Aberleigh Rest Home and Dementia Care - Dementia Care NZ - Two Small And Homely Care Units

A loved one with dementia?
Rest, recharge, revitalise!

Respite helps you keep your loved one at home longer by ‘caring for the carer’.
Respite care is usually taken for a week or two to enable the carer to rest and recharge. This is often fully subsidised.

We now have a dedicated respite room available in our new dementia home.

This enables you to book respite care in advance, knowing that your loved one will be cared for in a secure, well established home which specializes in care of the elderly and people who have dementia.

This dedicated respite service means:
• A chance to rest, recharge, revitalise
• A familiar, trusted relationship develops over time with repeat visits
• An opportunity for socialisation and meaningful activities
• A homely environment encouraging continuation of daily roles and routines
• Loving, person-centred, one to one care

To find out more about this service and for a detailed information pack, ring Maja Yu on 03 578 7966

We would love to hear from you!
 

13^th March 2013

Warmest greetings!

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS AT ABERLEIGH

We are writing to advise you about some important positive changes underway at  Aberleigh.

An extensive construction project is currently in progress to build on some additional bedrooms and to upgrade an area of the current rest home.  This will improve the environment  for our residents and also enable us to provide hospital care for more of our residents.  This means that when our residents become more frail and require hospital care they will be able to stay on at Aberleigh.  This is important – residents can stay here in the place they call home, with the people who know them well and who know just how to care for them.  It brings a measure of comfort to residents and their families, knowing that they will not have to move.

Work on the first phase of the project, in the existing carpark, is  well underway. It is exciting to see our plans for an improved environment for our residents becoming a reality.

Once the first stage is complete we will be moving on to the redevelopment of the Ngaio wing. The significant upgrade we have planned will require the existing Ngaio wing to be completely taken down and rebuilt.  This will mean that all the residents who currently live in the Ngaio wing will move into the beautiful new wing, Koromiko, which will become their new home.

With the provision of hospital level care, there is now a registered nurse on duty 24 hours a day seven days a week.

The extended level of care will be delivered with the same loving care and uncompromising standards which recently earned Aberleigh 4 year Ministry of Health Audit Certification.

When the alterations at Aberleigh are complete, one of the services we will be able to provide is a dedicated respite bed where people can book respite care in advance.

We will be celebrating the completion of the renovations with a formal opening in May this year. We look forward to inviting you to join us for this special occasion.

In the interim, we warmly welcome your questions or comments.

Yours sincerely

Maja Yu                                                                Susan Villacorta

Operations Manager                                              Clinical Manager

Soon Aberleigh will be offering a dedicated respite bed where carers will be able to book care up to six months in advance.

This service will be available once all of our alterations and rebuilds are complete.

Watch this space for further updates.

February 2013

December 2012

Aberleigh Rest Home currently provides rest home and dementia level care for up to 46 residents. Following the successful audit, the facility is able to provide hospital level care for up to 10 residents, with round-the-clock registered nursing care. This service commenced in September 2012.

We are embarking on a building project to build on some additional bedrooms and to improve an area of the current rest home.  This will improve the environment  for our residents and also enable us to provide hospital care for more of our residents.  This means that when our residents become more frail and require hospital care they will be able to stay on at Aberleigh.  This is important – residents can stay here in the place they call home, with the people who know them well and who know just how to care for them.  It brings a measure of comfort to residents and their families knowing that they will not have to move.

Building will be phased and carefully managed to provide maximum benefit with minimum disruption to residents and visitors.

September 2012 

Following our recent successful audit, Aberleigh has been authorised to provide hospital level care, with round-the-clock nursing care. This service commenced in September 2012.

We are embarking on a building project to provide some additional bedrooms and to improve an area of the current rest home.  This will improve the environment  for our residents and also enable us to provide hospital care for more of our residents.  This means that when our residents become more frail they will be able to stay on at Aberleigh.  It is important that residents can stay here in the place they call home, with the people who know them well and with the people who know just how to care for them. 

Building will be carefully managed to provide maximum benefit with minimum disruption to residents and visitors.

ABERLEIGH ACHIEVES 4 YEAR AUDIT CERTIFICATION

  We extend our congratulations to our team at Aberleigh Rest Home in Blenheim who on the 14th of June 2012 underwent a full certification audit for the MOH.   On Friday we received notification that Aberleigh has been awarded 4 years certification. Very few aged care facilities in NZ attain this level of certification which reflects the highest quality standard. Aberleigh is the only rest home in the Nelson Marlborough DHB to have achieved this distinction.   Well done to Andrew, Tanya and the team.   We are delighted that Aberleigh has joined Avonlea Rest Home and Admatha Dementia Care in Christchurch with 4 year certification.

Please click on the link below to read the Marlborough Express article:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/7622890/Rest-home-wins-4-year-certification

Exercise Programme

After many months of discussion and planning, a four week training course for staff took place in March at Admatha and Avonlea in Christchurch on how to introduce regular exercise for residents into our dementia facilities.

The course was facilitated by Janet Earle, Registered Physiotherapist, who knows our residents and staff well from her weekly visits to both Admatha and Avonlea.  Janet has vast experience in the area of falls prevention, and has worked extensively with the elderly and with people who have dementia.

This opportunity was met with great enthusiasm by the staff of both Christchurch facilities, with a pleasing attendance of Caregivers, Registered Nurses and Diversional Therapy trainees at the sessions.

The training covered a range of topics over the four weeks, from the benefits of exercise to the elderly, through which specific exercises to include and which to avoid. Janet summarised the main benefits to our residents as being the “Four F’s”… Fitness, Freedom, Falls Prevention, and Fun! 

It was envisaged that at the completion of the course, staff would have a greater  understanding of exercise  benefits, together with the tools to assist with incorporating increased exercise and movement into our residents’ daily routine.  It is envisaged that exercise will take place throughout the day. However, there will be a distinct focus on movement to music during the mid to late afternoon, when many of our residents struggle with ‘sundowning’ symptoms of dementia.

We are now getting ready to introduce this programme to people in facilities in other areas.

We plan to review the success of the training and exercise programme later in the year.  Additionally, we intend to carry out some comparative evidence-based research to establish whether there have been any tangible benefits to our residents, such as a decrease in falls, as a result of the programme.

WE DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY ... AND IT WORKS.

OUR POINTS OF DIFFERENCE:

• Our Vision and Values – Are the cornerstone of all we do. We select our staff based upon our vision and values. This means we attract the right people and have a great staff retention. Staff have a high level of job satisfaction and many opportunities to grow which naturally results in best performance and positively impacts upon our residents’ well being.
• Open home – Our families are always welcome. You have an open invitation to share mealtimes with your loved one, at no charge. We want you to have as much special time with your loved one as possible. This benefits us all.
•  Small Homes  – Small homes mean that the environment feels more normalised, and residents orientate to their environment more easily.. There is a family feel. We get to know our residents very well. There are fewer faces to get to know. There is a higher staff ratio than in many larger facilities.
• Open Plan kitchens - Purpose designed kitchens mean that residents and their families have full, assisted and safe access to familiar homely activities. People can help rinse the dishes, make a cup of tea, wipe down the bench, and be part of the running of their home. Baking and cooking activities occur regularly.
• Bedrooms – Are warm and cosy. There is under-floor heating as well as wall unit heating. People are encouraged to bring special things from home, to make their room feel familiar and homely. We provide all of the necessities.
•  Family Support  – Our families have the opportunity to meet monthly with an independent facilitator to share thoughts, feelings and concerns about having a loved one in care. At Levin and Waikanae support is available over the phone.
• Special Programmes for Families - We enjoy having two special courses for our families: ‘Orientation For Families’ and ‘Sharing the Journey’. These courses help people to settle into having a loved one in care, and provide information about dementia and improving the quality of the journey with your loved one in care.
• Our team: Our staff team are hand-picked and are with us because they love working with people who have dementia. They are given many opportunities to grow within the organisation and are supported to be their very best. We provide them with free medical attention and  staff support from ‘Work Place Support’ . They are also given much in the way of Education. We are great believers in the power of education and support for growth.
• Education - We have an Education Coordinator who coordinates , supports, motivates and encourages staff to grow and develop as much as possible.
• Best Friends Approach to Dementia Care training – All our staff attend this training as a part of their comprehensive ‘orientation’ program. It is based on the ground-breaking work of Virginia Bell and David Troxell, and originated in the U.S.A. The main focus is on developing empathy, communication and an understanding of our residents’ needs.
• Non Violent Crisis Intervention – This is an internationally recognised qualification that we encourage all staff members to participate in.  This course supports what is learnt in the Best Friends Approach to Care training.
• Intercultural training – Our staff team have the opportunity to be a part of  comprehensive training around intercultural awareness. This training is designed to help staff understand the varying cultural needs  of our residents, as well as fellow staff members.
• Occupational Therapy – We have a very experienced Occupational Therapist who leads our team of Diversional Therapists.  She is also available for consulting regarding residents’ specific needs and/or behaviours of concern.
• Physiotherapist – Our Physiotherapist visits our home regularly.
• Dietician – Our dietician is on site on a regular basis and is available for advice at anytime.
• Community Care – We have a proactive approach  to education for the wider community around dementia care.
• We speak at both national and international  conferences  on the subject of excellence in person-centred care. Community education, removing the stigma from dementia and increasing the quality of life for people who have dementia are  passions we love to share with others.

At Aberleigh, we have undergone some exciting new renovations and improvements over the past months. Rata, our dementia care home, has been separated into two small units of ten residents with full completion of renovations in two weeks.

We are very happy about these renovations and changes. Smaller homes ensure that people with dementia have a familiar, comfortable and homely environment.

Small open kitchens and gas fires create a stronger homely atmosphere and offer the opportunity for people to be involved in the running of their home.

 Residents love to help rinse the dishes, set up afternoon teas, wipe down the bench, or help to bake muffins for example.

All of these homely activities help increase and maintain a sense of purpose, belonging and homeliness. Staff and residents share in these homely activities, increasing and supporting special moments together.

We have a new Dietician who is involved on a monthly basis and a Physiotherapist who visits our residents fortnightly.