P ossum’s POST Possum Bourne Retirement Village • Summer edition ion 2018
Positive vibes Our Triple A and choir superstars represented the village at the recent Positive Aging Expo
Meet Vivienne and Kelvin
Wellness Month
Oktoberfest
Greetings from Philip... Hello and welcome to the summer edition of Possum’s Post.
people. Thank you to everyone for making this village a home.
As 2018 draws to a close, we can look back on another very busy and successful year at Possum Bourne. During the year, we completed the construction on townhouses in April and since that time we have met many new residents.
With Christmas fast approaching we are looking forward to the Ryman Healthcare and Royal New Zealand Ballet’s season of The Nutcracker. With Christmas activities and events planned I for one can’t wait for the season to come.
Jamie and his team have done a fantastic job on the gardens. With the warmer months upon us the gardens are in full bloom and they look gorgeous. It is always a pleasure to stroll through them at the end of the day.
Wishing you a very merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
The highlight of the year for me has been watching our residents come together to make the village into the great community it is today. The village is more than the buildings and the grounds – as beautiful as they are – it’s about the
Kind regards,
Philip Hanson Village Manager
Hello! I am delighted to have joined the wonderful team here as sales advisor. I am happy to help you with any retirement living needs and look forward to getting to know all of you. We also have a fantastic event on the 20th of November – David Hartnell talk. I hope to see you there. Jo
Philip Hanson Village Manager Ph: 09 238 0370 Call Philip for general enquiries, or for any information about resthome, hospital or dementia care.
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Jo Claire Sales Advisor Ph: 09 238 0808 Talk to Jo for information about independent apartments, townhouses or serviced apartments.
Franklin Positive Aging Expo In September, our village joined the Positive Ageing Expo, which is held every year at the Indian hall in Pukekohe. This is the second year that our residents have taken part in the expo. Our Triple A superstars demonstrated their moves on the stage and they looked spectacular. The practice sessions certainly showed as everyone was in sync. Not only did our Triple A stars shine, our choir also performed to a mesmerised crowd. A fantastic village-wide effort. We also had a stall on the day where the public could find out more about our wonderful and vibrant community. The day was certainly enjoyable, and we will definitely attend next year. Above: The residents in action showing how a Triple A class works. Right: Vivienne Fitness and Shirley Guthrie-Mooy.
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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 Vivienne & Kelvin
with a plant and seed nursery, which she thoroughly enjoyed. We have two grown up children, our son lives in Hobsonville Point and our daughter lives in Port Macquarie, Australia. We also have five super grandchildren. In early 2015, we were very pleased to read that Ryman was coming to Pukekohe. It meant that we could still stay within the Franklin area, where we have a number of friends. As some of our family were living overseas, we thought it would be a great idea to put our name down for a place here at the village.
We have joined the choir in the village and are actively involved in many activities.
We grabbed the chance to purchase with both hands and we certainly do not regret it. It was the right decision for us and we have been very happy here in our townhouse. We were also lucky to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and it was a good time for us to move.
Greetings everyone, our names are Vivienne and Kelvin Fitness. During our working lives, Kelvin had a variety of jobs, from working in the printing industry, to a franchise with Green Acres, to being a caretaker at Te Hihi School, which was the position he retired from. Vivienne had mainly clerical work during her working life, with her last employment being
We have joined the choir in the village and are actively involved in many activities, especially Triple A. We feel very thankful for being here, and we appreciate our wonderful staff and management. Nothing is too much trouble for them and we certainly appreciate all that is done for us.
Wellness Month During Wellness Month we held a Step back in Time event where we displayed memorabilia and photos from our residents in the village. It was wonderful to see all these items from another era. Independent resident Wendy Craig also made a fantastic miniature model of a lounge – she is a very talented lady!
The Step back in Time event was a great conversation starter and many learned things they didn’t know about each other or the past. Pictured: Resident Wendy Craig with one of her fantastic models.
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Men’s Club
Blue Ribbon breakfast
Recently the Men’s Club decided it was time to explore their culinary skills and created several delicious pizzas with different toppings. Naturally it was a pro and anti-pineapple debate, but despite that, they enjoyed the pizzas with their choice of beer. A great afternoon!
During September, we held a Blue Ribbon Breakfast to raise awareness and funds for the New Zealand Prostate Cancer Foundation. It was wonderful to see so many residents supporting this great organisation by dressing up in blue. In total we raised $2,950 for the Foundation.
Pictured: The men ready to tuck into the pizzas.
Pictured: Thank you to everyone who came to support this great cause.
Staff Profile
Introducing Sharon
I feel very lucky to work at Possum Bourne and have met so many lovely people with amazing life stories.
Hi, my name is Sharon Wilton and I am the serviced apartment coordinator. I grew up in Cooma, Australia. I worked for a telecommunications company and was made redundant in the late 1990s. I then moved to Queensland, with my two teenage children where I met my partner, John. I began working in aged care as a carer and was offered a scholarship to do my nursing diploma. After graduating I worked for Queensland Health in palliative care, the acquired brain injury unit and transition care.
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I moved to New Zealand with my partner in 2016 to be closer to his elderly parents and our grandson Duke. My weekends are spent exploring the North Island, being on grandma-duty and working on our little patch of paradise in Waiuku. I feel very lucky to work at Possum Bourne and have met so many lovely people with amazing life stories. It truly is a special place.
Oktoberfest Possum Bourne residents love to celebrate Oktoberfest and recently the independent residents celebrated with a great Happy Hour.
Thank you to the kitchen and the activities team for this wonderful event of fun and laughter. We can’t wait for next year!
The residents loved the theme and there were many great costumes on the day. In between dancing to the music of the oompah band, residents also had the chance to sample some delicious German finger food and of course beer.
Pictured: Our residents loved dressing up for the festivities. Inset: Resident Bruce Wiseman posing with the cut-out.
Upcoming events November
December
20
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A morning with Daniel Hartnell
Christmas in the village
Lisle Farm Drive, Pukekohe
www.possumbournevillage.co.nz