Tasman Dementia Care
What's new
Stay up to date with what is going on at Tasman Dementia Care 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 in our homes
While I was watering the vegetables in the garden, one of the residents approached me and said, "Do you want to borrow my hat? It’s too hot." I smiled and said, "It's alright," but she insisted and placed her hat on my head, smiling. We both laughed together.While I was watering the vegetables in the garden, one of the residents approached me and said, "Do you want to borrow my hat? It’s too hot." I smiled and said, "It's alright," but she insisted and placed her hat on my head, smiling. We both laughed together.
During my shift, many of the women residents were having a nap in the lounge area. I started singing a country music song and all of a sudden all of them are singing with me and smiling. It was such a blissful moment.
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Warm Greetings from Soumy and Sumy - July newsletter
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is time for home.” – Edith Sitwell
What a great depiction of a perfect winter evening! It’s also a good description of winter in our home. Even though we have missed our usual outdoor walks due to wet, cold mornings, our homes are warm and inviting as usual. Residents enjoy the company of friends, chatting as they sip a cup of tea, browsing through magazines, and a soft blanket over their legs for some extra warmth.
One of my favourite things to do as I enter our lounge is rubbing my hands and saying the classic “it’s cold out there”. One of our lovely mothers usually comes rushing over to rub my hands and make me feel warm; sometimes she chides, “Darling, I told you to wear something to cover your hands!’’. As much as we might moan about the weather, winter brings familiarity and calmness to our home.
As we hunker down, our calendar includes fun indoor games, book club, knitting club, exercises, pamper groups, fruit tasting, sing alongs, household chores and birthday celebrations. Residents also enjoy visits from Jazmine, an eight-year-old rottweiler, visits from the neighbour’s cat and feeding birds. Be it birds or furry friends, the residents have treats ready for them.
We recently enjoyed celebrating Matariki with a mini feast. Our Kitchen and Activities Teams prepared pumpkin soup and fry bread with help from our residents. Some of the parents amongst our staff team brought their children in to do a special performance to mark Matariki. Our residents love it when children visit. The children also really enjoy their visits and get spoilt by the residents.
Over Matariki, we remembered and prayed for the residents who had passed since the last rising. We wished for peace and comfort for their friends and family. We felt grateful for the time they spent with us, and for the honour of caring for them. We wish everyone a great year ahead. Mānawatia a Matariki!!
I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication shown by our staff team and the patience from the families while we were dealing with our recent outbreaks of scabies and gastroenteritis. These times have been navigated with kindness and endurance and have been a great team effort.
We bid farewell to Agnes who had worked with us for over thirteen years. Agnes retired to spend time with and support her family. We also welcome Jonah, Nathaniel, and Sujan to our team at Tasman. Jonah and Nat are working as Home Assistants and Sujan joins us as a Caregiver.
We would like to invite you all for our Mid-Winter Family Gathering. This will be a lovely time to catch-up with family and friends old and new. We will thoroughly enjoy seeing you there.
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Thank you for your feedback
At each of our rest homes around the country we have a regular family focus group. These groups are facilitated by Peter Hume who works for Dementia Care NZ from Christchurch. Sessions are aimed at getting some feedback from family members who visit often about how we can improve.
We ask questions like: How can we make life better for your loved one here? How can we make life easier for you? How can we support you more? At these meetings we often receive a gem of an idea that we take forward and put into action.
This year we had a session at Tasman Dementia Care. Family members commented that they appreciated the level of engagement from staff, interacting with residents even as they write up their notes. They also noted that family members very much enjoyed walks along the neighbouring stream.
The attendees also raised several issues which we are following up:
• Reviewing car parks to see if additional parks can be accommodated and areas yellow lined so that the driveway is not blocked by cars.
• Cutting back or removing a spikey shrub in the garden.
We would like to thank everyone who was able to come to the family focus group. We really appreciate your time providing us with this feedback. We will continue to update you as we make progress with the issues raised in the focus groups.
If you have some feedback for us please do get in touch, and we also appreciate hearing your thoughts through the EPOA survey. -
Greetings from Soumy & Sumy
It’s amazing how time flies; Christmas feels like just yesterday, and yet four months have passed! The residents had a lovely time with their loved ones and our staff members. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas lunch, and it was fun opening gifts delivered by Santa. We would like to thank all the family members and friends who joined us for the Christmas gathering or visited over the holiday period. Thank you for helping to make this time special. We appreciate the patience and support of families who had to wait to visit loved ones who were affected by the outbreak over Christmas. It was unfortunate timing, and we missed you.
I remember reading somewhere, ‘Friends, sun, sand and sea, that sounds like a summer to me!’ Ours was a short summer with some sizzling hot days, but we have had lots of fun! We enjoyed summer barbeques, van rides to the beach and The Glen, singing and reminiscing about trips to the beach in days gone by. We have been taking walks to the reserve where we enjoy listening to birds, picking fruit, and exploring the gym equipment. Our strolls are also wonderful opportunities for a chat to passers-by!
Over summer, you may also have seen us taking turns to snap a photo with the beautiful sunflowers in our front gardens. Sometimes it’s the little things in our lives that bring us joy and help spread seeds of happiness.
Our activities team, along with some enthusiastic family members, are doing some autumn gardening. If you would like to help in our garden, grab some gloves and join us.
Last year we put a sign up next to each resident’s door. These signs consist of a coloured image and the resident’s name. Once again, we would love you to bring along a photo of your loved one, perhaps from a time when they were younger and doing something they love. Perhaps the picture could include their special family members, or a beloved pet, or perhaps it could be a picture of scenery from their favourite holiday spot. Put the picture into the door sign for your loved one. We would love assistance from families to complete this project. If you would like to see some examples or need some help, kindly speak to the Operations Manager, Sumy.
We are very glad to announce that Julie Young will be joining us as our new Volunteer Chaplin. Julie visits us every Monday and spends time with residents chatting and singing along with them in their homes. We would also like to invite you all to come and sit for a chat if you are struggling with decision making, grief, loss, or just needing help with any sort of paperwork. We are here to listen to you and can help you find the right support to navigate the difficult times.
A friendly reminder to please park your cars in the visitor’s car park which is on the left-hand side of the driveway. You may also use the rear carpark if the front carpark is full. Please don’t park on both sides of the driveway or block pedestrian access. Trucks and ambulances need to be able to access our home. Our footpath is needed for wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
Finally, a warm welcome to Jerwin who joins our team as a Registered Nurse, and Daryl who joins us as a Caregiver. They are enjoying getting to know residents and families. Please feel welcome to say hello and introduce yourself to them.