Christmas at Hunters Hill
It was a jolly time for those at Hunter’s Hill Residential Aged Care Facility, as families, school kids and even Santa himself joined for the festivities!
The community came together to create a merry experience for everyone with carols, presents and festive red and green food. Hunters Hill Public students made the Christmas cards for those staying at the home, and local groups donated raffle prizes and gifts for Santa and the children to give to the residents.
Heilala Galbraithe, a staff member at Hunters Hill said that the event meant that everyone could come together in a family Christmas that all their residents could enjoy. “They are our family too”, she said “like our own grandparents”.
Staff who had the day off, like Heilala herself, still made the trip to the home to join those setting up the lunch festivities. Facility manager, Gladys Maseko, thanked all the relatives and staff for coming and making the day more magical for the residents and their guests.
The Hunters Hill Congregational Community Church choir lead by pastor Julie Grancha, brought music and energy to the day. They had an early show that carried into lunch time, and brought a joyful spirit to the Christmas celebrations with classics like Jingle Bells and Holy Night.
However, the highlight of the day was when George Burns, one of the residents, performed the old Irish balled Danny Boy with Julie and the church choir. It was an emotionally charged moment for his family, as well as staff and residents like Helene Polhill, who recalled the moment, saying it “Brought me to tears”.
The food was catered for by Twilight’s passionate cooks, including Yvette Fonseca, who crafted a feast for those attending. Residents and families enjoyed food like vibrant Christmas coloured panna cotta and chicken puffs- the “all-time-favourite”.
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 Hunters Hill Village Residential Aged Care Facility as well as throughout all of their four homes in the northern Sydney area.
LEST WE FORGET Ensuring the stories of our diggers live on…
We are very proud of this wonderful intergenerational community project, LEST WE FORGET Ensuring the stories of our diggers live on…
Thank you to St. Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill for agreeing to be apart of this very special project. Also thank you to Betty and the Wilson family. Betty Wilson chatted two Year 7 students about her husband John and his missions in the war.
This project was supported and funded by DVA – Department of Veterans Affair. Please enjoy as Betty share’s with you her story.
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Retirement Village Living
Throughout summer, the retirement living residents have enjoyed their monthly bus trip to bushland areas or to the seaside. This month they have been joined for the first time by a couple of residents from our residential care home.
We hope new friendships and interactions will come out of this and future shared activities.
Life at Horton House
2018 saw the return of Zumba, Tai-Chi and Art Therapy to our homes.
Horton House has had some lovely visits from the schools in our local areas, providing entertainment for the ladies as well as having students volunteering and helping out with activities. The students from Ravenswood Girls have been visiting our residents at Horton House in Gordon on a regular basis after school much to the delight of the residents, with some lovely friendships forming between residents and students.
It’s Time to Rethink Retirement
“As a society, an economy, and in government, we must have a vision, adapt our thinking, and adjust our attitudes and our actions to reflect the opportunities that senior Australians have to offer.” – Ken Wyatt, Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health.
With many Australians working and living longer, we need to rethink the concept of retirement. Traditionally, a person would work until the age of 65 and spend their remaining 10-15 years in leisure. An ageing population today suggests that retiring at the age of 65 could mean a person’s retirement fund must cover a possible 30 years of living expenses.
The Importance of Palliative Care
Australia’s population is continuing to age and the demand for palliative care services is rapidly increasing. As a nation, we are struggling to meet the growing need for specialised resources in palliative medicine, a topic that has been highlighted in recent news media.
Palliative Care Australia has revealed that only one palliative medicine specialist is available for every 704 deaths each year. Concerningly, this means that people are not receiving the care that they desire and deserve at the end of their lives, and some are passing on in discomfort and fear instead of peace and dignity.
Keeping Active and Stepping Out at Horton House
Over the last few months our residents have been enjoying activities that are not only fun but also benefit their health such as Tai-chi and Zumba. Ensuring our residents are aware of the importance of keeping active has resulted in more residents attending our Zumba classes.
Art Therapy is a great addition to our activities and is greatly appreciated and very popular. The quality of our Art Therapy program resulted in us displaying many of our artworks at our recent Open Day at Hunters Hill, with many pieces being auctioned off.
Twilight Book Launch Update
The official launch of our new book, An Australian Story: Twilight House 1915-2015, will be held at a breakfast event on Friday, 11 August in the Lady Mayoress’s Rooms at Sydney Town Hall with the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, Minister for Aged Care launching the book.