Hunters Hill Village also hosted an Open Day, inviting the community into our home and celebrating the talents of our residents. The residents prepared plants which they had propagated and works of art, which were sold on the day. The community day was well attended by residents, family, staff and local community members and raised a total of $800 profit which will be used to purchase additional resources for the Art Therapy program.
Our Art Therapy program continues to strengthen with residents in all of our homes now preparing for a larger Art Show than ever before to be held at Glades Bay Gardens on Tuesday 16 October 2018 at 6.00pm. The cocktail evening will provide an opportunity to further promote and celebrate the artistic talents of our residents, so please mark your calendars! Further details will be provided closer to the event.
Our volunteer numbers continues to grow since the commencement of Julianne Walker as the Leisure and Lifestyle Coordinator in July. In the last few months, we have had a few new additions to our regular volunteers, and have also had boys from St Ignatius College attend the homes during their school holidays, whilst Queenwood students have visited Glengarry. The first group presented flowers to each resident to celebrate the school’s anniversary, and the second group who were Year 4 students, sang French songs. Our lifestyle programs benefits greatly from the assistance of volunteers and the many and varied skills they bring and generously share with us at Twilight.
On the staff front, I recently had the privilege of supporting our patron, Mr John Laurie in the 2017 John Laurie Staff Member of the Year Award process. This year, John received nominations for twelve staff members from across the organisation. I am very proud to advise that Fiona Kelman, the Facility Manager at Horton House Gordon was announced as this year’s recipient. In his announcement John noted that Fiona has been a positive role model for all staff in her nine years with the organisation. Her peers indicated that she embodies our values, is extremely supportive during times of disruption and organisational change, and always shows great compassion to the residents and their families. Fiona has also recently mentored and provided leadership to three of our Registered Nurses – Ashmita, Anita and Sara, and three of her staff have also been awarded a Highly Commended prize, indicative of her strong leadership.
John awarded Highly Commended certificates and prizes to Sandy Bailey (Activities Officer), Jennifer Evans (Care Staff), Indira Kandel-Sapkota (Administration), Amul Sthapit (Care staff) and Hay Blu Wah (Laundry). As CEO, I am very proud of all of the staff nominated and wish to congratulate each and every one of this year’s nominees. The afternoon provided an opportunity to showcase their commitment and contribution to ensuring that we are a preferred provider of quality aged care.
Recently Shayne O’Leary, our Marketing & Communications Officer, had a successful morning promoting Twilight Aged Care at the Northern Sydney Seniors Expo hosted by Mr Trent Zimmerman, Member for North Sydney. The morning saw a range of local businesses come together in one location to enable seniors in the area to easily access service providers. We were very privileged to meet Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir AD, CVO and share with her the Twilight story.
The redevelopment of Jamieson House is progressing with a successful community consultation morning tea held with local Beecroft neighbours, followed by a meeting with the Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust to get feedback on the initial concept plans. We are currently lreviewing the feedback received and shortly, will plan to lodge a Development Application for 48 residential aged care beds and 25 retirement units to enable an integrated community on the site.
Mosman Council have also approved the Development Application for Glengarry. This approval will allow for the relocation of the laundry to the basement, reconfiguration of the Eloura Dementia Unit and the installation of a welcoming entry to the home. Construction documentation is currently being prepared with a view to commencing a staged construction program in the New Year. Glengarry families will be advised in more detail at the next Family Meeting.
I am also pleased to report that Horton House, Gordon has received a further three years of accreditation from the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency, as well as maintaining their A rating in their recent Food Safety Audit. Congratulations again to Fiona and the team at Horton House.
Christmas is always such a lovely time at Twilight Aged Care, as we have many nationalities who come together to celebrate the festive season, and give thanks for all we have. I would like to wish all of our residents, staff, volunteers and their respective families, a wonderful and joyous festive season and thank you for your unwavering support. I am off to climb mountains in Patagonia for the next few weeks, and will leave you in the capable hands of Mr Paul Broadbent. I look forward to seeing you all again in early 2018.
