‘The Lodge’ Re-development was officially opened recently. Watch the highlights from the day. This event was beamed live to other Eldercare sites and most importantly into the Memory Support Unit of The Lodge so residents and staff could be part of the day.
I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ to Jane Pickering & Briony Petch from Eldercare for the recent unexpected gift.
I did a small speech on behalf of the families at ‘The Lodge’ when Eldercare celebrated the opening of their latest re-development. It was an emotional time for me ( due to Dad passing away) and this gift is very special to me.
The lovely lady in the photo is Beryl Fenton who did a great speech on behalf of the residents. We are cutting the ribbon together in the photo.
Recently I was asked to give a speech to celebrate the opening of the re-development at ‘The Lodge’ Aged Care Facility. There were 120 residents, carers, nurses and management in attendance and the event was ‘live streamed’ into the Memory support Units and other Eldercare sites. I love the way they are now using technology to include all the residents that cannot attend these events.
It was a particularly difficult and emotional event for me as it was the first time I have been back there since Dad passed away. Seeing the familiar faces in the audience re-ignited that connection, but also added to the pressure.There was a lady playing the harp as well which was fabulous. Once again I finished writing my speech at 4.30am this morning, but luckily got the job done on the day.
The Eldercare CEO Jane Pickering gave me a very generous and overwhelming introduction speech and this almost floored me before I spoke. I was honoured to cut the ribbon with 96 yo resident ‘Beryl’ who also spoke, and did a sterling job. The gold scissors were huge but we did it together.
The theme of my presentation was that the families have to now become part of the aged care process and the lines of communication with staff need to remain open. I also highlighted the value of our older people and that they all deserve dignity and respect as they have earnt this. The speech was recorded so may be able to post one day.
Nice to now have a break from speeches and rest.
Thanks
ARTICLE – ‘THE CHANGING CULTURE IN AGED CARE’
The Advertiser, 9 January 2017
THE like-it-or-lump-it approach that sees children throwing dinner, bath and bedtime tantrums has long been used in aged care but is finally falling from favour.
Regimented schedules in aged care-homes are being replaced with progressive thinking that puts residents at the centre of the plan, says Alzheimer’s Australia SA acting chief executive officer Rajiv Chand.
“Aged care is now very much moving to person-centred care,” he says.
“Not everyone likes to get up at 7am, have a shower and have breakfast.
“It’s (about) getting used to that thinking that we’re all unique.
“You shouldn’t need to conform to the schedule. Why can’t the schedule work around you?”
Mr Chand says every resident used to get the same food and the same care at the same times but they were likely to be happier if they were treated as individuals, instead of as a group.
“Not everyone likes porridge or toast for breakfast,” he says.
“It’s about being very much in tune with a person’s likes or dislikes.
He says many of the changes to dementia care do not have to cost more.
As well as changing how staff relate to residents and how their schedules are managed, care providers are doing more to create a homelike atmosphere.
Mr Chand says there is “very much a positive trend” in aged care and people looking for a place for their parent living with dementia should do their homework.
“Do your research; go to a few aged-care homes,” he says.
“Maybe get there at lunch time and sit there for an hour or two. You’ll work out if this is the right place you want to put your mum or dad.”
To read the full article – click the link below:
I thought I would give a report on the first ‘men’s group’ session at the nursing home I have done for a while. I was really pleased with the participation and engagement of the 4 participants. We did so many different things that 3 out of the 4 men were asleep by the end of the 90 minutes as they were exhausted.
I brought a suitcase full of ‘conversation starters’ ( mixed items) which kept things moving and changing as we had our own blokey ‘show and tell’. It also allowed me to determine the interests and capabilities of each man for future sessions.
The tasks we tried were as follows:
old fashioned manual pencil sharpening
electric pencil sharpening
polishing tarnished silver items with brasso eg candle holder, tongs, ice bucket
indoor fishing from the ice bucket (complete with tangles and hooking items)
Smelling different incense sticks
Indoor bowling with tube/tennis ball (for men in princess chair)
Sorting wallplugs into holders
Swiss army knife ( we spent ages pulling out each feature of the knife – they loved this)
Multitool gadgets
I conducted a few races & challenges, with the men with good cognition/movement using manual pencil sharpeners racing against men with limitations using the electric pencil sharpener. I also did a timed event with ‘The General’ where he had to place 15 wallplugs into a plastic holder within 1 minute. He did this several times and counted aloud for every wallplug he inserted. The highlight was opening as many functions of the Swiss army knife as we could and discovering the secret items which were a pin, a pen, a toothpick and some tweezers.
The conversations were great as well and there were plenty of laughs and smiles. ‘The General’ was cracking jokes with me as we did the pencil sharpening task and would say things like “it’s great to see you getting to the point” and “you are very sharp today”.
Bob actually stayed awake for the entire 90 mins and smiled constantly.( he normally sleeps heavily through this time).
A great first session and what I learnt was that it was real handy to have a heap of activity options at my disposal to keep changing things up and holding the men’s interest.
Yesterday I attended a luncheon in the Ian McLachlan Room at the magnificent Adelaide Oval as a ‘thank you’ to all the volunteers from the Eldercare Aged Care sites for their efforts.
The speeches made by Jane Pickering (CEO), Board Members and staff were very sincere and genuine and created a great atmosphere.
The food was sensational and many of us took on a tour of the oval which was very interesting indeed.
It was great to walk up the race, step on the oval and visit change rooms etc.
The day was capped off with a message on the famous old scoreboard to us all.
Well Done Eldercare on a great day!
That angel is my Mum, Jan.
Up until now Jan has been quietly looking after Bob nearly every day and dealing with everything dementia can throw at us. However today (without her knowledge) she has burst onto the internet in a cameo role on the new Eldercare promotional video. Jan turned up on the day of filming and was helping me calm Dad (who was having a bad day) and next thing we knew she had become the star of the video. She was actually so busy caring for Dad that she forgot the cameras were still rolling, and had no idea this video would one day be made public.
Jan is very shy and I am sure she never wanted our dementia story in the public arena (let alone on the internet), but I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank her for allowing me to share our story to help others.It is extremely difficult battling the ‘dementia rollercoaster’ at such close range and Mum has been an absolute inspiration to myself and my brother and sister.
Jan has probably broken the record for the most visits to a single resident in nursing home history, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Jan is also an unsung hero that has not only committed herself to giving Bob the best care ever, she has also helped many other residents within the nursing home when required.
I can’t begin to tell you what an amazing person Jan is, but I am sure from the video you can tell that we have been blessed with an amazing, loving mother that has taught us so many life lessons just by being her. I have had a ‘Brady Bunch’ style upbringing thanks to my parents, and I want you all to know that in over 50 years of marriage they have never argued ….fact!
I would also like to acknowledge all the people with dementia who do not have the support of family and friends and hope that ‘Dementia Downunder’ can be a family for them also.
Bravo Mum & Dad!
Late in 2015 we were asked by Eldercare to be the face of their latest campaign. The video was shot in 4 hours and was on a day when Dad was struggling, however he managed to hold things together. Mum turned up in the middle of the shoot and ended up in the final cut. A great memory of Bob’s time in his nursing home.
I spent the day filming a documentary style promotional video for our aged care facility. It involved interacting with residents ( who were awesome) and carers/nurses (superb), voiceovers and script construction.
I certainly won’t become an actor, but was a great experience. Let’s hope the final product turns out.
I won’t wait by the phone for my ‘hollywood’ call-up:-)
This is dementia..
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