Horowhenua Mail, Thursday 30 April 2009

A new wing at Eldon, the senior care facility in Valley Road Paraparaumu, will provide additional hospital beds for the elderly population of Kapiti.

Facility Manager Theresa Jones says Eldon is part of the Oceania group, a nationwide network of 63 senior living facilities throughout New Zealand. The Paraparaumu facility provides a spectrum of care, from resthome to hospital and dementia care.

There is already provision for 93 people to be cared for at Eldon and the extensions will add another 41 single hospital rooms.

In the thoughtfully designed new wing, hospital residents will have assistance and care on hand 24 hours a day from trained, skilled staff, with a registered nurse on duty and emergency assistance at the push of a button.

The extensions are accessed from Eldon’s existing entry foyer and there are corridors of room surrounding two internal courtyards. The wing has its own nurses’ station and administrative rooms. The bedrooms are spacious with ample storage room for clothes and personal effects and with a shared ensuite.

Some of the rooms open onto the enclosed courtyards by way of sliding floor length doors. Cabling for telephones and computers is available in every room and residents may also bring their own television sets. Eldon has Sky availability for people who wish to pay the extra.

All beds can be adjusted in height to make treatments easier for medical staff, healthcare assistants and also to assist residents to maintain their own mobility.

Rooms have an emergency button by the bed and another by the door. There is an emergency pull cord in each bathroom that can be reached from the toilet or the shower should it be needed, as well as a call bell by the handbasin.

Display panels on the corridor ceiling show the source of the call and eh nurses have pagers. Call bells have a night mode setting, going directly to the pagers, so at night the sound of ringing bells is not intrusive for other patients.

Light tubes in the ceilings and the extensive use of windows facing courtyards and the surrounding landscape make for a light and airy atmosphere within the hospital wing.

Eldon has been well set up for socialising and activities. The main dining room and lounge in the new block is a bright, cheery room with large windows that look out to the hills in the semi-rural setting.

There are other lounges available to residents and visitors and bays with chairs in the corridors where people can sit and chat.

A large kwila deck on the west-facing the west-facing wall of the building affords an opportunity to spend time outdoors and a ramp with handrails leads to the lawns and gardens at the rear of Eldon.

One of the bedroom suites is larger than the others and will be used in palliative care situations where families of the patient wish to gather, sometimes for a number of days. The room has provision for extra chairs and possibly another bed and has a separate deck where family members can pop outside for a break.

Theresa says the suite gives Eldon the opportunity to offer patients and families greater privacy and time to be together with their loved family member.

The opening of the new wing will also provide employment opportunities for the Kapiti Coast. As it becomes occupied there will be need for another 20 healthcare assistants, for registered nurses and for ancillary staff, making Eldon one of the larger employers on the Coast. Theresa says “There are already 87 members of staff, both full and part timers”.

The facility does employ a small number of staff who have had no prior experience. These staff are enrolled on the ACE or Wellcare Programmes, both nationally recognised training courses and a dedicated training, registered nurse runs these programmes, Eldon also employs a dedicated education coordinator who organises and delivers the Oceania training programme.

Admission to Eldon’s senior care facility is by assessment for a level of care following a recommendation from a health professional.

Living Live to the full

The philosophy of Eldon and all Oceania group homes is to provide a warm and welcoming community for residents, with an extensive programme of recreational, social, creative and intellectual activities.

An important aspect of the care of all residents is the LIFE programme of targeted activities.

“The LIFE programme is unique to Oceania, and we are very proactive at Eldon in delivering the programme. “People set themselves a physical goal which is relevant to their specific needs. “For example, we had a resident who had a stroke and part of her recovery through the LIFE programme was to spend time at her home in the weekends. We worked on her mobility to get in and out of a car and she achieved that goal. Once at home she discovered she could no longer prepare the vegetables for the Sunday roast and that became her new goal. We successfully targeted exercises to strengthen her hands and enable her to hold a peeler. These were goals that mattered to her”.

Theresa says the programme has been shown to improve A new wing at Eldon, the senior care facility in Valley Road Paraparaumu, will provide additional hospital beds for the elderly population of Kapiti.

Facility Manager Theresa Jones says Eldon is part of the Oceania group, a nationwide network of 63 senior living facilities throughout New Zealand. The Paraparaumu facility provides a spectrum of care, from resthome to hospital and dementia care.

There is already provision for 93 people to be cared for at Eldon and the extensions will add another 41 single hospital rooms.

In the thoughtfully designed new wing, hospital residents will have assistance and care on hand 24 hours a day from trained, skilled staff, with a registered nurse on duty and emergency assistance at the push of a button.

The extensions are accessed from Eldon’s existing entry foyer and there are corridors of room surrounding two internal courtyards. The wing has its own nurses’ station and administrative rooms. The bedrooms are spacious with ample storage room for clothes and personal effects and with a shared ensuite.

Some of the rooms open onto the enclosed courtyards by way of sliding floor length doors. Cabling for telephones and computers is available in every room and residents may also bring their own television sets. Eldon has Sky availability for people who wish to pay the extra.

All beds can be adjusted in height to make treatments easier for medical staff, healthcare assistants and also to assist residents to maintain their own mobility.

Rooms have an emergency button by the bed and another by the door. There is an emergency pull cord in each bathroom that can be reached from the toilet or the shower should it be needed, as well as a call bell by the handbasin.

Display panels on the corridor ceiling show the source of the call and the nurses have pagers. Call bells have a night mode setting, going directly to the pagers, so at night the sound of ringing bells is not intrusive for other patients.

Light tubes in the ceilings and the extensive use of windows facing courtyards and the surrounding landscape make for a light and airy atmosphere within the hospital wing.

Eldon has been well set up for socialising and activities. The main dining room and lounge in the new block is a bright, cheery room with large windows that look out to the hills in the semi-rural setting.

There are other lounges available to residents and visitors and bays with chairs in the corridors where people can sit and chat.

A large kwila deck on the west-facing the west-facing wall of the building affords an opportunity to spend time outdoors and a ramp with handrails leads to the lawns and gardens at the rear of Eldon.

One of the bedroom suites is larger than the others and will be used in palliative care situations where families of the patient wish to gather, sometimes for a number of days. The room has provision for extra chairs and possibly another bed and has a separate deck where family members can pop outside for a break.

Theresa says the suite gives Eldon the opportunity to offer patients and families greater privacy and time to be together with their loved family member.

The opening of the new wing will also provide employment opportunities for the Kapiti Coast. As it becomes occupied there will be need for another 20 healthcare assistants, for registered nurses and for ancillary staff, making Eldon one of the larger employers on the Coast. Theresa says “There are already 87 members of staff, both full and part timers”.

The facility does employ a small number of staff who have had no prior experience. These staff are enrolled on the ACE or Wellcare Programmes, both nationally recognised training courses and a dedicated training, registered nurse runs these programmes, Eldon also employs a dedicated education coordinator who organises and delivers the Oceania training programme.

Admission to Eldon’s senior care facility is by assessment for a level of care following a recommendation from a health professional.

Living Live to the full

The philosophy of Eldon and all Oceania group homes is to provide a warm and welcoming community for residents, with an extensive programme of recreational, social, creative and intellectual activities.

An important aspect of the care of all residents is the LIFE programme of targeted activities.

“The LIFE programme is unique to Oceania, and we are very proactive at Eldon in delivering the programme. “People set themselves a physical goal which is relevant to their specific needs. “For example, we had a resident who had a stroke and part of her recovery through the LIFE programme was to spend time at her home in the weekends. We worked on her mobility to get in and out of a car and she achieved that goal. Once at home she discovered she could no longer prepare the vegetables for the Sunday roast and that became her new goal. We successfully targeted exercises to strengthen her hands and enable her to hold a peeler. These were goals that mattered to her”.

Theresa says the programme has been shown to improve overall health and cognitive abilities and won an Excellence Treatment Award at the New Zealand health Innovation awards in 2007.

The senior recreation officer at Eldon is a trained teacher and a caregiver and is offering a lively and meaningful programme of activities including baking, crafts and flower arranging, crosswords, happy hour’s and a Men’s Club.

Eldon residents are encouraged to keep up contact with the wider community. Theresa says the mini bus goes on regular excursions and residents take part in community programmes such as Care and Craft.

The facility also welcomes regular visits from community groups to entertain and visit residents.

A podiatrist visits every six weeks and there is a hair salon for residents.

Meals are home-cooked and delicious and Eldon provides tailored menus for those on special diets.

The Oceania promise sums up the approach to care for the elderly at Eldon.  “We promise to provide all our residents with a safe and friendly home, bringing out the best in people by giving individual care, preserving freedom of choice and keeping in touch with the family and the community”.

overall health and cognitive abilities and won an Excellence Treatment Award at the New Zealand health Innovation awards in 2007.

The senior recreation officer at Eldon is a trained teacher and a caregiver and is offering a lively and meaningful programme of activities including baking, crafts and flower arranging, crosswords, happy hour’s and a Men’s Club.

Eldon residents are encouraged to keep up contact with the wider community. Theresa says the mini bus goes on regular excursions and residents take part in community programmes such as Care and Craft.

The facility also welcomes regular visits from community groups to entertain and visit residents.

A podiatrist visits every six weeks and there is a hair salon for residents.

Meals are home-cooked and delicious and Eldon provides tailored menus for those on special diets.

The Oceania promise sums up the approach to care for the elderly at Eldon.  “We promise to provide all our residents with a safe and friendly home, bringing out the best in people by giving individual care, preserving freedom of choice and keeping in touch with the family and the community”.