A “Twilight Moment” – Christmas In July
You’d never guess the weather outside Glengarry was blue skies and balmy as residents celebrated Christmas in July with snowflakes, karaoke carols, and proper Christmas tucker. Thanks to the daughter of one of our residents, this special day delighted and brought together Twilight staff, residents, and family members just like the real thing.
And the best part?
We get to do it all over again in December!
Thanks to our Glengarry Twilight family for spreading the spirit of Christmas, all year long.
You’re at home, with Twilight.
A “Twilight Moment” – Family Matters
There are so many beautiful moments that happen every day in our homes, we’d like to start sharing some of them.
When residents come to live with us at Twilight, it’s more than “coming into care”. They are starting life in a new home and truly becoming part of another family. Often, as we go about our daily tasks caring for these people and sharing their lives, we don’t realise what this means to their first family.
John ’Sean’ Kelly was part of our Glengarry family and staff were delighted and surprised to reconnect with his daughter Stephanie when she dropped in to honour his life and his passing with those who also cared about her dad.
“I wanted to mark the first anniversary of my dad’s passing by remembering and acknowledging his second family – his Glengarry one.” Stephanie said. “I was so chuffed that August and Elizabeth were working on the day (16.8 – last Wednesday) I dropped in with the cake. I know how much they cared for and loved Dad. The feeling was so mutual for Dad too. I loved seeing his face light up around August and Elizabeth. They made the final years of his life more joyous and peaceful. Such angels! All the staff, from kitchen, to administration and to all his carers, they ALL made such a difference to his quality of life, especially in the final days of his journey.”
A beautiful reminder that what we do matters. Every time we support our residents in whatever way our role dictates, be it care, lifestyle, administration, cleaning, catering, maintenance or as a volunteer, we are making a positive difference in someone’s life and are part of their family.
Thanks so much to Stephanie for her permission to share this story.
Aged Care Employees Day 2023
“I’m so proud of how giving and kind our Twilight staff are. Their focus is always on ensuring our residents feel at home.” Neil Wendt, Twilight CEO.
On Monday August 7, 2023, Twilight Aged Care honoured and celebrated our staff teams. With a gift and a staff luncheon, we said #thanksforcaring to our fabulous staff members, from catering to care, from RN’s to FM’s, from cleaning and maintenance to recreational activity officers and gardeners. Without all of you, our frail aged and vulnerable residents would not receive the excellent care they deserve.
As well as celebrating our current staff, we said goodbye to John, from Hunters Hill Village, after eight years of wonderful service. Best wishes for the future, John!
“It is rare to be part of a team, who all radiate such a splendid commitment to care, compassion, integrity, and generosity of spirit.”
Leah Bisiani – MHlthSc/DipBus/RN1/Aged Care and Dementia Specialist.
Christmas at Glengarry
Presents from Santa, school kids and a diamond anniversary have made Christmas merrier at Glengarry Village Residential Aged Care.
Dozens of families and friends came together in celebration of Glengarry’s annual Christmas lunch on Thursday the 31th December. All the residents were in their best clothes, wearing paper crowns and breaking Christmas crackers. There was delicious food, a live performance from singer Leyla Nassif and chatter all around.
Jinky Mactal, the recreational activities officer, was the life of the party and had been sitting up and planning since 2 o’clock that morning. She had gone ‘all out’ for the Christmas lunch, and was constantly grabbing more chairs for the increasing number of resident’s guests.
It was well worth the effort according to Jinky, “To get everyone together” she said, “That is the one thing that matters to me”.
Jack and Jill Kindergarten had visited earlier in the day to sing Christmas carols to the residents. The children had been coming weekly to the home to visit those at the home as part of an Intergenerational Program that Glengarry has. The lunch was also special for another reason, it was the 60th wedding anniversary of resident David Wilcken and his wife Bridget. They were given a bunch of orchids by Twilight’s facility manager Margaret Smithson in celebration of their diamond anniversary.
However, they were not the only ones to get presents this Christmas, as local community groups and even the families had donated gifts for the residents. Santa came around with labelled and wrapped gifts for all the residents, with surprises from slippers to novels.
Everyone fell in love with Frankie, the soft hearted giant from Delta Therapy Dog Volunteers that put on antlers and served as Santa’s reindeer. And at the end of the day Frankie was also given a gift from Santa- a juicy bone.
Residents of the memory support wing, ‘Eloura’ had a quiet in the courtyard to enjoy their own Christmas festivities. Student nurses and volunteers catered their lunch with soft music for a relaxing time for the residents.
The food fit the season perfectly with classics like shaved ham and beef with gravy, roast vegetables and peas. Desert was also very popular with residents and families alike with homemade mince pies, fruit cakes and pastries.Jinky and Margaret thanked guests and staff for making the day special for the residents at the end of the lunch. The Christmas lunch has been a long-time tradition of Twilight aged care, to bring people together during the holiday. It is held annually in Glengarry Residential Aged Care Facility as well as throughout all of their four homes in the northern Sydney area.