TerraNova News

81st Birthday Trike Ride

2010-05-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

What better way to celebrate an 81st birthday than having a ride on a Trike (a motorised one, that is!).

Decked out in their black leathers, two lovely ladies from the Ulysses Motorcycle Club visited Jimmy Doctor on his birthday with their impressive Trikes. There were great discussions about the mechanics of bikes and keeping all the chrome shiny before Jimmy and his mates each had a ride around the courtyard.

Many of the ladies took an interest in both the bikes and the lady riders, decked out in their impressive leather gear. Those who found the day abit chilly were still able to watch proceedings from the dining room.

A Kiwi Family Christmas

2010-04-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

Yet again the Monte Vista Family & Residents Christmas Party was enjoyed by all with a huge turnout of family members.

Our Christmas theme this year was 'A Kiwi Christmas at the Lake' so the reception area was decorated with things that celebrated kiwi fun at the beach/lake. However we had to omit any sand as the resident cat might have got the wrong idea of what it was for.

The party started with Taupo's Official Bag Piper (and Monte Vista volunteer) Don Ryder playing Christmas carols before we blessed our food and gave thanks for our fellowship.

Other entertainment included delightful musical performances by families on the clarinet and guitar.

A fine feast was prepared by our chef extradionaire, Sandy, whilst her dedicated husband Noel made the Christmas cake and plum puddings. As usual, the wonderful staff at Monte Vista made sure our residents throughly enjoyed the feast and the party.

Of course Santa (aka Noel the plum pudding maker) remembered to visit on Christmas Day.

Three Wheeling to The Gardens.

2010-04-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

As part of TerraNova’s 'Wishing Tree' several residents at West Harbour Gardens experienced the wind in their hair on a fabulous new Harley-Davidson Trike.
Harley approved the use of the Kiwi Rider Magazine test bike and Journalist ‘Big’ Dave took them for a jaunt along the Upper Harbour Highway on the $50,000 machine. The Garden’s Manager Lynn Moffat went along for a thrill too.
‘Oh just fabulous’ said Gary, a former motorcyclist after his stint on the back.
‘First timed I’ve ever been on anything like it’ said Terry.
‘Oh gosh, that’s fantastic, very exhilarating and so comfortable on the back!’ Enthused Lynn after the ride.
The rides continued the fantastic TerraNova Wishing Tree initiative. Wishes have been granted all over New Zealand, including 91-year-olds going skydiving, helicopter rides and trips to the South Island.

Cruise Time

2010-02-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

Back by popular demand for the residents of Monte Vista was a relaxing cruise up the Waikato River. The waters were calm, the weather was warm and humid with a refreshing river breeze keeping us all comfortable.

Skipper Dave guided us safely on our journey and, as always, the highlight of the cruise was viewing the powerful Huka Falls which never fail to impress.

Family and volunteers who joined the outings had a great time with the residents and all guests enjoyed Sandy's (the cook) scrumptous fresh sandwiches and homemade shortbread.

Scooter to the Rescue

2009-12-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

Jim Landeman wished for a new mobility scooter so he could keep feeding his cat Sweetie. Now that wish has come true.

The 74-year-old has been a resident at Jervois Residential Care in Herne Bay for the past three years. He adopted his beloved cat Sweetie from the SPCA 15 years ago, but didn’t bring her when he moved into the home because he didn’t think she would adjust to the change.

So Jim has made the trip to Ponsonby on his mobility scooter every day to visit and feed Sweetie, who has been living with his brother Ken. But recently those trips have become less frequent. Jim says his mobility scooter became “old and battered” and so he could only make the trip once a week.

He needed a new one, but couldn’t afford it.

Michelle Feehan, Manager of Jervois Residential Care, asked Jim if he had a wish for the rest home’s wishing tree almost two months ago. “I wish for a new scooter,” was his reply.

It was presented to him at a surprise afternoon tea last week complete with personalised number plates. “I was very pleased,” says Jim. With his new set of wheels, Jim can now keep feeding Sweetie every day. “I’ll see her more often now I’ve got a new scooter.”

In the years since the TerraNova Wishing Tree initiative began, wishes have been granted all over New Zealand. There have been 91-year-olds skydiving, helicopter rides and trips to the South Island.

Often the wishes are sponsored by companies. Invacare, a medical equipment company, donated the mobility scooter to Jim. Sharelle Lincoln organised the scooter donation and was part of another resident’s wish to go on a helicopter ride. “If we could be involved in every single one we would.” Michelle says granting the residents’ wishes is one of the best parts of her job.

“It’s such a buzz. To be able to make a wish come true is such an incredible thing.”

Sharelle Lincoln (from Invacare) presents Jim with his fabulous new scooter

Kia Ora from Mabel & Margaret

2009-11-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

We have been employees of Terranova for the past 5 years.
We have seen many changes but one unchanging fact is the support and encouragement we have received from our Terranova and Monté Vista colleagues including our CEO Janet and COM Nikki, for our Darts endeavours.
In May we were both selected as Bay of Plenty representatives to compete in the week-long National Darts Tournament in Nelson in June 2009.
With tongue in cheek, we thought we would ask Terranova to sponsor us for this New Zealand Open Tournament in a competition field of 400+ players, including top players form Australia.
Our request was fully supported by Sarah (Clinical Coordinator) and Anne (Manager) and the specially commissioned tops arrived soon after.
We competed in great style, in our beautiful navy and pink shirts with “Team Terranova” on our backs.
Mabel achieved 3rd place and Margret 9th place. A very fine effort indeed we enjoyed celebrating with everyone in Nelson and then back in Taupo.
Mabel was also selected to play in the North Island B Team which bought home the Gold Medal.
We wish to extend thanks and appreciation to Terranova and all our workmates who supported and cheered us on to achieve what we did.
Kia Ora
from both Mabel Allison and Margret Regnault-Leaf
Team Terranova, from Monte Vista

Jasmine (aka Mouse) goes to live at Monte Vista

2009-11-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

In autumn of this year, Monte Vista decided it needed a new cat. The SPCA were contacted and very clear specifications given by the non-cat lover manager and the cat experts on staff (ie most of the staff)
Within a few days we were contacted and invited to view several options at the SPCA.
A staff representative went to look and selected, ‘Mouse’ a beautiful, young silver grey cat.
A resident’s meeting followed where various names were tabled and voted on. Mouse was renamed ‘Jasmine’.

We have never looked back. Whereas the previous 2 cats rarely allowed the majority of residents to touch them, Jasmine often moves from lap to lap.

Jasmine gives our residents the beauty of a living sculpture, often poised beside the bird’s cage.
She offers chair bound residents the pleasure of watching her groom herself or just walk by.
She is a loving warmth in their lap, that they can feel and stroke or simply share a sleep in the sunshine.
Jasmine provides love and some entertainment as she shares her day with our residents.

PS: the manager still can’t touch Jasmine but she loves her just the same.

Sky Dive Dream Realised

2009-11-04T22:27:00.001-08:00

What do you dream of doing as you rest up your slippered feet in older age whilst being cared for in a residential care home?

For 90-year-old Natalie deLatour and 75-year-old Christina Thompson they dreamt of jumping out of a plane to experience the freedom of flying and the exhilarating rush of the wind around their bodies.

Not the average wish for this age-group but the gutsy duo, both residents of our Monte Vista home, were granted their wish as part of Monte Vista’s Wishing Tree scheme.

The scheme invites residents to write down something they wish for but thought they couldn’t achieve on their own for any number of reasons. Staff, family and volunteers then work to achieve the wishes one by one.

Christina Thompson had always wanted to skydive and blamed “the daredevil in me” for the dream. She was exhilarated by the experience and as for doing it again: “I’ll go higher next time” she said.

Natalie deLatour “loved every minute of it” and said she wasn’t scared either: “It didn’t need courage, it just needed determination”.

At TerraNova we passionately believe that “life is for living” and the Wishing Tree scheme is certainly bringing life to our homes.

We are the champions my friends!

2009-11-04T22:24:00.000-08:00

“We are the champions my friends … we keep on fighting till the end”

What a delighted lot of champions we have here! The winners of the 2008 TerraNova Games …. drum roll please … for the Brittany team from Hastings.

The TerraNova games are held annually around March/April each year. In previous years our four Auckland homes have participated in the games but this year Brittany residents (from Hastings) combined the games with a trip to Auckland and were hosted at our West Harbour home in the newly reopened Ngaio Wing.

As there are different level of abilities within the different homes, the cup is usually awarded to the team that tries the hardest and shows the best team spirit. It is always difficult to choose which this is as all the teams come to win and have a good time.

The games are fiercely contested, particularly the chair hockey, where it becomes quite heated with one team trying to get the goal and the other determined they won’t. It has been known for an activities coordinator to become involved in trying to keep the ball out by standing in the goal. Generally it is a lot of fun and laughs, and very noisy as each team brings along their cheer team as well.

Jervois home did a splendid job in hosting the games this year and organising a BBQ lunch. Medal winners also got a kiss from Nikki (our Clinical Operations Manager) which apparently was VERY popular.

Next year Brittany will have to come again so they can defend their win or to hand the cup on to the next winning team.

“The organisation is to be commended..."

2009-11-04T22:23:00.001-08:00

“The organisation is to be commended for its ongoing commitment to Quality Improvement …” independent auditor's comments from September 2008

Of course this is no surprise to staff but we were delighted with these recent surveillance audit comments for our Jervois home:
“The organisation is to be commended for its ongoing commitment to Quality Improvement and in particular the Clinical Governance Model which has been recently developed by the Clinical Operations Manager. This is used throughout the organization, and provides a comprehensive system of quality improvement and ensures clinical outcomes are monitored and benchmarked. Feedback is obtained from all stakeholders and robust support systems are in place for staff.”
We’re VERY proud of the Clinical Governance Model developed by Nikki Close, our Clinical Operations Manager. It is in place at all our homes - it’s comprehensive, it allow us to learn, it is focused on quality improvements.
Well done Nikki on receiving this tremendous recognition from independent Quality Health Auditors.

Shared Knowledge and Support

2009-11-04T21:56:00.001-08:00

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.

Life is for Living!

2009-11-04T21:52:00.001-08:00

Life is for Living … and just look at the living our residents are packing into their lives!

Jim loved fishing and thought it would be nice to dip the line in the water again. 30 residents, family members and friends joined him on a catamaran trip on Lake Taupo and trout were caught and eaten back at home. His Monte Vista home, that is.

Wynn and Sophie had family in Taupo whom they hadn’t seen for years. A bus trip was organized and other residents joined them on the trip from Hastings to Taupo. Wynn and Sophie had a lovely day spent with their family members, the other residents from Brittany Home enjoyed learning how to screen print at our Monte Vista home in Taupo.
Sadly Sophie passed away only 3 weeks after her trip, it means a lot that we were in a position to grant her this wish.
Many of our female residents remember the anticipation of cutting into the Christmas cake they made each year, would it be just right or too moist or dry. Some of our ladies at Brittany got back to the kitchen again this year and assisted in baking the Christmas Cake. Once again, I ‘m sure there will be lots of talk about it’s taste and texture when it’s finally cut into.
Richard and Don wanted to view the wonders of Auckland city from a high vantage point, the Auckland Sky Tower in fact. They had a splendid visit to the Observation Deck where they enjoyed taking in the vast views of the city followed by a wonderful lunch.

Nancy wanted to spend a day wandering around Sylvia Park shopping complex in Auckland but her husband didn’t want to take her (!). Four other residents who joined Nancy for the outing were delighted with the train trip to Sylvia Park, they remembered their experiences with steam trains from days gone past. Nancy was thrilled with the experience, she walked the length of the shopping complex popping into all the shops that took her fancy.
Betty’s son is in the NZ Airforce, she has watched with interest her sons helicopter career over the years and wanted the opportunity to fly in a helicopter herself and see what it is like. Another lucky resident, Jean, accompanied Betty from West Harbour Garden Home to Whenuapai airport where the helicopter flight over Auckland awaited them. Betty’s comments after the flight say it all “It is the best day of my life”

Actions Do Speak Louder Than Words

2009-11-04T21:44:00.000-08:00

Jenny and Terry, TerraNova’s directors, have a strong belief that it is better to actually do something than just talk about it. Together with their management team they daily make decisions that affect the life and environment of residents in their homes. The directors wanted to ensure this decision-making team understood the gravity of their decisions by truly experiencing what life is like in our TerraNova homes.
The directors planned a 2-day ‘team-building’ event for the management team but surprised them on the morning of day 1 with plane tickets and instructions to present themselves as a wheel-chair bound respite care resident in our homes. The directors also took part in this 48 hour exercise and
everyone gained so much insight from the experience which has been incorporated into our initiatives over 2008.

Five of our homes each gained a ‘surprise’ respite care resident. The TerraNova management team; Jan Cohen, Sue Brown, and Nikki Close joined with the directors in spending 2 days as hospital-level residents in respite care. We cannot thank the managers, staff and fellow residents enough for participating fully in this exercise, enabling us all to gain insights into rest home and hospital life:
• Despite being ‘pretend’ residents, we all came away with so much learning. Some of us felt a little of the grief of being placed in a home as often felt by new residents, most of us felt the frustrations associated with the loss of independence, and we all felt the monotony of residential care life.
• Despite having great sounding activities programmes running at our homes, we all came away questioning whether they truly touched the spirit of the resident, how they empowered our residents with purpose and fulfillment.
• Despite offering nutritious home-cooked meals, we all came away reaffirming the significance of the dining experience to everyday life of our residents. The atmosphere, the environment, the taste, the choices, the companionship – all things we could improve on but which are often overlooked in residential care.
Two key initiatives that are rolling out in our homes as a result of this learning are:
• Fresh is Best – we have succeeded in making the dining experience a true highlight of every day life for our residents through a new focus on the food, the presentation, the service and the dining atmosphere.
• Life Enhancement Programme – we went back to the drawing board with our activities programme and have reshaped it to be more responsive to our residents interests and more representative of their wishes, desires, and past interests. And the premise behind the programme is ‘life is for living’ ….. and there is plenty of living still to be done even if you find yourself living in a residential care home.

The TerraNova managers and directors found the exercise very beneficial and it truly has influenced our decision-making in 2008 and beyond.

Yes (soon to be) Prime Minister…

2009-11-04T21:42:00.001-08:00

Copy of Speech by CEO Terry Bell to Mr John Key and guests at the Ngaio Wing Opening at West Harbour Gardens

25th February 2008

For those of you either working at the coal-face of residential care or receiving residential care services it will come as no surprise when I confirm that our industry is facing some very difficult challenges.

Not a month goes by without a media report where residential care has failed the standards society expects of us – in plain English that means that an elderly person who relies on us to care for their frail body AND to support and inspire their ‘soul’ has been let down by the sector!

Underlying this are the endemic issues of:
1. Poor forecasting of the need for aged care services
2. Continued failure to coordinate service delivery across the industry
3. An excessive focus on turf and regulation, and
4. Chronically inadequate funding for what is expected of us by society

You and I see the results of this unstable situation as:
1. Excessive and confused regulation
2. Bitter and protracted litigation between funders and providers
3. Turnover of care staff that approaches 1 in 3 staff members every year
4. Wages that are for the bulk of the workforce only marginally above the minimum wage

And so it goes on.

To summarise - residential care is developing a siege mentality. Just at the time when we are being called on to deliver better services to an increasing number of elderly New Zealanders I see inertia and depression settling across the industry. Operators are shell-shocked and they are increasingly dumbing down what they do for their clients – having to focus on clinical compliance rather than life-style enhancement.

Put in simple terms: our sector is increasingly perceived as a ‘waiting room for God’ rather than as a client’s home where we celebrate the last stages of our most vulnerable senior’s lives.

Well at TerraNova we thought “bugger that for a joke!”. Most of the issues I have referred to are ‘reality’ for an operator like TerraNova - and we look to our political system along with our most senior bureaucrats in the Ministry and the DHBs to resolve those highly complex and vexing issues over the longer term.

TerraNova might only provide care for 1% of all of the residents in care in NZ but we fervently believe we have the passion, commitment, energy and scale to make a real difference. We pride ourselves on being in an ideal position as a little corporate in that we are … ...

1. Big enough to have the resources to monitor the trends, to develop innovative solutions to problems of care; to replicate solutions across all our facilities and
2. Small enough to ensure that our sites retain their identity; their uniqueness and their points of difference.
3. You will see our emphasis in all our signage. BIG on the local facility and quietly backed up by the corporate business.

I am blessed with a small team of executives and managers who can and do change elderly lives for the better.

Thus our catch-cries of “It’s our business to care” and being ‘Uniquely NZ” are increasingly underpinned by a clinical governance system that is second to none in NZ. And the daily commitment of our staff is to improve their resident’s lifestyles.

Actually I am not really here today to RE-launch a wing of West Harbour Gardens as the smart new rooms showcasing our ‘uniquely NZ’ theme are just one part in the TerraNova lifestyle focus. Let me quickly give you a flavour of what ‘lifestyles’ will mean to our residents….

1. A commitment to ‘café’ style of dining – after all why shouldn’t residents enjoy the focus on fresh foods with innovative presentation like the rest of us Aucklanders have for years now. Do we really think an older person wouldn’t like a latte or a squeezed fruit juice now and again?
2. Many of our residents are socially and physically isolated – so we encourage them to holiday across the facilities in our group. I assure them (and you) that the vineyards around Hastings are at their best at the moment, that the sight of Lake Taupo and its Mountains are superb in 3-4 months time, and that visiting Parliament at any time is to be recommended.
3. And for those who don’t wish to dabble in travel, our special-interest clubs are proving so popular. There’s not many a man who doesn’t enjoy a beer and a yarn with his new mates in our “blokes shed" whilst working on renovating a dinghy or similar woodcraft project.
4. Ladies seems to prefer cucumber sandwiches and the craft focus of our “Ribbons & Lace” group. But of course the “gardening club” with guest gardeners and an emphasis on seasonal projects will be a big hit at a facility like West Harbour Gardens.

Thus our lifestyle support team, comprising our Clinical Operations manager, our Group Food Services manager, Our Group Diversional Therapist and others are solely on our payroll to assist the Manager of West Harbour Gardens and its sister facilities to “make things happen” within TerraNova.

And yes, of course it isn't easy. We still provide accommodation, meals, cleaning, laundry, medical cares, social activities and events on a daily funding budget about what most people would pay for a provincial city motel or modest hotel bed ALONE . But Jenny and my team come to work every-day saying “how can I and how can we make a difference".

I’d like to close by telling you about one small initiative we are especially proud of:

The Wishing Tree was an idea one of our southern Activities Co-ordinators came up with. She reasoned that having residents voice a wish they would love to come true and then uniting the other residents, staff and, on occasion, the local community to deliver on that wish would bring boundless joy and purpose to lives. She was right and she did it. Wishes have ranged from making home-made chocolates, to returning to a hometown to place flowers on the grave of a husband and son.

We loved it and stole the concept for our other sites, and we even won the prestigious “Innovative Delivery Award” from HealthCare Providers NZ for 2007/08.

TerraNova is honoured to have Mr John Key, MP for Helensville and Leader of the National Party launch our Wishing Tree at West Harbour today. After his speech he will be asked to select the first wish that the team here at West Harbour Gardens will work on.

Thank you all for coming to West Harbour Gardens today.

Seconds please…

2009-11-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

'Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.'
Harriet Van Horne
And this is how we feel about it at TerraNova Homes & Care. We are getting very serious about the entire dining experience we offer our wonderful residents; it’s all about …the taste, the environment, the choices, the companionship.
West Harbour Gardens residents have been trialing our new Fresh is Best approach to food service and they are truly delighted with the results. We have succeeded in making the dining experience a true highlight of every day for our residents through a new focus on the food, the presentation, the service, and the dining atmosphere.
When you compare some of the dishes from an old and new menu at West Harbour Gardens, you’ll not be surprised that residents are asking for ‘seconds please …’ and their families are eyeing the new food with great envy,
Old menu

Roast lamb & gravy with kumara, pumpkin, mixed vegetables & courgettes
Shepherds Pie with mashed kumara, broccoli, beetroot & peas
Crumbed schnitzel with gratin potatoes, beans, carrots & silverbeet

New Menu

Roast Beef with Red Wine Jus & Yorkshire Pudding with Crispy Roast Potatoes, Baked Pumpkin, Cauliflower in Mornay Sauce
Delicious Kumara and Apple Meat Loaf, served with Rosemary infuse-jus, mouthwatering Scallop Potatoes, Honey Glazed Carrots & Peas
Mouthwatering Pan Fried Chicken Breast served on Potato & Spinach Fritter, drizzled with Moroccan Sauce, accompanied by Kumara mash & fresh broccoli

Our Group Food Services Manager is in the process of rolling this out to other sites within the TerraNova Homes & Care group and already we’re hearing contented murmurs from the diners.

Plenty of Living to be Done

2009-10-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

TerraNova Homes & Care runs a family of residential homes throughout the North Island, including the beautiful West Harbour Gardens in Hobsonville. They pride themselves in having the passion, energy, commitment and scale to MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE. They can and do change elderly lives for the better.

They passionately believe there is plenty of living still to be done even if you find yourself living in a residential home.

A recent example of this was the much anticipated and competitive annual TerraNova games hosted by West Harbour Gardens this year. Participants from five of their residential homes were keen contestants in such games as volley ball, hockey and bean bag throwing.

Another wonderful initiative of TerraNova’s, being the chance for their residents to ‘holiday’ in any other TerraNova residential homes in the North Island, was enjoyed by the Brittany House team from Hastings.

They enjoyed a two day holiday at West Harbour Gardens with activities such as sight-seeing, a wine & beer evening watching Dancing With The Stars and a pleasant evening spent at the local RSA.

The manager of West Harbour Gardens, Lynn Moffat, said the games were a wonderful way for residents to socialise and interact with new friends whilst the ‘holidaying’ Hastings residents added a real holiday atmosphere to the home.

AND to top it all off, the overall winning team for 2009 was ….. West Harbour Gardens !!!!!!.