Shared Knowledge and Support

We’re so lucky to be a ‘small corporate’ being small enough to be localized and flexible yet large enough to benefit from shared knowledge and support.

This was evident in July when our 10 Activities staff from around the country met for a two-day conference led by our Group Diversional Therapist, Mary Gracie. The Activity staff work very much in isolation at each home so the opportunity to meet with and share ideas, problems, and success stories is very important and beneficial.

The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Lives are for Living’ and was based strongly on the lifestyle initiatives that are integral to TerraNova. Our lifestyle programs aim to fit the needs of the residents instead of the residents having to fit the program.

Interesting discussions were held around developing and maintaining effective lifestyle programs including:
1. planning for special groups such as low functioning residents and YPD
2. providing intellectually stimulating activities for residents of differing levels of abilities
3. enhancing the community involvement who bring beneficial new experiences and interesting conversation to our residents
4. arts and crafts exchange of ideas
5. running effective and regular clubs (e.g. Ribbon & Lace club, Blokes Shed club) and how to adapt them to fit the needs of the residents
6. supporting new residents with any grief issues they experience when moving into care

The Activities team was thrilled to share the best of their own individual experiences and absorb the learning and successes of the others.