Andrews residents, family and fr iends connected and up to date.

From the GMDear Residents and Relatives of St Andrews,

It is almost Christmas time and that generally means chocolates, puddings and parties. I believe the Catering department have already made the menu for this Christmas and are prepared for the residents Christmas luncheons. For me, the best aspect of Christmas is the gathering of the family (and the food!!). A time to come together to celebrate and tell lots of stories or should I say embellished stories!!

However, there will be some residents and family that will not have the opportunity to meet in the festive season. I hope those residents feel part of the extended St Andrews family and have a very happy Christmas.

This year has seen a number of changes including the introduction of the New Aged Care Standards and the Royal Commission into Aged Care. This created a large amount of work for all staff and many hours were spent in preparation and implementation. I thank the staff for their support and participation.

In late 2019 a notable change to St Andrews was the resignation of Lee Ann Roach, Director of Care Services (DOCS). Lee started as an RN and over time was given increasing responsibilities that culminated in the DOCS role. I can testify that despite the many changes and challenges, Lee always gave her very best to St Andrews. I want to thank Lee for her support and knowledge and that she willingly shared. We wish Lee all the very best in her future.

More recently, we filled the position of DOCS with the successful applicant, Donna Foley (RN). Donna has extensive management experience and knowledge in healthcare systems and management. I am looking forward to seeing her influence in the clinical department. Might I add Donna Foley is not related to Leisa Foley (Deputy Director of Care Services). I am thankful they do not also share first names!!!

Some recent initiatives introduced into St Andrews of late are the following:• The new SMART Board that is in use in Boronia. Apparently this latest technology is only in a couple of facilities in Australia• The artificial grass in the Boronia area• The solar panels that were installed on the roof are now having an impact on reducing St Andrews electricity costs. This is also reduces St Andrews impact on the environment.• The Cawarra independent units have all been sold after being completed mid last year.• A number of software systems have been implemented , which has improved communications and efficiencies

These are but a few of the initiatives to help support all residents and ILU owners and home care services.

Regards

Bruce Tually

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Introducing…Director of Care, Donna Foley

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself I am made in Ireland, been in Australia half a life time, it’s just that I still have a strange accent. I have lived in most parts of this big brown land. When I first arrived in Australia, I worked as a community nurse in remote Western Australia and have a love for the wide open spaces in the Kimberley. I also worked in the mining sector for many years, before moving to Melbourne with my partner.

Q. What do you bring to St Andrews?I have experience working in aged care early in my career and really enjoyed it so now I am back again, full circle. Northern Rivers has been my go to holiday spot for more than a decade and I’m looking forward to living here

Q. Tell us about your interests, hobbies or passions I’ve been sailing since I was a kid and regularly do long offshore ocean races; next race is Sydney to Hobart. I am looking forward to bush walking in Northern New South Wales; Wollumbin is a favourite walk in this area.

Q. What makes you happy? Most mornings at 6.30 AM, I’m on my yoga mat, doing my stretch thing. I’m learning to spin fabric and currently am spinning a fleece from an Alpaca I met in Tasmania, Ebony. I also want to improve my crochet skills, so if anyone feels like giving me a lesson.

Q. What about your new role are you most excited about?• Providing Better Care for residents • Supporting staff in the great work they do at St Andrews• Having fun at work

Q. Three words to best describe you…• Enthusiastic• Persistent• Curious – I like to look at things from different aspects

Q. Any random facts about you that you could share with us?My accent is a mix of Ireland, California and Australia so you might have to tune in when we chat as it can be difficult to pick up what I’ m saying.

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Providing all home care service

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SMART Board Wow, have you seen our new Interactive SMART Board in Boronia… It’s hard to miss it. We were lucky enough to be the first Aged Care Home in the Northern Rivers to have the board installed and so far we have loved exploring its features. The SMART Board is only as smart as the facilitator and residents at this point but we are finding more and more ways to incorporate this resource into our programming. With the average person over 65 years spending around 5.8 hours per day watching television, we believe this interactive technology is the answer. Some of the residents’ favourites so far is Google Earth, where we revisit the towns the residents grew up in, or travel to a new country. We also love our quizzes and game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Jeopardy! Watch this space…!

Any excuse for a dress up! Our Boronia residents helped decorate the common areas and did a great job making it look spooky. The staff had fun dressing up and the residents enjoyed the afternoon cooking Halloween treats.

Halloween Celebrations

Melbourne Cup Celebrations Our Melbourne Cup celebrations were enjoyed by all. Hospitality staff put on an incredible display of delicacies including an array of tarts and treats, cucumber cups, caprese bites, stuffed mushrooms and of course the champagne! The residents and staff dressed in their best outfits and enjoyed the afternoon socialising. The winners of the best dressed prizes go to:

Best Dressed Male:Mike PKeith A

Best Dressed Female:Ruby LRose N

Best Dressed Staff Member:Frances S

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Keeping Up With the Residents of St Andrews

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A visit from Milo… Residents got quite a shock when they were greeted by Milo the Alpaca and Roland from Erwin Alpacas. 7 week old Milo was gorgeous and dressed for the holiday season.

Cooking Club Cooking Club is a hit! We love seeing the residents getting involved. The recent purchase of a pie maker has everyone popping in for a taste. So far we have cooked apple, peach and apricot pies. What will be next…?

Craft Club

Be a Santa for a Senior

Our crafty residents loved creating beautiful centrepieces for Melbourne Cup.

Well December was busy for us all as we entered the silly season! We kicked off Christmas Celebrations

with the Ballina Primary Kindergarten students for ‘Be a Santa for a senior’. The students all wrote Christmas cards for the residents and sung Christmas carols… what a great way to get us in the mood for all the Christmas cheer!

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Christmas Celebrations

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Bunnings Christmas Project

Resident Christmas Parties

Volunteer and Staff Christmas Party

Residents got crafty and tested their building skills with the help of Annie from Bunnings. As you can see their wooden Christmas trees were very impressive!

What a great week celebrating Christmas with family and friends. We want to thank everyone that came down to join us; it was a great way to reflect on the year that was 2019! Bring on 2020…

And now to celebrate the hard work the volunteers and staff continue to do. We enjoyed a Christmas luncheon joined by our fantastic team of volunteers and Auxiliary team with music from the talented Dorset.

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Boronia CourtyardUpgrade

Mr Gao’s Asian Street Food Demonstration and Tasting

BOLD Sparks

We got to see the incredibly positive outcome of the Boronia Courtyard upgrade with a summer outdoor lunch. The new artificial lawn was the first project for Boronia and we are already seeing the great results. Thank you to the Auxiliary for funding this project.

We had the beautiful Fei from Mr Gao’s join us for an Asian food demonstration and tasting. The residents loved learning how to cook some of the divine dumplings on offer and the smell of the exotic flavours was delicious. Lucky there was a whole lot on offer to ‘taste’. If you haven’t already checked out the local eatery on Cherry Street head down and show your support. We were very grateful to Fei for volunteering his time and resources so our residents had a fun afternoon.

The creativity of our residents goes on as we continued the BOLD Sparks Lifelong Learning Program. Each month there was different themes and art projects, which are aimed at engaging participants and supporting staff in new ways to connect with each other and their creativity. Some projects that the residents participated in include ‘Woven Water’, which aimed to reflect on the qualities of the ocean in a sensory response to artworks weaving recycled materials and threads, and ‘Bundles of Branches’ which saw the group collect branches and use wool to transform them into a colourful display for Christmas.

Bunnings Craft Class

Morning Melodies with Dean Doyle

Residents have loved the trips to Bunnings for the craft classes. Not only are their creative skills tested, but they also enjoy browsing the shops and having a coffee and treat at the café, sometimes we even come home with bunches of fresh flowers that have been donated. Thanks Bunnings!

We love getting out and being a part of our community and have enjoyed our monthly Morning Melodies with Dean Doyle. A few of our residents have even started to have a boogie and play the bongos! Join us on the second Friday of each month.

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Community Connections

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Mums & Bubs Group

Evans Head Aviation Museum and Lunch

We have had the privilege for some mums and their young bubs to visit us on a monthly basis. Seeing their happy faces is contagious. Want to come and put a smile on the residents’ faces and have a young bub or know someone who does? Come and join us! Next meeting dates:January Monday 6th @ 11am | February 3rd @ 11am

The residents enjoyed an outing to the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome Heritage Aviation Museum, which thousands of magnificent men and women called home while undergoing bombing training during World War ll. The museum features military and civilian aircraft and artefacts collected from across Australia. We were lucky to have a tour of the museum and get up close to real, military and civilian aircraft heritage aircrafts. Residents then enjoyed fish and chips on the Evans Head River.

Sound Synergy Interactive Drumming Session

We had Gareth from Sound Synergy come in and show us a truly unique experience with an interactive drumming session. I think we can all say we were hot and exhausted after this one but boy was it fun! Gareth uses percussion and rhythm to synergise and uplift groups of people. Each resident was provided with a djembe drum as well as other percussion instruments and the sound we created travelled throughout our home… for a whole one hour…wow!

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Emmanuel Anglican College Visits The residents loved their High Tea with year 7 Emmanuel Anglican College students, complete with hot pancakes and cream. Yum. Thanks Deb!

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Short Stories with Ballina Primary Students

Richmond Christian College Student Visits

The joy young ones bring to our residents is one to be seen! We have been lucky enough to join the Ballina Primary Students on their journey learning to read. Each kindergartener brought with them a book they can read to the resident, and a book the resident can read to them. What a way to spend our afternoon!

Year 3 and 7 students from Richmond Christian College visited the residents for the morning bearing gifts and cookies. We had a resident who loved the cookies so much that he ate three packets, no mentioning names though… We are so grateful when the students give their time to the residents.

Remembrance Day Service at Ballina RSL A small group of residents represented St Andrews at the Ballina Remembrance Day Service. The ceremony provided an opportunity for our residents to reflect on the war and thank those who gave their lives for the country. This was a touching experience for our residents, many who were directly affected by the war.

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Enabling Edie

In October St Andrews sent a small contingent of Boronia staff to experience an Educational Dementia Immersive Experience – EDIE. Dementia Australia has designed and created this immersive workshop to enable participants to see the world through the eyes of a person living with dementia utilising high quality virtual reality technology. The program explores what it feels like to experience dementia, care for someone living with dementia and to work in partnership to identify support needs and develop a support plan - that’s us in RAC! The course highlighted with experiential understanding; dementia across different stages, the consumer perspective, support considerations, diverse needs, and the needs of the carer or family member.

All staff who attended felt the workshop enhanced their knowledge of dementia and provided an unforgettable experience of what it is to live in the world of dementia.

Education

Hospitality

Volunteering

Resident Council Meetings

Entertainment for 2020

At St Andrews we pride ourselves on providing a fresh and seasonal menu were we are continually improving and adapting to meet current needs and preferences. Only the finest ingredients are used to create beautiful dishes as well as everyone’s favourite comfort food. Commencing from the 2nd of December we have a new four week summer menu starting. There will be two choices for both lunch and dinner each day. We value any feedback and strive to make sure that your preferences are reflected as much as possible.

Volunteer with us! We are always looking for kind, enthusiastic and selfless individuals to join our volunteering team. As little as an hour a fortnight can make the greatest difference in the lives of our residents. Contact the Volunteer Coordinator on [email protected] for more information.

We have increased the frequency of our Resident Council Meetings. Each month, the resident council and their relatives will join the Clinical, Lifestyle and Catering representatives to discuss changes and plan for continuous improvement. We will see you there on the second Tuesday of every month at 10:30am. January 8th | February 12th | March 11th. Can’t make it to the meetings? We will send a copy of the meeting minutes to your email!

We are excited to announce that we have some new entertainment coming on board in 2020 to add to our current performances. We will see Gareth from Sound Synergy again for some more interactive drumming sessions, Kym and Geoff from Watling and Bates for their special aged care music program, ‘Bow and Kurtsy’, and Sebastiaan Scholtens. Get ready to Swing, Jive or Rock ‘n’ Roll the day away to the sublime voice of Sebastiaan singing all your favourites from the time when Swing was King and Rock n Roll Ruled!

Kym and Geoff, ‘Bow and Curtsy’. The program has a specific focus on history and memory, and aims to

revive social memories of dances in old country halls.

Sebastiaan will have you up and dancing or at the very least toe tapping

with the very best songs from Elvis, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra

and Johnny Cash just to name a few.

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