Essie Summers Retirement Village • Summer edition 2018
Mexican Fiesta The village celebrated International Month with a fabulous Mexican celebration
Nurse station ‘grand designs’
Meet Lois
Middle Eastern dress
Greetings from Rosemary... Hello and welcome to the summer edition of Essie’s Novella.
popularity within the wider community as a preferred village of residence is gaining traction.
As the weather is heating up, we celebrated with some great social events such as the Melbourne Cup and the New Zealand Trotting Cup.
Also staff retention remains high and the satisfaction levels for residents and their relatives are consistently positive. Many are telling us it is a positive delight spending time at Essie Summers.
At this time of year, there are such wonderful opportunities to spend time with our loved ones. So please feel welcome to come in and join us.
As always if Mel or I can be of any assistance please feel most welcome to pop in for a chat.
As we come to the closing of the year it is a great time to take stock and reflect on what we have achieved.
Kind regards,
It has been a busy and fruitful time as our lovely village grows from strength to strength. Our
Rosemary Deane Village Manager
Kokatahi band visit In October Essie Summers hosted the Kokatahi Band from the West Coast. This was a truly fabulous event with much footstomping music, great jokes, plenty of merriment, singing and laughter. All finished off with a beautiful afternoon tea. Vicki
Rosemary Deane Village Manager Ph: 03 337 2702 Call Rosemary for general enquiries, or information about resthome, hospital and dementia care.
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Susie Cowles Sales Advisor Ph: 03 337 6500 Talk to Susie for information about townhouses or serviced apartments.
Nurse sttatio on ‘g grand design ns’ Decoration themes were picked out of a hat, on how Essie Summers teams would get to ‘glam up’ a nurse station. Themes included ‘neon’, ‘beach/summer’, ‘romance’, ‘jungle”, ‘outer space’ and ‘fantasy’. Staff worked together to transform each of the nurse’s stations, then visitors and residents got to vote on which was the best. The residents were left in awe at the sights of some stations. They were happy to see something different. Each station was brought to life with different materials and colours, and it felt as though you really were in a different place. The hospital won the vote, with a jungle theme. Everyone enjoyed the event, and it was sad to see these decorations taken out. Above: Team CARE, flying high with a space work station theme. Special care unit resident Gerald Stringer with Activities Coordinator Lavinia Quinn. Right: The hospital jungle scene was the favourite among residents, staff and visitors.
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Top Effort
RYMAN E H T
H E A LT H C A R E S E A S O
If you notice the Christmas decorations going up a bit earlier in our villages this year, it’s to celebrate our partnership with the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s season of The Nutcracker. We know our residents will enjoy being immersed in the whimsical story of the Nutcracker as our villages are transformed – think sugar plum fairies, gingerbread houses and toy soldiers. There will be a range of activities on offer – from appreciating Tchaikovsky’s beautiful
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musical score, to having a go at making themed-decorations for display. The ballet will be touring throughout New Zealand, opening in Wellington on 31 October, and finishing in Auckland on 15 December.
Want to see a show near you? Contact your village reception for exclusive Ryman discounts on tickets!
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Ryman chefs take top prize At the recent New Zealand Hospitality Awards, our in-house Chefs; Steve Iraia and Paul Korunic, took the top two prizes.
also pleased to go one better than last year. “We’ve got the two top positions in the country, which is a brilliant result.’’
Steve has been the chef at Princess Alexandra village in Napier for 10 years. He was named the winner in the senior lifestyle section.
Steve and Paul had 75 minutes to cook meals for eight people consisting of four hoki loin dishes and four dishes featuring beef cheeks.
Steve came second in last year’s competition.
Ryman Hotel Services Manager Andrew Gibson said he was proud of the chefs, as the dishes they prepared had to be practical and suitable for Ryman menus.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic, it was a bit like taking care of some unfinished business.”
Village chefs serve up more than 10,000 meals a day to our residents. Chefs prepare the food fresh on-site, with three main course choices, including a vegetarian option.
Both Steve and Paul’s classic recipes feature in Ryman Delicious menus. Paul, Chef at Anthony Wilding village in Christchurch for the last four years, was
myRyman rollout crosses the finishing line Our myRyman electronic care system has been rolled out to all our villages in New Zealand. myRyman is a robust electronic care system located in each resident’s room. It allows nurses and care assistants to view the full care profile of each resident at the touch of a button. Information is recorded in real time, dramatically reducing paperwork. In 2015, Chief Operations Officer Barbara ReynenRose went looking for an electronic care
system but couldn’t find one she liked, so Ryman decided to build its own version.
“It makes us excited about what’s possible, and where we can take it next.” Chief Executive Gordon MacLeod said the project would keep Ryman Healthcare at the forefront of aged care. “What we have achieved is very, very rare. To take a concept that involved a complete change in how people work and make it into a system that is operable 24/7 in a care operation is incredible. “It makes us excited about what’s possible, and where we can take it next.’’
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Resident Profile
Meet Lois
However, for the last 10 of those years I was on my own, after Tom passed away in 2008. We have three children, Louise, Stephen and Kevin. Kevin now lives on the Gold Coast, but the other two Stephen and Louise are based in Christchurch. Living on a farm, I naturally had a lot to do with animals. I’ve lost count of the number of pet lambs we raised. But raise them we did, and they always recognised us when out in the paddock as grown sheep. I am also very fond of cats and left two behind on the farm when I made the move to Essie Summers. Until two weeks ago I had never lived in a big city. Now I am greatly enjoying all the company here as a care resident.
I am greatly enjoying all the company here. My name’s Lois Maher. I was born in Blenheim, one of nine children. My eight siblings are now all living in Blenheim, Auckland and Brisbane. In 1965 I married Tom Maher and moved to a farm in the Awatere Valley in Marlborough. I enjoyed living in the valley and had an amazing farm-based life for the next 53 years.
Though I have lost a bit of mobility over the last year I love being out in the gardens of the village. I also enjoy the opportunities for friendship and conversation and I often get caught up reading books and the paper and listening to the radio. Television’s a bit of a novelty, however. We hadn’t had one of those for twenty years!
Mexican cuisine Hola, cómo estas? Do you like to eat burritos, enchiladas or tacos? Sound familiar? How about mezcal and tequila? Now you know what I’m talking about! It was a Mexican fiesta themed event here in Essie Summers. Staff wore colourful Mexican costumes from bright striped
ponchos to wide-asumbrellas sombreros. Residents enjoyed the dancing entertainment with our hip Mexican moves. It was fun! Hasta Luego! Pictured: Residents had fun dressing up and dancing for fiesta.
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Middle Eastern culture
Painting time
In a cultural day, residents and staff dressed in Middle Eastern garb. From Princess Jasmine to the UAE’s Sheik we had it on show. Visitors were left wondering if we came from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam. Ila-liqaa! (Until we meet again!)
Art tutor Margaret Doerner has had us focused on still life, landscapes, and figures including cats and dogs. The sessions have proved enjoyable and successful for all involved. Some residents see painting as their favourite activity and show amazing results.
Pictured: Staff dressed for success at a Middle Eastern cultural day.
Pictured: Margaret Doerner and care resident Margaret Griffiths.
Staff Profile
Introducing Vivian
Hi, my name’s Vivian Sayson. I’m a registered nurse and the Hospital Unit Coordinator at Essie Summers. I was born and raised in the Philippines, where my father and two siblings still live. My mother passed away in December last year. I worked for eight years in the Philippines as a nurse in the corrections department. It was a tough job, but I learned a lot about people.
Almost every day there are little miracles.
I came to New Zealand in 2006 and was one of the first in the group to be offered a Ryman
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scholarship. I have worked in care for Ryman Healthcare in Auckland, Whangarei and, since 2014, Essie Summers in Christchurch. I love the job. It offers an opportunity to make a difference to the quality of people’s lives. Almost every day there are little miracles. Away from work I love music and singing including karaoke and spending time with friends. I especially enjoy the countryside. Driving along the long empty roads helps me relax and clear my mind.
Father’s Day Father’s Day was celebrated in style, with lots of fun, music and love. Our lovely Fathers were treated to a midday meal with fish and chips.
There were indoor games of shoot the cans, horse racing and golf pong, and good sporting spirit between our men.
There was an impromptu Bollywood performance by our lovely care staff Varinder Singh and Karam Kaur. The residents enjoyed the change in music.
Pictured: Fathers enjoy shoot the cans, golf pong and other activities.
Upcoming events December
January
12
18
Sweet Adelines performance
New Year Happy Hour
222 Colombo Street, Christchurch
www.essiesummers.co.nz