Western News: December 12, 2017
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WESTERN NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Tuesday <strong>December</strong> <strong>12</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 7<br />
Early birthday present for retirement village<br />
NESTLED near the Port<br />
Hills, Ryman Healthcare’s<br />
Anthony Wilding Retirement<br />
Village received some fantastic<br />
news in late November.<br />
Just in time for the village’s<br />
10th anniversary!<br />
The village received a fouryear<br />
certication from the<br />
Ministry of Health (MOH) with<br />
continuous improvements in<br />
ve areas, which means that<br />
Anthony Wilding Retirement<br />
Village is continuing to exceed<br />
the set MOH standards in<br />
ve areas.<br />
A fantastic result that<br />
village staff and residents<br />
are really proud of. The fouryear<br />
certication means<br />
that the village will not have<br />
another audit in four years.<br />
However, near the two-year<br />
mark the next audit will<br />
be announced.<br />
Village Manager Sharon<br />
Armstrong said that she and<br />
her team will be ready.<br />
“It’s what you should be<br />
doing anyway, but it’s having<br />
the proof to show that you<br />
are succeeding.”<br />
Sharon said that her team<br />
was incredibly pleased by the<br />
result and will continue to go<br />
from strength to strength and<br />
improve wherever they can.<br />
“One of the continuous<br />
improvements that was<br />
close to my heart was staff<br />
retention and staff morale. The<br />
auditor actually stated that<br />
she’s never given one for staff<br />
morale before, which really<br />
pleased us.”<br />
Sharon, who was the assistant<br />
to the manager before stepping<br />
into the manager role, recalls<br />
the open-door policy put in<br />
place by the previous manager<br />
Diana Hanan. Sharon and her<br />
Clinical Manager, Jeannie Sales,<br />
have continued the policy.<br />
Diana, now the regional<br />
manager for the area, Sharon<br />
and Jeannie worked hard to<br />
make sure that someone is<br />
always available if the staff<br />
Village manager Sharon Armstrong and resthome resident Cath Gillespie.<br />
needed to see management.<br />
“Diana and I made sure<br />
that we recruited the right<br />
people for the role. It was also<br />
important that one member of<br />
the upper management team is<br />
always available to them. If the<br />
staff want to see you, they want<br />
to see you for a reason.”<br />
The audit also included<br />
looking at infections, human<br />
resources, and the food served<br />
at the village.<br />
Sharon said it was great<br />
hearing the feedback and<br />
knowing what the residents<br />
thought and also that<br />
technology has helped<br />
improve systems already<br />
in place.<br />
Technology like the<br />
myRyman care app has not<br />
only improved the medical<br />
aspect of caring for the elderly<br />
but it has also given a very<br />
personal touch to each and<br />
every resident’s care.<br />
Everyone has access to the<br />
rst-class care at the village<br />
and the care centre is available<br />
to anyone and everyone where<br />
there are beds available now.<br />
For Sharon and her team,<br />
making sure the family of<br />
residents feel secure is just<br />
as important as looking after<br />
the residents.<br />
“The rst thing most<br />
notice and comment on is<br />
the atmosphere and feel of<br />
the village.”<br />
Most visitors comment on<br />
the friendliness of the staff,<br />
the vibrancy of their uniforms<br />
and the range of activities the<br />
village provides.<br />
The staff work hard to make<br />
sure that the village is a home<br />
for the residents and not just a<br />
care facility.<br />
For resthome resident Cath<br />
Gillespie, 93, it’s the security<br />
of knowing that there is<br />
always someone on hand that<br />
encouraged her to move in.<br />
“I made up my mind to come<br />
after my fall. Nobody forced<br />
me here.”<br />
Cath, who moved into the<br />
village in 2016, loves her room<br />
with a door to the courtyard<br />
with the garden. For her the<br />
hardest part was giving up the<br />
house that she and her husband<br />
had built in 1956.<br />
“That was really hard, but it’s<br />
lovely here. The staff are really<br />
good and friendly.”<br />
The village also provides<br />
support for all stages people<br />
go through as they age. From<br />
independent townhouses,<br />
serviced apartments, for<br />
those that need a bit of extra<br />
household help, through to the<br />
care centre.<br />
The care centre offers the very<br />
best of resthome, hospital and<br />
dementia care. All the rooms<br />
are private and have their own<br />
ensuite. Ryman also offers<br />
respite care from three days to<br />
10 weeks, so if you are the carer<br />
for someone in your family and<br />
you need a break or are going on<br />
holiday – the staff will look after<br />
your loved one at the village.<br />
There is also convalescence<br />
care, where someone has been<br />
discharged from hospital but it<br />
might be too soon to send them<br />
home on their own.<br />
Sharon recalls two elderly<br />
Chinese visitors who were too<br />
ill to travel back to China, and<br />
they came to recuperate at<br />
the village.<br />
For Sharon, however, the<br />
most important thing is to<br />
make sure that the residents<br />
are happy and as healthy as<br />
they can be.<br />
“This is their home, and we<br />
treat it as such.”<br />
Retirement living and<br />
care at its very best!<br />
Independent townhouses • Serviced apartments<br />
Resthome • Hospital • Dementia care<br />
For more information about<br />
the care centre please phone<br />
Sharon on 338 5820<br />
5 Corbett Crescent, Aidanfield<br />
7524
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