Admatha Dementia Care
What's new
Stay up to date with what is going on at Admatha via our facebook page and articles from our newsletter below.
If you would like to receive our newsletters please talk to the managers to get added to the list.
Magic moments from our home
Every Tuesday, a therapy dog named Ruby visits our residents. Ruby is loved by many residents. One lady has formed a special connection with her — all her worries seem to melt away as she sits with Ruby, gently patting her and talking to her. It's a calming and heartwarming sight.
A resident and I sat together and talked about childhood fun. Looking out the window at the large trees in our grounds, the resident reminisced about climbing trees with her brother and what fun they had. It was lovely to see the sparkle in her eyes.
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Warm greetings from Rona and Troy - July newsletter
As the winter season settled in, we embraced the colder days by keeping our home warm and cosy to ensure our residents stayed comfortable. We have changed over to our winter menu, offering hearty and nourishing meals, perfect for the season.
Music and joy continue to fill our home each month with regular entertainment. Barrie Neville, our regular live entertainer, delights everyone with songs from the sixties and seventies. Residents often clap, sing and dance along! The Avon Singers, our regular volunteer group, bring not only music but also poetry and storytelling, adding a unique and heartwarming twist to their performances.
Another favourite visitor is Ruby, a sweet 6-year-old border collie from Canine Friends Pet Therapy. Ruby, along with her owner Mike Phillips, visits us every Tuesday. The joy on our residents’ faces when Ruby arrives says it all - petting and spending time with her brings comfort and happiness.
We have been focusing on individualised activities lately. One on one time with our residents enables us to be guided by the uniqueness of each person. During this time, the team member spends time which is tailored to the personality, interests and mood of the resident. Sometimes this can mean just sitting with a resident, chatting. Sometimes the team member and resident may walk together, read a magazine together, play a game, sing, do a puzzle or arrange flowers together. Sometimes the team member might give the resident a hand massage or manicure. We have noticed that many residents really enjoy these personalised one-on-one sessions. Group activities will always be available for residents who wish to take part.
Our talented Diversional Therapist, Karin, has created a wonderful fidget cloth. It sits on the table as a tablecloth would and features multiple textures and safe items to explore, providing sensory stimulation and calmness to our residents. People are really enjoying sitting round the table together whilst exploring this.
Much-loved group activities have recently included flower arranging, where residents enjoy working with beautiful blooms, and board games like Snakes and Ladders - a crowd favourite, especially when family members join in to make it extra fun!
It is with mixed emotions that we say goodbye to two valued team members. We farewell our Registered Nurse, Joan Tuban who is one of our long-serving staff. Joan has been a key person at Admatha and is deeply respected by residents, families, and staff alike. Our dedicated Caregiver, Marlyn is also moving on. Marlyn has made meaningful connections with residents over her time here. We thank both Joan and Marlyn and wish them all the very best.
We are excited to invite you to our Winter Family Gathering. It will be held on Thursday July the 24th from 2.30-3.30pm. This will be a lovely time together. We will share in some winter cheer and enjoy a delicious afternoon tea. We look forward to seeing you there!
Finally, we are so delighted to see our new building coming along so beautifully. There has been significant progress; the roof is now installed, and the framing is up. Everyone is buzzing with anticipation, and we can’t wait for the day we move in!
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Building projects - April 2025
My name is Adam Crow. I am Dementia Care NZ’s Construction Project Manager. My role is to plan and organise our construction projects. I work with architects and engineers to agree on designs, and organise tradespeople and materials. I monitor each project through to completion and gaining compliance. The wellbeing, comfort and safety of our residents and team members is a priority throughout this process.
Dementia Care NZ is currently undertaking large refurbishments of several homes, including Admatha. We are looking forward to bright, fresh small homes which are warm and comfortable for our residents.
At Admatha, there is a lot of work to do with foundation repairs, recladding and improving parts of the home to better suit the care needs of our residents. Once this work is complete we will have a much nicer home for our residents which we are very much looking forward to.
An extension, consisting of a new small 10 bed home will also be built at this time. In keeping with our ‘Small Homes Philosophy’, we will once again build a kitchenette into each small home. Residents will have use of these spaces to undertake homely activities, like washing dishes or wiping down the bench. These kitchenettes really become the hub of our homes.
We are aiming to complete the refurbishment near the beginning of 2026. At this point our residents will move back into the renovated home. The extension should be completed several months later.
Adam Crow, Construction Project Manager -
Greetings from Rona, Troy and the Admatha team
We hope that enjoyed a lovely Summer. Welcome to our first newsletter of 2025.
Our Christmas family gathering was a wonderful success, with many families and children attending. The barbeque and finger food prepared by the Diversional Therapy team was a hit. Our team worked hard to make it memorable. Children enjoyed the games and the raffle draw for the residents was a much-loved highlight. Our team did a surprise performance, serenading everyone with Christmas songs. The festive spirit was truly brought to life!
As we settled into summer, we made the most of the warmer weather, with windows and doors wide open to let the fresh air in. Residents have enjoyed barbeques, sitting outside in the sun, feeding birds, picking flowers, and harvesting vegetables/fruit. Our staff also increased fluid rounds to ensure that our residents stayed well-hydrated.
We’ve had some exciting activities over summer. Volunteers' Day was celebrated with a lovely performance by Avon Singers, who sang Christmas songs to our residents. On the big day, our Admatha Santa Claus visited, bringing gifts for each resident. We marked Waitangi Day by playing some waiata and a special poi dance performance.
We’ve recently welcomed some new staff members to our team. Eugene has joined us as a Home Assistant and Driver. Leah Keating has joined us a Home Assistant and Sharlet Paul has joined us as a Caregiver.
Finally, our big move took place at the end of January. We moved into the old Admatha Rest Home building so that our building could undergo refurbishment. The team and residents are settling in well in our new space. We are looking forward to watching our home as the refurbishments progress and ultimately moving back into a lovely new space next year!