Winter 2016
About Life
At Life Care we view aged care differently. Bringing together clients, family, staff and volunteers to mix and mingle with their footy heroes is just another way we support our ‘Live Every Day’ philosophy.
About Life Winter 2016
Mission Our purpose is to partner with people to embrace life and ‘Live Every Day’. Vision Life Care is an innovative provider of quality services to the ageing. We are recognised as a preferred option of choice for active ageing and an employer of choice for staff. This is achieved by an outstanding team working in a flexible and integrated approach with volunteers and partners. Values Integrity · Respect Innovation · Excellence Teamwork
WHAT’S INSIDE... Welcome from our CEO Allen Candy Developing partnership Dementia-specific design innovations at Joslin Dementia excellence Reynella kitchen party Celebrating Life Care’s amazing volunteers! The Crows fly high at Everard Park CEO luncheon with Maggie Beer 100 years a princess! Ruth and Fred celebrate! Helpful hampers and pillows Thank you from Vyv Catch us at Adelaide Oval
Welcome from our CEO Since the last edition of ‘About Life’, we have seen the Federal Government deliver its 2016/17 budget and the Coalition Government re-elected.
The May Federal Budget included significant funding cuts for the Aged Care sector, totalling $1.2 billion over four years. While acknowledging and understanding the Government’s budget and ongoing fiscal challenges, funding cuts of this magnitude will erode the capacity of providers across the sector to deliver services to those who need it. With the Coalition now re-elected, it is imperative that the new Cabinet recognises that ensuring appropriate funding and the delivery of Aged Care services throughout the community is a vital issue for the elderly and their families, now and into the future. It is essential that Australia has a strong and viable sector, that is capable of delivering the quality of life outcomes and choices that our senior Australians deserve and the broader community expects.
Despite the funding cuts, Life Care remains committed to furthering its capacity to deliver ‘Live Every Day’ experiences to all its clients. With the uncertainty surrounding the future of Government funding and the continued move to a more competitive user pay system, change and the need to plan for the expected change is greater than ever. With this in mind, I am pleased to advise that the Life Care Management Team has finalised the 2016-2021 Strategic Plan, and the accompanying Master Plan. Allen Candy
Strategic Plan 2016-2021 In June 2016 the Life Care Board formally adopted the 2016-2021 Strategic Plan. As we commence this Strategic Planning Cycle, Life Care is a much more dynamic, agile and resilient organisation than at the same stage of the last Strategic Planning Cycle. This has been achieved through the commitment, focus and teamwork of the broader Life Care Community. The 2016-2021 Strategic Plan articulates a set of ambitious, yet achievable goals to deliver a comprehensive, integrated approach to Aged Care accommodation and services through the Life Care Service Model. The achievement of these goals will position Life Care at the forefront of a rapidly changing sector and ensure long-term viability. The re-development of our key sites to support the delivery of our Integrated Communities Model was a mere aspiration five years ago. Now it is a reality, with the recent completion of the Aldinga Beach Court re-development and imminent commencement of the new Life Care Joslin campus, marking the next step in the rollout of the Life Care Master Plan. These property developments coupled with significant investment in our workforce and leadership, will see Life Care offer services that the community truly acknowledges and appreciates. This will only be achieved by focusing on our 4Cs (Client Focused, Commercial, Cohesive and Consistent) and by being true to our values. Through this plan, Life Care sets a course that will underpin its success for decades to come.
Developing partnership Life Care has partnered with Pedare Christian College to create a modern integrated living community, which will be built on vacant land at the corner of Surrey Farm Drive and The Golden Way.
The sale of the Pedare Christian College owned land will allow Life Care to develop a firstof-its-kind integrated living option in the region. This new Life Care campus will combine 102 Independent Living homes and serviced apartments plus an 80 room Residential Living service. The multi-storey development will be an attractive addition to the Golden Grove landscape and has been designed with current and future generations in mind. The unused land will be transformed into a genuine public hub and create greater choice for local residents now and in the future. The $60 million Life Care investment will incorporate allied health services, a cafÊ, hairdresser and other lifestyle activities that will contribute to the greater community in a visually spectacular setting. It’s anticipated that Pedare College and Life Care will have the opportunity to incorporate Junior through to Senior school learning options in food technology, allied health and aged care. We are very excited about this development and see it as another way in which Life Care views aged care differently, and is developing innovative partnerships to deliver on this promise.
Dementia-specific design innovations at Joslin
The re-development of our Joslin campus, Roselin Court, remains on track. The design phase is now finalised and we are very excited about the dementia-specific design innovations that have been incorporated in the project through our partnership with the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) at Stirling University (UK). The project has now moved to the demolition and construction phase and Mossop Construction and Interiors have been selected as our preferred builder. The demolition and early works phase of the project commenced in July 2016. It is expected that this part of the project will take four - six weeks to complete. The overall construction is expected to take 12 months and with a commissioning period of three months, it is hoped that the new facility will be open and operating by October 2017. We look forward to keeping you informed of the progress throughout this exciting time at Life Care.
“Our staff were really engaged. They found the Simulated Learning Activity experience challenging but meaningful.” Trish Kolberg | Recruitment & Utilisation Manager
”The workshop had a positive impact on staff and has fuelled the fire within all of us to truly appreciate and strive to ensure a ‘Live Every Day’ experience for our clients.” Ranel Juanta | Manager Human Resources
Dementia excellence
Shirley Law, Head of Learning and Development at The Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), Stirling University was at Life Care in February. She undertook training with some of our staff to be facilitators of the three dementia training programs we were looking to roll out across the organisation. Since this time, we have implemented two of the programs. The Impact of Ageing and Dementia As part of our ongoing commitment to provide excellence in Dementia care, all Life Care staff, including the Board and our Executive have undertaken a four-hour training workshop – The Impact of Ageing and Dementia. This has included all staff, regardless of their role at Life Care. So whether our
staff are carers on the front line working with our clients or providing at home care, property or maintenance officers, account, admin and IT staff in our Melbourne Street Office, through to all Board members, everyone attended this workshop. The four-hour workshop included a simulation session which participants had to actively take part in. There were five sensory tables which everyone experienced, and then had to reflect on. What it is like not to be able to see fully, or hear properly. What it feels like to try and write or pick up small objects when you have lost some of the feeling in your fingers. This proved to be a challenging but insightful experience for everyone involved. Best Practice in Dementia Care Two of our Care Coordinators, Lorraine Gubbins and Sue Rutgers have just completed training by Skype with DSDC,
Stirling, to become facilitators in the Best Practice in Dementia Care program and join 12 other facilitators across Life Care. Lorraine and Sue are completing a condensed program with all the other Care Coordinators and three Residential Services Managers. The other 12 Life Care facilitators (see above with Shirley Law, centre front) have nearly completed four out of six modules with approximately 115 of our staff, mainly carers, from across the organisation. The next step in this program is to invite all Life Care volunteers to a workshop on “Impact of Ageing and Dementia” and to roll-out a program to the families of residents and to the general community. These initiatives demonstrate Life Care’s commitment to promoting Dementia Excellence at every level of the organisation and we will continue to make this a focus in all of our service areas.
Reynella kitchen party We always welcome a visit by Crows players, and when Tony Modra and Paul Seedsman dropped into Reynella in June to catch up with some of our clients, we asked them to cut the ribbon to officially open the new kitchenettes and dining areas. The re-instatement of the kitchenettes is part of a larger pilot project which Life Care has undertaken, based on international research and best practice, which shows that a communal eating area provides our clients with an improved quality of life by being part of a small ‘home-like’ environment that reflects the everyday rhythms of life. After the ribbon was cut, morning tea was served using the new kitchenette which was enjoyed by Crows and clients alike!
Celebrating Life Care’s amazing volunteers!
The month of May is an important time for Life Care, as it gives us the opportunity to officially celebrate Volunteer Week – and thank our many volunteers who give so much to Life Care each year.
Volunteer Services Awards
5 years | Angela Hill
5 years | Milena Edson
5 years | Elizabeth King
5 years | Dina Stephen
5 years | Carol Wheaton
10 years | Kathlee
We all enjoyed a wonderful lunch at The Adelaide Pavilion where our volunteers came together to celebrate each other and Life Care and celebrate this year’s theme ‘Give Happy. Live Happy’ which is truly embraced at Life Care.
en Creaser
10 years | Lois Otterspoor
Life Care Chairman John Stock OAM and CEO Allen Candy thanked our volunteers for their tireless work in 2015, which equated to 25,000 hours, and highlighted how important their roles were in the lives of our clients, and staff.
10 years | Deborah Ryan
15 years | Marion McDonald
20 years | Jean Young
The lunch was also the perfect way to formally acknowledge those volunteers who have given 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service to Life Care. Dedicating so much time to a single organisation is a credit to our 250 volunteers, and also means our clients and staff can get to know them and develop long lasting friendships – which is a mutually beneficial outcome for all.
15 years | Barbara Cain
15 years | Ada Schultz
20 years | Lorraine Maddern
The Crows fly high at Everard Park
Life Care has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with the Adelaide Crows and our clients, staff, families and volunteers all enjoy the events and activities we hold with players each year. Like the Adelaide Football Club, Life Care believes in bringing people together in positive, thriving communities – and this is certainly what happened at our Family Day at Parkrose Village, Everard Park during the April school holidays. Parkrose was buzzing with excitement as the balloons went up and the team song was practiced, to welcome Crows players Eddie Betts and Andy Otten! The Crows Supporter Group set up in the car park, and cooked a sizzling BBQ lunch for everyone and Claude the Crow got into the spirit of the day. It was wonderful to see so many generations coming together to enjoy lunch, and to hear from the players. A highlight was the footy skills session when Eddie and Andy shared their tips and secrets with the little Crows fans who hung on every word and patiently lined up to get their jumpers and footballs signed. Eddie and Andy then went around to every client, signed their posters and had an individual photo with them – which was a great thrill for everyone and a wonderful memento of the day. Bringing together clients, family, staff and volunteers to mix and mingle with their footy heroes is just another way we view aged care differently – and believe in our ‘Live Every Day’ philosophy.
CEO luncheon with Maggie Beer
One of Life Care’s aims is to be a progressive and innovative operator in the Aged Care sector. A key way to achieve that is to engage with our clients and their families in an ongoing and meaningful manner, but we also need to do this with leaders in our sector.
One way we do this is at our CEO Luncheons, which CEO Allen Candy hosts several times a year. In May this year, the luncheon was specifically targeted at bringing together CEOs and business leaders from the aged care sector – to share ideas and discuss the complexities and challenges that face the broader aged care industry.
Maggie Beer joined this lunch and it was interesting to hear her perspective and listen to her talk about her passion and also her personal mission to link the latest research of nutrition’s impact on brain health and general wellbeing, with her innate knowledge of what good food can do for everyone’s state of mind.
Allen and Maggie were joined by CEOs Jane Mussared, COTA SA; Cathy Zesers, Active Ageing Australia; Jenny Hughes, Seniors Information Service Inc.; Carolanne Barkla, ARAS; Christine Belford, Parkinson’s SA with Dr Kate Barnett, Senior Research Fellow at Flinders University and Life Care Management Team members, Allan Quire, Director Strategy and Debs Muldoon, GM Innovation and Service Development.
100 years a princess! One of our Roselin Court clients – Penny – celebrated her 100th birthday in May this year… and did so in style! Penny, who has been at Roselin Court since 2014, was surrounded by love, laughter, cake and of course, a tiara to mark such a magnificent birthday. We love nothing more than throwing a party – and Penny’s birthday was a great reason to celebrate a wonderful, fun-filled life. Penny shared memories of travelling abroad with her family, playing many sports and competing in Highland Dancing. She joined the WRENS and worked in the Naval Stores, and retained her independence, driving her own car until she was 92. Our staff and volunteers love sharing stories and activities with Penny - with happy hour, reading, word games and pet visits among her favourite things to do! Happy Birthday Penny – 100 years and going strong!
Ruth and Fred celebrate! Two clients at Aldinga Beach Court celebrated a very special day in April – Ruth and Fred were surrounded by friends and family as they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Our Chaplin Sue Ind shared a few insights about Ruth and Fred, before cutting a beautiful cake, which was made by Julie, one of our carers. In typical style, Ruth and Fred didn’t want a fuss made, so quietly organised the party and the cake themselves and then invited everyone to join in the fun! Ruth and Fred have been involved at Aldinga Beach Court since it opened 19 years ago, and Ruth’s father was one of its first clients. Ruth and Fred even volunteered for Life Care, before becoming clients themselves. They grew up in England – and met when one of Fred’s mates asked him to look after Ruth whilst he went to War – and as they say – the rest is history. It’s wonderful to share such significant milestones with our clients, and for them to be surrounded by staff, carers, friends and family! Happy Anniversary!
Helpful hampers and pillows
Thank you from Vyv
Over the past two years, Care Works and Life Care have built a strong relationship through the introduction of the Christmas Hamper Drive. As part of this relationship, we thought there may be other projects that we could work together on, to support the communities that both organisations are connected with. Care Works came back and told us about their Mother’s Day Project. They had identified a number of families who were affected by domestic violence, which especially affects women and can make Mother’s Day a difficult time for everyone. Many of our clients were happy to get involved with the Mother’s Day Project. Life Care donated some gifts that our clients wrapped and delivered to Care Works for children to share with their mums on Mother’s Day.
Projects like this are embraced by Life Care and especially by groups like Crafty Chats. They love to get involved with projects that really make an impact on their community and also bring some joy to other people’s lives. It gives them an opportunity to put their many skills to great use and provides a common goal for everyone to share. Our Crafty Chats group are always kept busy – they are making beautiful teddys, as well as Christmas decorations for a local primary school fête, and are always on the look out for other community projects to get involved with!
Life Care often has the pleasure of caring for people who are recovering from surgery or an injury. One such transitional care client, was Vyv, who spent 9 weeks at Aldinga Beach Court. During her time with us, Vyv wanted to create a piece of art and so began a painting, which is now hanging in our Willunga Lounge for everyone to enjoy. Vyv and her partner Chris, had such a wonderful time at Aldinga Beach Court that they want to come back and do some volunteering so they can keep alive the connections they made during her stay.
Catch us at Adelaide Oval This year, in addition to our player visits and Family Days, Life Care is sponsoring a fleet of buggies, which drive around the Adelaide Oval for 2 hours before each Crows home game, picking up fans and taking them to the front gate! Our Life Care buggies have been a great hit, as fans ‘hail & hop on’ for a free ride. It’s our way to celebrate each Crows match and also to get out amongst the fans and live the Life Care message. At Life Care, we encourage our clients, volunteers, families and staff to make the most of every day – to get out and about, remain independent and do the things they love – like going to the footy! Catch you at the game!
Life Care Active Life Care at Home Respite Independent Living Residential Living
Would you like more information about Life Care or to receive your own copy of About Life? Contact us Call 08 8239 9800 Email enquire@lifecare.org.au www.lifecare.org.au
About Life magazine is the official publication of the Churches of Christ Life Care Inc. Corporate Services 263 Melbourne Street North Adelaide SA 5006