Kris's Feathered Friends

We had the pleasure of Kris and her all her lovely birds this afternoon. What a fun afternoon, and what absolutely devine birds, I'm not much of a bird person, and I was walking around with a bird on my shoulder, and now desperately want to get a gorgeous fan tailed pigeon, dye her pink and have her at the facility....I wonder if our dog will get along with her???

RN New Grad Program

My RN New Grad has just returned from her quarterly 3 day Professional Development days that Bupa have put together in conjunction with the The College of Nursing, and she has returned with so much excitement and new ideas. The focus was on Bupa's new Person Centred Care Plans, Dementia Care, Myer-Briggs, and dementia gardens. So, now we are seriously considering:
- A facility dog through either Delta Society or Guide Dogs Australia
- A garden/tool shed for the fella's to tinker in
- A garden sink
- A post box
and who know what else after we have finished with the birdshow this afternoon....
I'm loving the enthusiasm as it is really contagious....

Planning an evening event, Thursday 12th August 2010

We have the privilege of having the Holdsworth Community Centre Choir coming to the facility to entertain our residents, staff and families on the evening of the 12th August. The Holdsworth Centre offer assistance to those disadvantaged by age, income, disability or social isolation, and to families with young children. They have 35 singers coming by coach from Woolahra, who I have been told are all very excited, and all our residents looking forward to have an evening of entertainment along with wine, cocktails and canapes. Something a little different, as we usually have all of our entertainment during the afternoon and families often cannot join us for these, so we are hoping for a great turnout, with everyone ready for a good old fashioned sing along, now we just need to get the piano tuned.

Alzheimer's Australia - Family Support Courses

Alzheimer's Australia has some great courses coming up...

Sons & Daughters
For immediate and extended family who are involved in the care of a
person with dementia. You will receive information about dementia and
causes, workshop effective communication strategies, and explore a
range of issues that impact upon your role. This program will also
provide links to support services in your local area.
Thurs 19 Aug 2010
Tuesday 26 Oct 2010
Wednesday 23 February 2011

Understanding grief and managing transition to care
For carers who are caring for a person in the later stages of dementia.
This session will assist in understanding the feelings of grief and loss that are often experienced when the person being cared for is still with us.
Wed 17 Nov 2010
Wed 16 Mar 2011
Wed 11 May 2011

Just to name a few

The Bupa Maroubra Story - What the newspapers didn't tell you

And the winner is...

With overwhelmingly positive feedback the winner is the above table. I must say I was a little suprised at the outcome, some blame the quality of the photos of the other tables....others feel it was the bright colours used that appealed to the residents, either way we now have a baseline of the expectations of our residents, visitors and staff. So to be honest, no we aren't setting the tables eveyday like this, however we are setting the tables with tablecloths, placemats and the candles used in the black and white tablesettings.......the difference is amazing, and we are receiving alot of positive compliments as a result......this is only the beginning, but what a great way to start......Congrat Team 2!!!

Making Gold

One of our Bupa facilities was recently misrepresented in the media causing an extreme amount of stress and pressure for the facility's staff, residents and relatives. Throughout this challenging time they stuck together and got through it all. It has made all of us at Bupa realise that we need to work together as a larger group to provide information and education to those who have little or no experience in aged care around why we do what we do for our residents. The Aged Care Accreditation Agency conducted a full 3 day audit at our Bupa Maroubra facility. Whilst we were always quietly confident in our team at Maroubra we now have the official report confirming they received 44 out of 44 outcomes.
An example is: how might it appear to someone new to aged care if they saw a resident sitting playing with wooden toys? It may actually appear demeaning. When in actual fact, we may have found out through interaction with the resident that he/she used to be a toy maker and is at their happiest when playing with toys. We may actually have spent a weekend or two of our own time making toys with the resident as part of our personal best journey. When my daughter stated that she thought it was funny that grown ups would enjoy playing with a model train set, I replied "Well alot of grown ups have been very busy in their lives, they now have time to play with them, toys aren't just for little kids, they are for big kids too." "Oh yeah, good point" was her simple 8 year old reply.

Dining table setting Competition

We view meal times as an opportunity to socialise, it is an activity not a task, we want to ensure that meal times are enjoyed by all of our residents and that every aspect of the experience is good.
We have had many conversations with residents, staff and visitors to try and highlight what the residents expectations are. Interestingly some residents where happy with food on trays, clothing protectors, however maybe they just needed a good visual to show them that I think that we can do better.
The staff formed 4 teams, and we set about to have a dining table setting competition. To my suprise and delight the challenge was recieved with open arms by our staff, there were a few notices of "do not touch this belongs to Team 1", Team 4 were the kitchen staff team and they were quite reluctant to hand over the cutlery for the challenge. It ended up being a fantastic afternoon, the residents all got involved, walking around all 4 tables giving their feedback, some feeling that some of the table were too lovely for everyday use. Bless, isn;t that what it's all about, making them feel special everyday! So now we will post the photos, ask the residents, visitors and staff to vote on their favourite table setting, and then we move forward with enthusiasm, as all have been involved in the choice, and we will have a gorgeous dining room for meals.

General Managers Forum - Geelong

I have arrived back from our Bupa Care Services Quarterly General Managers Forum in Geelong. This was a 2 day Focus Forum, where GM's from our 46 homes and Bupa Care Services come together to re "Focus" on where we are heading as an organisation, and how we can improve what we are already doing.
Focus this quarter was on Memorable Dining Experiences, Customer values, Person Centred Care, Personal Best, and Dementia Gardens - Destinations. It was a wonderful couple of days where we were also able to network with our colleagues and "steal some ideas with pride". We also were given the opportunity to have a tour through Bupa Bellarine, which is a lovely 62 bed facility with some fabulous living areas, for example: 50's style kitchen, with old fashioned sewing machine,ironing board, mix master; fantastic vege patch the residents maintain and a quilting room for those passionate about sewing. I am looking forward to getting back to the facility to facilitate some really positive changes. As you know the Memorable dining experience is a key one for me......

Kaizen Team Challenge

The benefits for working within such a large health care organisation is that we are able to share our great depth of knowledge, and have the support from our Operational Leadership Team. One example is Kaizen, a Japanese word for continuous improvement. Late last year 6 people were selected to be a part of the Kaizen challenge and after rigorous mental and physical training were flown to the UK and Spain to be involved in a 2 week intensive personal and team learning experience. The team then came back and delivered their findings at our February General Manager's Forum. They had spent 2 weeks reviewing Bupa aged care facilities in both Spain and England, reviewing 3 objectives - Food, Purchasing and Repairs and Maintenance. We have seen quite a few new changes since this Forum. One area that seen some improvement is in food services. It is the simple things, like Seasonal Produce updates from Lahood our Fruit and Veg suppliers, being a foody I love the concept of only purchasing food that is in season, as it really does taste so much better. It has also then raised enough discussion around our dining experiences that we are looking closely at:
Times we have meals - is 5pm really when our people want to have dinner.
Do our people want to have a larger meal at dinner time instead of lunch time.It had been proven that behaviour issues decreased with a larger meal later in the evening, and residents slept better.
All wil be revealed, we are putting it to the people, and all facilites have been asked to conduct a Food Services Focus group to ask the residents what they would like, food is such an important part of what we do, how can we make it a better experience. Speaking of food, I'm thrilled to say I'm off to "Coffee Shop", it comes around quickly......

Mother's Day cards

I put my kids to work to make thirty eight Mother's Day cards for the all resident Mothers. We used the gorgeous stamps and watercolours we purchased at the Craft Expo in March. I think they came out pretty well, I hope they appreciate them.......

Australia - We're in the top 10 of worst polluters

Australia has ranked 9th on a list of nations for its absolute impact on the natural world. On a per capita basis, Singapore was classified as the world's worst offender, followed by South Korea, Qatar, Kuwait and Japan.
Professor Bradshaw said the better-ranked countries were small places such as Cape Verde, Swaziland, Niger and Grenada.
''They haven't wiped out all their forests but they live well below what we'd consider poverty,'' he said. ''We have things to learn from these countries in terms of consumption and in reducing our consumption.''
We should be ashamed......

Coffee Shop....

We had "Coffee Shop" this afternoon, where we set up the dining area like a coffee shop, the espresso machine comes out, the chef makes devine cappuccinos, and we eat all our coffee shop favourites, cup cakes,Portuguese custard tarts, danish, cheese cakes and tiramisu, coffee orders are taken and numbers are placed on the tables. It definitely sets a scene, there is a real buzz in the room, the smell of coffee draws quite the crowd. And, yes on these days Hayley and I have been known to skip lunch to make room for cupcakes,and Portuguese custard tarts.....is that really so wrong?? A great alternative to braving the chilly day to head out for coffee.

The Vegetable Patch

Although it was a terribly rainy cold Autumn day today, I still thought it necessary to get the thinking caps on for our vegetable patch. It has been 1 week since all the Agapanthus have been relocated, and they are doing very well in their new homes, however the natives are getting anxious as to what is going on in the empty garden bed. After being inspired by Marta Stewart, I had morning tea with the residents in our Special Care Unit, as it is the raised garden bed in their courtyard. "What herbs and vegetables would you like to plant?" Well the suggestions came thick and fast...chives, different types of lettuce, cucumber, beetroot, tomato, onion, garlic, lemongrass, chillies, carrots, parsnips. This of course then led to the very lengthy conversation around when it is the right time to plant certain vegetables/herbs. Luckily I had just picked up the complete Collection of Gardening from Vinnies last week, so we have a reference for such curly questions. We did decide that we should plant herbs in the 12 pots that we had, so that we can move them around if they need more sun. So the next sunny day we will start sowing seeds. I was however reminded by Bessie that now that they are getting a little old they might need me to remind them to water the plants, as they don't have they aren't so good at gardening anymore!.....Consider it done. We also have some flowering plant seeds and bulbs to think about. This is going to be fun.

What would you say to a 20 year old self?

Our lovely Loreto girls were in this afternoon. We set them the task of chatting with the residents and asking "What would you say to a 20 year old self?" The responses were varied, and opened up the conversation for further chatting about childhood and memories. Here are some of the responses:

Listen a lot

Get involved in your life

Be true and honest

You’re a good person, don’t ever forget that. Have more confidence

Listen to your parents

Work hard

No advice – let her learn along the way, why spoil it

Don’t talk about others, respect their privacy

Travel. See the world. See how other people live, see their traditions and customs.

Find a man, make sure he’s rich. Then marry him

This one is my favourite....
Open a store that makes sensible frock, blouses, knitwear and all at affordable prices. Nothing like today’s fashion – all the necks are too big, which means your boobs fall out

I'm obssessed with TED

I have recently become absolutely hooked on TED. What is TED.....TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

I am loving them so much I have even downloaded some interesting talks and shown them to the residents, who have thoroughly enjoyed them.

My current favourites are Dave Buettner, author of the fabulous book "The Blue Zones"

AND...

This amazing 10 year old girl Adora Svitak who is the most incredible speaker.

The simple pleasures.....

The bread maker was put to work this morning, and as the residents supervised the task being done, it brought about lovely conversations about the simple joy of bread, memories of mothers kitchens, favourite recipes, who was the cook in their family and how wonderful food is in bringing people together. We then had the very patient 3 hour wait for the bread to be ready. "Is it ready yet?" Finally we were ready to serve, and it coincided with "Fondue Afternoon tea" which interesting took the back seat to the fresh warm multi grain loaf, lathered with butter and strawberry jam. Jean even requested a loaf for her breakfast in the morning. It was delicious. What have we started???

Anzac Day 25th April 2010

We made the last minute decision today to head up to the Roseville Memorial Club for lunch. My fantastic staff whipped themselves into gear to ensure that exercise class/indoor bowling finished with enough time to get spruced up for a lunch out at the club. Then we made the assisted convoy up the hill to the club. It was not only a gorgeous day for a walk, it's always nice to go out for lunch. We then got chatting about other get togethers we could arrange. There was talk about a book club, travel club, gardening club....as with most clubs i have belonged to they are just a cover for a good old chat with tea and cakes....well that is what we had in mind anyway. So the Book club idea was a winner, closely followed by the travel club. The book clubbers now need to come up with a name, as we thought the Bupa book club didn't really have the vibe we were looking for. Alex suggested we call it the Chocolate Book Club...I rest my case, obviously Alex is hoping to sky lark as a book clubber in the anticipation of chocolate. Who are we to disappoint. So Eden, who is our Physio Aid is keen on the idea, and running with it, so she is off to the library to get some books and/or books on tape. Will keep you posted on the success.

The Loreto Girls are back

We were thrilled to have the Loreto girls back today, the residents have missed them whilst they have been on holidays. They bring a lovely atmosphere to the facility when they are here, comparing school days with the residents. Today they thought they might assist in improving hand skills with some plasticine play.

ESD operations guide for owners, managers and tenants

A guide to help building owners, managers and tenants to operate buildings more sustainably. The challenge is now for each of these groups, across the diversity of Australia’s built environment, to implement local solutions.

Sensory/Herb Garden

We have been inspired.

It's time to utilise what we have and turn it into something practical. We may not have a huge area like Banora Point however I think there is alot of potential. I packed up the kids on pupil-free day and we headed off to work for a gardening day. We have 2 large raised garden beds in our Special Care Unit that have needed alot of help, so we pulled out about 20 Agapanthus and a very unwell Crape Myrtle. My kids of course became bored of this within the first 10 minutes, and it was then that I realised I has taken on a little more that I had anticipated. However, whilst my 2 children entertained the residents observing, I continued to pull out theses plants and replant them in the garden bed at the front of the facility. I was starting to cause quite a stir, as the staff and residents alike became intrigued as the Manager was elbow deep in dirt, playing in the garden. The flow of suggestions then started as to what we should plant, what was in season, favourite herbs, favourite flowering plants and bulbs for Autumn, I was loving it Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall would be so proud. So we have herb seeds, and bulbs to plant, and everyone is excited........just need to remind the residents to water them now. My next project is a trying to get the kitchen to use a compost bin....what do you think my chances are? I'll let you know how I go.

Found this fabulous option for bed pans....

Fabulous biodegradable bed pans. Okay so biodegradable bed pans are neither here nor there when it comes to your health, but seeing as hospitals have quite a large waste stream (not much that you can just trash when it comes to contaminated objects), this is one more way to keep what they can out of local landfills. I LOVE IT!

Continence aids clogging Landfill

An issue that I feel very strongly about. Adult incontinence pads amounted to less than one percent of total landfill waste just two decades ago. Today, that number is closer to 7% and climbing. These pads are typically made from plastic and other non-biodegradable products meaning that not only is the volume of space they are filling up rising, but they're also not breaking down any time soon. With a rising aging population and more incontinence pads headed to landfills, are there any alternatives on the horizon?

Since continence aids are meant to be leak-proof and hold the water in, often times they have a plastic outer shell. While this plastic outer shell does its job in terms of avoiding messes, it also means that when it goes to the landfill, it's setting up permanent shop there for up to hundreds of years. The "filling" of the pads is typically made from a wood-pulp and petroleum-based synthetic-polymer filling. While the wood-pulp will eventually break down, the synthetic polymer is not going anywhere any time soon. Yet, these pulp materials are typically coated in chemicals that are not only harmful to your health but also won't break down in a landfill. Plus, once these two fillers are mixed with the human waste, it's hard to separate the biodegradable parts out so nothing biodegrades.

I have broached this subject with our TENA representative, how is it there are biodegradable babies nappies why can't there be the same for Adult continent aids?

AND.......

Is it really possible to set up vermicomposting to compost our pads?

How we are striving to conserve Energy...

Energy efficient lighting systems -
o Remove unnecessary lighting
o Replace fixtures with T5 fluorescent, CFL, LED, etc.
o Utilise task lighting rather than whole room lighting in offices
o Balance lighting system efficiency with the promotion of circadian rhythm to ensure
health and well being of our residents
• Utilise energy efficient appliances and electronics, and set minimum ‘star-rating’ standards for new purchases.
Switching the lights off when not in use
o Reducing standby power: turning off computer monitors when not in use, and all
electronics at the wall
o Activating ‘energy save’ features on all electronics
o Turning off kitchen burners when not in use
o Monitoring excessive use of AC, and utilising fans and natural ventilation instead when reasonable. This will also serve to improve resident and employee health and wellbeing.

Sustainable Actions....

Sharing information on what may seem to be trivial actions can make a BIG difference in our workplace and the broader community! While we continue ‘taking care of the lives in our hands', we must also strive to take care of the environment on which those lives, and our future generations depend. Turning off the light when you leave the room, turning off taps properly after use, installing rainwater tanks or solar hot water systems, engaging staff in recycling schemes, organising car pooling programs, providing bike racks to promote cycling to work or even composting your organic wastes at home?

Kind Regards,

The Sustainability Committee

Bupa Care Services - Australia

Earth Hour 2010

Bupa Roseville along with the Sustainability Committee at Bupa Care Services are encouraging staff, Residents and Relatives to become involved in Earth Hour this year. At a facility level this year we will be ensuring that only the most essential lighting is left on between 8.30pm and 9.30pm. I'm hoping it will also reignite awareness to the staff to carry this on well after Earth Hour has ended.

We are going GREEN....slowly.....

We have made the move to Recycled paper for all printing, attempting to limit printing material, energy saving light bulbs, water saving shower heads are being fitted to hand held shower nozzles, planting of trees, and strict recycling.

Craft Expo 11 March 2010

Craft Show here we come. 12 Residents and 5 staff went of to the craft expo at the Show Ground at Homebush Bay. We were greeted with knitters, quilters, beaders, a feast for the eyes. It was a hive of activity. We all agreed there were alot of very clever people in the world. The highlights were the amazing baby doll stall. The babies were so realistic, Jean wanted to bring one home and cuddle it all night. They were so beautiful, and realistic, the weight was so lifelike, ones maternal instinct instantly kicked in, and had us rocking them off to sleep. We might have to save up for a couple. Then there was the quilt exhibition, utilising some stunning Amy Butler fabrics, and other incredible textures. We decided to purchase some gorgeous stamps and watercolour pens to make cards with. A great day, if not a little exhausting.

Pen Pals

We received some wonderful letters from the Year 5 & 6 girls at Wenona School today. There was a letter per resident. It was so lovely to see the look on the faces of the residents as they read the letters, which introduced the girls, what their favourite things about school are, and the hobbies they enjoyed. The plan is to continue writing to each other, in the event that we have a function towards the end of the year to meet with the students. One of the gentlemen quickly penned a reply by stating "how lovely it was to hear from such nice school girls and to read the differences in schools these day"

The Resident Christmas Party

All hands were on deck this morning to set up for the Residents Christmas party, we thankfully have been blessed with a gorgeous day enabling us to set up tables on the verandah, all the decorations were in place, tables set, residents in their Christmas best and gravitating the dining room, just in time for the first entertainers. The local church group came to sing Christmas Carols, then Rik Dawson from AgeWell our Physio team came to play carols on the piano, closely followed by the Rotary Club Christmas Carolers. The kitchen staff exceeded all expectations by putting on an amazing food buffet. A slightly disheveled Santa even made a visit with gifts. All Residents, friends and relatives, along with staff had a lovely time.

Lack of information.........

I never anticipated it would happen to me so soon, however it is. I am starting to get phone calls from friends, and friends of friends asking advice on how to go about placing their aging parent into Aged Care Facilities. Our aging population is getting older. Being in the industry I thought there was a heap of information around for those looking for such placement. However I guess like alot of thing, unless you have been through it before you really have no idea where to start. Like buying your first home and bringing your new baby home for the first time, my generation are finding themselves in uncharted waters with their aging parents. ACCR assessments, low care vs high care, bonds and basic daily care fees and extra service fees are apparently not common topics of communication with most people. Hmmm.... So other than individually counselling my friends, what can I do about this issue? How do I share the knowledge I have acquired over the years of working in the industry? I have spoken to the Principal at my kids school and am putting together an information night for those within our school community that require friendly information on how to deal with placing their parent in aged care facilities, and requiring the support to do so.