A LETTER FROM THE CEO

In this newsletter we are highlighting the Hardi Group’s increasing use of technology with seniors, to help them participate in and enjoy the digital realm in our homes.

Not only are all our Lifestyle staff routinely using iPads with residents for added stimulation, we are also introducing a new app called YourLink, and trialling virtual reality glasses – see following stories about these initiatives to find out more!

We are thankfully nearing the end of the peak influenza season. Some facilities encouraged temporary periods of restricted visiting, when levels of illness amongst residents were high.

We do this to help minimise the spread of influenza within our facilities, and for the protection of both our residents and their visiting family members, as well as our staff. We appreciate the understanding and support of family members during these times, and remind everyone about the importance of flu vaccinations ahead of the next season.

We have had a number of staff changes in our Head Office team since our last newsletter, including:• Angela Higginson joining us in the position of Human

Resources Senior Business Partner.• Melanie Fifi joining us in the position of Human

Resources Advisor.• Kylie Maddern has been promoted to the position of

Compliance Co-ordinator.• Argie Ramos has been promoted to the position of

ACFI Co-ordinator.• Colin Fulford joining us in the position of Bus Driver.

We have also had a number of staff changes across our facilities, including:• Blacktown – Loreto Cuaresma has been promoted to

the position of Clinical Manager.• Guildford – Mara Luburic joining us as the new

Facility Manager.• Manly Vale – Janine Holden joining us as the new

Facility Manager.• Penrith – Amy Walton has been promoted to the

position of Facility Manager.• Seven Hills – Sylvia Pitman has been promoted to the

position of Assistant Facility Manager.• Summer Hill – Terese Shelton has been promoted to

the position of Facility Manager.• Summer Hill – Swapna Katta has also joined us in the

position of Clinical Manager.

We’ve recently undergone a Food Safety Audit, and received an ‘A’ Star rating in three of our facilities to date. We’ve celebrated R U OK Day and Cancer Council Day in all our facilities. We are currently preparing for Christmas celebrations and we look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you all.

ROBERT OXFORD

Hardi NewsOCTOBER 2017

BUILDING PROGRAM UPDATEOur building and refurbishments program continues in order to improve the quality of our homes for our residents. Upgrades currently underway include: • New uniform signs – pictorial signs to be erected at all

reception areas, to make it clearer for residents and staff about different job roles throughout our facilities;

• Blacktown – demolition of the property immediately next door to our front entrance;

• Penrith – renovations in the lounge/dining area, with a new garden area being built for residents and visitors to enjoy;

• Guildford – renovations to lounge and dining rooms are expected to start soon;

• Summer Hill – renovations to lounge and dining rooms are underway to construct a new kitchenette area, which will be used by residents and families, as well as for group activities that involve cooking; and,

• Manly Vale – renovations to lounge and dining rooms are underway. Also, an upgrade of various residents rooms has commenced with an ongoing upgrade program being finalised.

YOURLINKWe are excited to announce that residents at our Blacktown facility are piloting a new app, called YourLink (http://www.yourlink.com.au), designed to help seniors stay in touch with their family, friends and local community or special interest groups.

Hardi is proud to be one of the first aged care providers to start using the app and is excited about the difference it will make to our residents to help them stay in touch with the things outside that matter most to them individually.

According to co-founder of the app, Richard Scenna, YourLink was inspired by his own experience of seeing his grandmother in aged care, and as a result, a desire to bring some joy to seniors by helping them use technology to stay better connected.

Based on one to one connections, our lifestyle co-ordinators will use the app on iPads or iPhones in our facilities to show residents messages and photographs directly from their loved ones.

This means that residents will be able to more easily see and hear from their families when milestone events are taking place outside the facility, like school concerts or sporting events. Small moments that count, like simply saying hello on a birthday, or seeing a new photo of a child or grandchild, will also be able to be more easily and quickly shared regardless of distance.

Information about upcoming facility events, such as concerts and open days, or weekly activities like Friday night drinks, can also be communicated to families to enable them to get involved if they would like to.

The app is free for residents to use and includes permissions and safeguards to protect privacy. YourLink will be rolled out to all of Hardi’s six facilities over the next few months.

If you would like more information about when your loved one could start to be involved with YourLink, please contact your local Lifestyle Co-ordinator.

VIRTUAL REALITY TRIALWe are also trialling virtual reality (VR) glasses with residents at our Blacktown and Penrith facilities, one-on-one through our Lifestyle team.

These special VR glasses are from the same company who provided us with Paro, who you may recall reading about in our last newsletter. They are the first portable VR solution for seniors and are already successfully being used in aged care, and as a tool in managing dementia by Solis VR (www.solisvr.com).

Blacktown Aged Care Lifestyle coordinator with a resident using the new app.

Residents pictured from Blacktown Nursing Home trying out the new VR headsets

As a result, our residents are taking 360 degree adventures in peaceful landscapes all over the world, including in picturesque Canada and Bali, underwater, on the beach, going canoeing, watching penguins, as well as enjoying visiting farms and going on safaris.

This unique activity can be enjoyed in the privacy of a resident’s room or in the common lounge area, wherever they feel most comfortable.

All participants need to have GP approval to take part, as the glasses cannot be used with certain medical conditions, and participation is also limited to 15 minutes at a time for medical reasons.

The glasses are designed to improve mood and bring back good times, by providing a happy and relaxing escape to exciting places in the outside world.

If your loved one is at Blacktown or Penrith and you think they would enjoy taking part in a VR adventure, please talk to your local Lifestyle Co-ordinator.

STAFF SERVICE AWARDSThe Hardi Group is delighted to have so many staff that have been with us for a long time. Amazingly, some of our staff have been with us for over 35 years!

To acknowledge key service milestones, and show appreciation to our staff for their hard work and commitment to the Hardi Group, we are implementing a new program of Staff Service Awards.

These awards will recognise each individual employee’s number of years of service, starting at five years, and then celebrate every five year interval beyond that. They will happen quarterly across our facilities and began in August, with the next round of awards to occur in December.

Staff being recognised enjoy a special afternoon tea with managers, and are presented with a certificate by the CEO and Facility manager, along with a Years of Service Medal and chocolates. Staff with 20 years service, and beyond, will also receive an extra special gift to reward them for their loyalty.

CEO Rob Oxford and Facility Manager Terese Shelton, pictured with staff at Summer Hill. CEO Rob Oxford, Facility Manager Mara Lubric and Assistant Facility Manager Nawal Torbey, pictured with staff at Guildford.

CEO Rob Oxford and Facility Manager Marcella Vasquez, pictured with staff at Blacktown.

NAIDOC ACTIVITIES AT SEVEN HILLSNAIDOC Week (held 2-9 July, 2017) celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life.

The theme for NAIDOC Week this year was ‘Our Languages Matter’, aiming to emphasise and celebrate the unique and essential role that Indigenous languages play in cultural identity, linking people to their land and water, history, spirituality and rites, through story and song.

Our Seven Hills facility is home to a number of Aboriginal residents and we maintain their cultural links, and recognise their customs, by celebrating NAIDOC Week through including a range of traditional activities in our lifestyle program.

During NAIDOC week at Seven Hills, residents engaged in craft, cooking and sensory activities to emphasise the role and contributions of Aboriginal communities.

In our normal craft sessions, residents instead engaged in dot painting, to decorate their own tile coasters. Our residents were inspired by the works of well-known Aboriginal painters, which were displayed and shared amongst the group during the sessions.

Residents also watched the movie Rabbit Proof Fence during the week, which is based on the 1996 book, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, by Doris Pilkington Garimara AM.

During our weekly cooking activity, residents cooked beer damper and then enjoyed it for afternoon tea, along with bush honey tea.

Residents pictured participating in activities at Seven Hills Nursing Home.

THE DANCE TUTOR AT GUILDFORDA study done by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, recently showed that regular freestyle social dancing is one of the best ways to prevent Alzheimer’s, Dementia and memory loss.

It’s a study The Dance Tutor, Charles Camuglia, would no doubt whole heartedly support, as his philosophy is that dancing is a bridging of ages and experiences.

Charles has been teaching and performing dance for over 40 years, in a wide range of styles, and now specialises in working with the elderly through dance.

Together with his dance partner Candy, they run dance sessions at Guildford and Penrith based on interaction, light warm up and cool down activities, some dance steps, lots of music and singing.

Charles and Candy give careful consideration to the individual capability of each resident, and even cater to those who are less mobile, so no-one misses out on dancing.

These sessions are always popular, as many residents find dance a powerful gateway to reliving happy old memories of dancing when they were younger. Steps long forgotten often come back and the familiar music of bygone times helps everyone enjoy the experience together.

Charles says that music and dancing eliminates the generation gap, as it fills even the most unlikely with a desire to get up and feel the rhythm!

Charles dancing with residents at Penrith Nursing Home.

Free call 1800 333 536www.hardiagedcare.com.au

BLACKTOWN | GUILDFORD | PENRITH | MANLY VALE | SEVEN HILLS | SUMMER HILL