AgedPlus meets Julie Pelling

AgedPlus Magazine caught up with Julie Pelling about her love of the sector and how she came to have a career in aged care. Julie was recently appointed General Manager Operations at Lifecare Residences New Zealand.

JULIE PELLING General Manager Operations, Lifecare Residences y predominately female family of three sisters, lots of aunties and about 12 female cousins have been strong influences in my life,” said Julie.

To Julie’s delight, in such a female-dominated family, her first grandchild was a boy, followed soon after by another.

“I’m their number one supporter, and I love the rough and tumble time with them.”

“As a child, gardening with Mum gave me a love of being outdoors, and even now, I can pop out for a few minutes and come back hours later,” she said.

“But the time I spent as a child in the garage with dad, learning how to use his tools, are DIY skills that I still put to good use today.”

When Julie left school, she worked in hospitality, starting as a trainee manager at the Hyatt hotel, then working as a restaurant manager for many years.

“I loved it but left to start a family, and when I returned to work, it was as a practice manager of an emergency medical clinic,” said Julie.

She became interested in the software packages in use and branched into IT support and training doctors and nurses in using the software.

“It was easier than trying to decipher their handwriting,” she laughed. Her next venture took her in the direction of financial services to schools.

“I enjoyed the diversity of the different schools, from decile one through ten, high schools, primary, private and MOH funded to Kura’s. “As my children became less dependent, I returned to hospitality and spent several years working on a floating pavilion for an event management company.”

When a recession hit New Zealand, Julie was made redundant.

“It was a blessing; it gave me the time to reassess my career, to look outside of the areas I had previously worked in.

“I was appointed as a village manager for a retirement village, which was part of a large company that Cliff Cook founded.”

After six years, Julie moved on to Lifecare Residences, of which Cliff Cook is the principal. Cliff is also a founding member of the Retirement Village Association.

“I am passionate about retirement living and aged care.

“People are one of the best things about my job,” said Julie.

“There is a wealth of experience to be found amongst the residents.

“I never tire of hearing their stories, what times were like when they were growing up, jobs they had and their family life. I also continue to learn from them every day and I’m often kept on my toes. The residents, their families and the staff play a crucial part in making village life the place where our people choose to live, work, play and have fun.”

We asked Julie if there was a country that she would love to explore and learn more about aged care and retirement living. Her answer was England.

“Lifecare Residences in the UK has three exceptional retirement communities. The aged care industry is in its infancy and is growing. Compliance is complex, and I would like to learn more about this.

“The villages are beautiful, and to see how enriched the residents’ lives are living in these environments would be something I would like to learn from and bring back to the New Zealand villages.

“I would also like to visit the dementia villages in the Netherlands as I find them fascinating,” she said.

One of the attractions for retirement village

living is that older adults feel safe and secure. Not only while they are at home, but many residents like to travel (pre-COVID-19), and to be able to go away safe in the knowledge that their home will be secure and looked after gives them peace of mind.

“At Lifecare Residences, companionship, coupled with a variety of events and activities, is sometimes a surprise to new residents.

“Happy hour is enjoyed by many, and they see this in the same way they did when enjoying a drink at the end of the working week with friends. Many residents have previously spent years isolated in the family home, especially if they have been married for many years and find themselves on their own.

“The sense of community is comforting and enjoyable. Residents appreciate the staff and their efforts in delivering services with a smile, or just a chat, and a genuine desire to help. One of the very best things about living in one of our villages is that the resident gets to call the shots and live their life as they choose. They can be as private or as social as they like, knowing that care is available 24 hours a day if needed,” said Julie.

Food and the dining experience are very dear to all our hearts. The focus at Lifecare Residences has been on food and beverage for the last eighteen months. ”Focus group meetings, several surveys and lots of talking with the residents has been undertaken to understand better what they like and would like to see more often. Several times a week, we have restaurant inspired menus, and the residents often request these.”

The turnout to these dinners continues to grow, and every few months, a buffet with live entertainment is a very welcome addition. These nights are a big hit with the diners. The meals delivered to the care home are nutritious, delicious and dietician approved. They have also become very popular as a room service option with village residents. They offer a break away from cooking and are an affordable change from cooking for one.

COVID-19 changed the lives of everyone around the world, and the residents at Lifecare have appreciated living in a retirement village during this challenging period.

“The staff were fantastic, and nothing was too much to ask and often extended to doing things they had never imagined, like shopping for the residents, growing our activities to become a daily focus and something to become immersed in and look forward to.

The team have become very creative.

“We’ve celebrated a special 70th wedding anniversary and significant birthdays. The care home residents also sang to the village residents with a rap song they wrote.

“From singing groups, door art, cruise ship inspired happy hours, to name a few, and all delivered from a distance. The residents looked after really well, and families had peace of mind.

“It was also a time of great opportunity to look at ways could improve our systems and delivery of service. We are in the process of upgrading our resident management software to one of the most sophisticated models in the world. Residents will be able to order services and kept informed of events in the village from the comfort of their homes.”

The retirement sector is in a state of growth and offers a huge variety of roles for everyone. According to Julie, it is a lovely environment to work in with roles across management, food and beverage, clinical care through maintenance, sales, and social coordinators. With a sense of accomplishment that the residents appreciate the service provided.

“We also work with some amazing people. I am very happy to be working in a sector I feel passionate about and know that our staff feel the same. Our culture is infectious and inclusive and all about having fun while doing what we love,” concluded Julie.

“Happy hour is enjoyed by many, and they see this in the same way they did when enjoying a drink at the end of the working week with friends.”