During NAIDOC Week ten Ananda staff from Hope Valley and Findon attended a half day workshop presented on behalf of DTA by Michael Page (Resident Focused Care Advocate at Ananda) and Parry Agius of Linking Futures.
Staff learned about yarning styles of communication, Aboriginal connections to lands and historical factors in health outcomes. They also learned how to use a unique culturally safe assessment tool for Aboriginal residents with dementia.
This workshop is part of Ananda’s year long training partnership with DTA and also begins a propsective partnership with Linking Futures to work together to develop a culturally safe aged care environment for residents from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.
In response to resident feedback we have purchased a brand new pool table which sits in the A1 activity area and is available for all residents and visitors to use. Residents have been quick to make use of the pool table, and in the picture above you can see Rick McKirdy starting the morning with a game with Resident Focused Care Advocate, Michael Page.
Also at Hope Valley, next to the kiosk you can now treat yourself to a quality coffee for yourself or visitors for just $2.
We continue to respond to feedback and in line with the Aged Care Quality Standards we are always looking for ways for residents to be able to help themselves or engage in meaningful activity without the need for staff to direct them. Freedom of movement inside and out is integral to our residents sense of belonging and self direction.
This is an important part of resident focused care (consumer directed care as the new Standards call it). Each resident defines their own culture, what is important to them and should be in control of their lives as much as possible. That means from choice of staff to assist them with their needs, partnership with nurses around their health needs, choices for where, when and what they eat their meals.
We will talk more about the Aged Care Standards in our next post and coming soon will be some exciting improvements to the Friendship Club at our Findon home!
Today at Findon we started a trial of using a portable bain marie to serve food from the Hub, the heart of the home and the location for our ‘fine dining’ evening recently. Chefs Suresh and Linh served food to the residents wishes straight from the bain marie.
Residents remarked the smell and the ability to see what they could select was really good.
Not only that but the white table cloths, table decorations and soft background music allowed residents to enjoy a dining experience and to chat and have a laugh too.
Hospitality manager Kamal was also on hand to show kitchen and care staff how to place cutlery and how to serve residents.
Several residents stayed in the Hub to chat long after meal service and this social interaction is exactly what the new dining ambience at Ananda Findon is all about.
The improvement of the dining experience at Ananda is part of a new model of care called the Ananda Resident Focused Care model, and we will seek feedback from our residents how we can go further to providing a restaurant quality and feel for each of our meals. More choice is on offer than ever before, and our Ananda Anytime snack service, ‘Scoops of Ananda’ ice cream trolley and cultural events every month show a strong commitment to choice as well as diversity as we transition to the new Aged Care Standards.
If you have any feedback (no pun meant!) then let us know how we are doing and chef Kamal will take on board all comments and suggestion.
The new Aged Care Standards describe the concept of dignity of risk and we embrace this at Ananda. In this video we catch up with Rick, a resident at Hope Valley, as he ‘does a shift’ with Vince from our maintenance team.
Vince supports meaningful activity by supervising but not taking over from Rick’s schedule of jobs, and in the picture above you can see Rick enjoying helping to clean the outside furniture earlier in the year. In the video below we catch up Rick and Vince on a chilly day when Rick was enjoying watering the plants. He explains how being useful and involved adds to his quality of life.
Thanks for your help Rick and well done to Vince who is one of many role models for the Resident Focused Care model at Ananda.
We are moving to a new model of care and training our staff that residents value relationships above tasks and it isn’t just the role of carers providing care or lifestyle staff providing activity, it is about genuine social interaction for all our residents assisted by everyone in the Ananda family.
Embracing the new Aged Care Standards, Ananda staff met to discuss what we are doing well at Ananda and what we can do better in regards to supporting diversity.
Standard one of the new Aged Care Standards (Consumer dignity and choice) focuses strongly on cultural safety. At Ananda we have a very diverse resident population (at both sites) and also a very diverse work force.
Cultural safety means that each individual defines their culture and what is important to them. This crosses over all aspects of life including respect, dignity, spirituality, food and celebrations as well as sexuality.
Following our Rainbow Day activities at both homes to coincide with Mardi Gras we discussed how we could become more inclusive for residents and staff who are from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities and who may feel unable to express their personhood or identity due to societal discrimination over the years.
As part of Ananda’s partnership with Dementia Training Australia (DTA) staff are encouraged to complete a 3 hour course ‘LGBTI and dementia’ which explores the history of legislation around gay relationships in Australia and uses personal stories to understand why residents would have been forced to live dual lives for fear of victimisation and imprisonment.
In May we launch Ananda Academy, our online staff portal where all staff can access high quality, relevant training and complete it on mobile phones, tablets or computers wherever they are. We are developing a course on intimacy and sexuality at Ananda.
All Ananda staff and especially clinical nursing staff are highly recommended to complete one or both of these course by March 2020 (the end of our year partnership with DTA).
Some discussion points in the Taj room at Hope Valley &the flyer for residents and staff
The Diversity Action Group, which is intended as an open engagement forum for residents, family and staff, also discussed how we can do more for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) residents, for example our many residents who come from various regions of Italy.
Staff at both sites have recently attended training sessions run by speakers from Multicultural Aged Care (MAC) and Ananda utilises various resources including cue cards in different languages and the CULTURA app on devices. You may have noticed that Ananda’s website is now in five languages: English, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese and Hindi.
These are changing times in aged care and we are embracing the new Standards by engaging with residents and staff to ensure we are truly inclusive and do not discriminate.
We welcome any residents, family or staff who would like to join the group.
Ananda Management Team
Main picture: Personal Care Worker, Matt Denny shows his certificates for 8 hours of dementia training to Resident Focused Care Advocate, Michael Page at Hope Valley.
From this March until March 2020, Ananda is working with Dementia Training Australia (DTA) and has made available best practice dementia training online for all its staff.
Last week saw the start of a nine week Responsive Behaviours Consultancy where change managers will use a lead and learn approach to dementia by being involved in a weekly video-conference with DTA and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) experts. 9 staff from both sites are involved in this exciting project, and later in the year we will also have a Medication Management Consultancy. Additionally we have carried out environmental assessments and have begun to make changes which should improve the quality of care for residents living with dementia. Over 70% of residents at Ananda have dementia so this is a vital initiative.
Apart from these specialist consultancies all staff are strongly urged to do online training, which takes up to eight hours over whatever period they are comfortable to do it.
Hope Valley hospitality staff were eager to get going and Nicole said she enjoyed the ‘nerdy’ parts about how the brain works most. Many other staff told us they are enjoying learning new things, especially as best practice care in dementia has developed hugely in recent years.
Having already done some dementia training through TAFE, Hope Valley carer Matt Denny said the online training reinforced this as well as providing additional information and knowledge specific to those in residential care. He told us that the online training promoted empathy on his part for people with dementia while providing some effective tools and strategies to effectively work with behaviours associated with dementia – a win-win for residents, their families and staff. We agree with Matt!
Following on from this fantastic education partnership, Ananda is building its own online portal for staff training, called ‘Ananda Academy’ which will make access to training far easier and more convenient for staff. Watch this space for more education initiatives as we transition to the Ananda Resident Focused Care model and the new Aged Care Standards in July 2019!
“I am pleased that there is a renewed focus on aged care workers learning more about dementia given that many residents and clients are affected by this condition. Increased knowledge and awareness of dementia by aged care workers can only serve to facilitate a more appropriate and better level of holistic care – more aged caring than aged care.”
Matt Denny, Personal Care Worker at Hope Valley
Ananda urges all residents and staff to protect themselves and others against the influenza virus by being vaccinated
Influenza can be deadly, especially in vulnerable groups and in recent years Australia has had severe influenza ‘seasons’ (although influenza is always around it tends to peak around September/October in South Australia). For this reason the ideal time to vaccinate large groups of people is April/May as this provides best protection at the peak period.
While some residents and staff may not have the vaccination due to previous severe allergy all available ‘flu vaccines used in Australia are safe, and contrary to some myths it is not possible to get the ‘flu virus from the vaccination.
At Ananda we aim for 95% vaccination of both staff and residents to provide the best protection for everyone.
Staff receive the vaccination free at work and should reflect not only on their duty of care to their vulnerable residents but also on the time off work they would have as a result of getting the ‘flu, and also the effect it may have on their own family – elderly relatives, children etc. All staff who are eligible to receive the vaccine should proactively request it.
Photo: Hope Valley volunteer, Pam receives one of the first flu vaccines of the year from
Nurse Manager, Jacqui Beale.
Influenza is not just a bad cold, it is very debilitating and can lead to severe responses and even death. In 2017 1,255 Australians died of influenza. In 2018 the ‘Spanish flu’ pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people – far more than total deaths in the two World Wards in the 20th Century.
Please ask for your vaccination now. You will receive full information on the vaccine and be asked to provide informed consent before you receive it.
Thank you.
It has been a very busy few months at Ananda as we transition to the new Aged Care Standards.
We are in the process of developing a new model of care called the Ananda Resident Focused Care model and are increasing the choices and preferences of residents, and have at both sites moved away from a task oriented approach. At Hope Valley we have merged our care and lifestyle teams under the management of our Clinical Nurses and Nurse Manager.
We still provide fantastic group activities at A1 and A2 at our Hope Valley home, and in Iris, Tara and the Friendship Club at Findon, and have also responded to feedback and introduced new options, for example:
We have introduced “Ananda around the World” where we take a trip to a new country every month. We learn fun facts about the country, learn a traditional recipe (and taste) and we then have a themed lunch served. We have had Africa, Thailand, India, America…..moving around the globe at a rapid pace, and next we will say bonjour et bon appetit to France!
We have introduced the concept of “Ananda Anytime” which encompasses a concept of a 24/7 snack menu available for all and is an in between meal option.
We have created “Scoops of Ananda” which is a purpose-made trolley (thanks to Vince at Hope Valley) that allows for food to be kept chilled. Ice cream was enjoyed during the warm days and a cheese and antipasto platter was served on this trolley when celebrating International Cheese Day recently.
We are in the process of moving towards the popular bain marie system. This will create 3 choices per meal and served in the dining room and will change the concept of a tray style lunch and allow for interaction and more choices per meal. Resident we see and smell the food on offer, and it will always be hot.
We have also started creating a different environment for meals – fresh white table cloths, napkins and menus presented to create a true dining ambience, and where residents wish we provide relaxing music and limit the volume at meal times.
Recently we have had staff showcase their talents and look forward to many more through the year.
So what is next on the menu?
Do you have feedback on activities at Ananda? Let our staff know, fill out a blue feedback form, or let us know online by clicking here:
A special occasion for a special lady at our Findon home
We are often privileged to celebrate memorable events at Ananda, though last week was remarkable as Olive Hodges was able to celebrate her 105th birthday in the presence of family from near and far in the Hub at Findon.
Chef Suresh served up special Indian delicacies which were favourites of Olive’s, and Ananda staff were honoured to respect Olive and wish her a wonderful 106th year.
Congratulations to Olive and her family from all at Ananda!
Postscript! Channel 7 visited Ananda, Findon on the 22nd of March and ran a news story on Olive’s achievement. You can see this news video on our Facebook page (click the Facebook icon at the top right of each page) or at:
https://www.facebook.com/7NewsAdelaide/videos/398750877340876/