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Christadelphian Aged Care W I N T E R N E W S L E T T E R
SOUTHHAVEN Address: 11 Queensbury Rd, Padstow Heights
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Kindness is like snow It
beautifies
everything it covers
Wash me, and I shall be
whiter than
snow - Psalm 51:7 -
Phone: (02) 9782 6010
Email: admin@chomes.com.au
Manager’s Message
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Welcome to Southhaven Hello! Southhaven Aged Care seems to be constantly under construction. We have two projects going on site at one time. 1. The most obvious being the link building in the middle of the site. The builders have informed us that the majority of the work currently in progress should be complete by the end of August 2016. The road leading down to the Riverside building had to be closed to driving relatives as it was assessed as a potential hazard. Our resident, visitor and staff safety is of utmost importance. Please be assured emergency vehicles can gain access to the Riverside building as the barrier in place is movable, signage is posted alerting these vehicles of this fact. A temporary car park has become available in the front section of the site, I hope this makes life a little easier for everyone during this building phase. 2. The hidden, less disruptive renovation is of our dementia wing. The interior of this is due for completion by the end of May 2016. The newly landscaped backyard area of this wing should be complete by the end of July 2016. These two major changes to Southhaven will really enhance our site. I am really excited about the future and I hope you are able to share this feeling with me. Thank you all so much for your patience during this long process. As the weather is now getting colder we would appreciate if you could bring in warmer clothing and take away the summer clothing as this will help prevent clutter in the rooms and wardrobes. The colder months often bring colds and flu so please remember these points to help prevent the spread of infection: If you have a cold or flu please do not visit your loved ones for a couple of days. If you must visit, ask at reception or nurse’s station on each wing for a mask to wear to prevent the spread of germs. Use the alcohol gel (found on all walls in dispenser). Rub into hands as you would soap. This will kill 99% of germs which are on your hands. If your loved one is sick, staff will nurse them in their room to help stop the spread of colds/flu. If you have any concerns or issues please feel free to come and see me as my door is always open. I will be traveling to the USA for a family holiday from 16th May to 16th June 2016, so please see Veronica John (Care Manager) in my absence. Regards, Peter Jessing
News & Upcoming Events UPCOMING EVENTS Riverside
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
Norman M
Hilda S
Owen P
Fraser C
Mavis I
Moya S
Laurel Mc
Daphne N
Peggy C
Jack N
John C
Coralie L
Jean G
Rita S
Jean G
June S
Joan B
Thomas W
Yvonne R
Elaine H
JUNE 7th - Queen’s Birthday Celebrations 8th - Entertainment with Patrick 15th - Entertainment with the Bell Singers 16th - Club Outing 28th - Club Outing
JULY 5th - Entertainment with Ian Blakeney 12th - Movie/Hot Chocolate 13th - Entertainment with Alan Duncan 14th - Club Outing 19th - Entertainment with Ron Ashton 26th - Club Outing
AUGUST
Maureen C Brian M Hilda C Shirley H
3rd - Entertainment with Patrick 17th - Entertainment with the Bell Singers 18th - Club Outing 30th - Club Outing
UPCOMING EVENTS Treetops
Treetops
Treetops
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
7th - Queen’s Birthday Celebrations 8th - Entertainment with the Bell Singers 16th - Club Outing 22nd - Entertainment with Neil Anthony 28th - Club Outing
6th - Entertainment with Patrick 12th - Movie/Hot Chocolate 14th - Club Outing 20th - Entertainment with Nata 26th - Club Outing
10th - Entertainment with Ian Blakeney 18th - Club Outing 24th - Entertainment with Ron Ashton 30th - Club Outing
Activity Reviews
ST PATRICK’S DAY - Thursday 17th March
St Patrick’s Day is a celebration of Irish culture. It remembers St Patrick, one of Ireland’s patron saints who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the 5th century. On Thursday 17th March, Southhaven Nursing Home residents and staff celebrated St Patrick’s Day by wearing green hats and clothing. We enjoyed a celebration featuring Irish food, drinks and green cake that was made by our lovely kitchen staff. Our residents' also enjoyed St Patrick’s Day songs followed by a quiz that made them reminisce and test their knowledge. Our residents were so happy with all the green decoration in the dining room. From Southhaven Nursing Home and on behalf of residents and staff, we would like to wish you a very green lucky St Patrick’s Day!! Cheers to that!!
HARMONY DAY - Monday 21st March The message of Harmony Day is everyone belongs. It is a day to celebrate Australia’s diversity; a day of cultural respect of everyone who calls Australia home. Monday 21st March, we celebrated Harmony Day at Southhaven Nursing Home. Orange is the representative colour of Harmony Day, so we decorated our nursing home with orange balloons, ribbons and different harmony pictures. Our amazing kitchen staff prepared different multicultural dishes for our residents to taste. After that, we started to prepare for our concert that was hosted by our amazing entertainer Shobha and her team!! Our residents had a great time singing and dancing with Shobha’s multicultural singing and dancing. Have a happy Harmony Day everyone!!
Resident Story - Kathleen Keyes Kathleen, who has always been referred to as Joan, was born in Punchbowl in 1922. Joan was one of 13 children; there were 8 girls and 5 boys and she lived in Punchbowl all her life. Joan married Arthur Keyes just after WW1 and had a boy, Raymond, and two girls, Margaret and Julie, who still live close by. Joan worked at a shoe factory (now closed) at Riverwood during the war years and later on for a while after her children were bor n, to Kathleen with one of her daughters supplement the family income. Joan played the piano and enjoyed dancing, as her husband was a part time musician who played in the big bands during and after the war years. Arthur was an engineer. Sadly today, Joan only has two of her younger sisters still living and they are just coming into their 90s. Until recently, whilst at home, Joan always kept up to date with the news and current affairs and enjoyed lively conversation.
Thankyou Fr. Steve Monaghan Jeremiah 3:15 – “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding”. A very special thank you to Fr. Steve for the hours he gladly gives to our residents. Thank you for how you are fulfilling the call of God, by sharing the gift He gave you to bless us with His words. Thank you for the Sunday Church Services you run for our residents that will leave them profoundly touched by the words of comfort, hope and peace. We thank you for serving our nursing home and our Lord so well. Thank you is not nearly enough, but we hope these words will express how blessed all of the residents and staff here at Southhaven Nursing Home are to have you here with us. Also, a big and special thank you from the RAO’s at Southhaven!!
love
1 John 3:18
Pastoral Care
Let us not with word or speech but with actions and in truth
ONE DAY AT A TIME
A frail, elderly woman fell and broke her hip. The doctor set the bones as best he could, but he knew that she would have a long and uncomfortable recovery. The next day when he visited her in the hospital, he found her in great anxiety. “Oh, Doctor,” she asked, “how long am I going to have to stay in bed?” He thought about her question and then with great wisdom and kindness said “Only one day – one day at a time”. And that was a good piece of advice, something we need to think about. Very often we worry about life and feel we can’t cope with too much. Not like the committed Christian lady who had learned a lot about life. She said “I’ve had a lot of trouble in my life - and most of it never happened!” It was imaginary, like so many of our worries. You may know the story about Sir William Osler, the great doctor and teacher at John Hopkins University. His medical students were getting tired and stressed out, and he said, “Learn to live in day-tight compartments.” What is a day-tight compartment? You know what a water-tight compartment is. You put some water in a jar, screw on the lid, and when you tip it over the water doesn’t leak out. Osler instructed his students to circle each twenty-four-hour period and live within that period, with their full focus and energy. If a day seemed too overwhelming, he suggested circling an hour and coping with that hour. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow; God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Living Bible). It seems to me that Jesus is saying to us this is the way we should live – live in bite sized pieces in 24 hours segments. We each have got the present time. That’s all I have. That’s all I have to give to this world. Not next hour or next month but right now. That’s the gift that God has given to me so I ought to use it. Just because the future is uncertain and unsure and brief, doesn’t mean you get all uptight and get paralysed with panic and worry. It’s the motivation to trust God more. You put your trust in God. That’s how you face the future. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.” That’s what counts. David said in Psalm 35:15 “Lord, my days are in your hands.” In Psalm 37:5 we read “Let the Lord lead you and trust Him to help” Writing to the Christians of Ephesus nineteen centuries ago Paul says, “Make the best use of your time.” Ephesians 5:16 There are two reasons why we should do that: 1. It is God’s time each day that we are using and enjoying, or wasting and letting slip by. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NIV) 2. Kipling had the idea in his famous poem “If ”. “If you can fill each unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run…” There is so much we can do for God, and so much God has given us to enjoy, that to waste time is like throwing a precious gift out the window. 3. But there is a more sombre thought: Today could be your last day in this earthly life. That is a possibility no-one wants to think about, but which nobody can deny. That very practical Christian, James, wrote: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” James 4: 13-14 (NIV) If this were your last day on earth, how would you use it? There was a commercial years ago on TV that said “It doesn’t matter how long you live if you’re not doing anything with your life.” We worry about the duration. How long are we going to live. God worries about the donation. What are you doing with it. Am I making my life count or frittering it away on non-essentials, things that aren’t going to count? God says, Make your life count - do it now! - By Chris Witts
Bereavements
Our deepest sympathies have gone out to the families who have lost their loved ones over the Autumn period.
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Volunteer Corner National Volunteer Week We celebrated National Volunteer Week on 9th-15th May. Our annual Volunteer Thank You Lunch at St. George Sailing Club on Tuesday 10th May was a lovely chance to thank our 49 volunteers currently registered at Southhaven, as well as volunteers from Christadelphian Aged Care facilities throughout NSW. Volunteers shared a delicious three-course lunch and received a thank you gift - a DIY African Violet Kit that will be a memory of the day for years to come. A generous table of lucky door prizes were taken home by many excited winners. Every month, our volunteers give generously of their time, energy and compassion to help our residents and staff. In the month of April, volunteers spent 160 hours at Southhaven in all sorts of roles. Volunteer Birthdays Please wish our volunteers a happy birthday when you see them!
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
Loueze *special*
Margaret I Phil Stephen Brian *special* John H
Ken Mc Jacqui
Sam June Colin Val
A New Face - We welcome Tayla to our volunteering team. Tayla will be working with the RAOs to deliver exciting activities for our residents. She has a passion for aged care and is studying Occupational Therapy. Tayla also brings with her excellent communication skills from working in the retail sector. Tayla is very friendly so please take time to say hello. If you’re interested in joining the volunteers who already assist with mealtimes, please get in touch. The training is quick & straightforward but essential for the safety of our residents. If you are interested in joining the Volunteer program, please do not hesitate to contact me: Wendy Gould on 0400 016 809 or wgould@chomes.com.au Volunteer & Pastoral Care Coordinator Tue, Wed, Thu: 9:30am-4pm
Read, Rest & Relax!
Creamy Corn & Bacon Soup • 20g butter
• 1 leek, pale section only, coarsely chopped • 2 bacon rashers, finely chopped • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • 4 corn cobs, husks and silks removed • 1 brushed potato, peeled, coarsely chopped
1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the leek and bacon, stirring, for 5 mins or until leek softens. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 min or until fragrant.
2. Use a large sharp knife to cut down the length of each corn cob to remove kernels. Add corn kernels, potato and stock to the leek mixture. Bring to the boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 mins or until potato is tender.
• 4 cups (1L) chicken stock or vegetable stock
3. Carefully use a stick blender to blend until smooth. Stir in cream. Season.
• 1/2 cup (125ml) thickened cream
4. Ladle soup among serving bowls. Top with chilli and thyme.
• Finely chopped red chilli, to serve
Chilli popcorn: Toss 3 cups freshly popped popcorn with a mixture of 2 teaspoons icing sugar, 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes and a pinch of sea salt flakes, then process in a food processor until chopped.
• Thyme sprigs, to serve • Chilli popcorn, to serve (see ->) Serves 4
Disclaimer: All photos and stories have been published with consent of relatives and residents involved. Thank you for your submissions.