News

ACH Group has welcomed experienced and prize-winning artist Linda Hammond to the role of art teacher for Art in Focus.

Linda, who owns her own studio, is enthusiastic about all different types of art and is committed to making a difference in the lives of those she teaches and supporting charities that help injured wildlife.

Linda is also a proud participant in ‘100 Artworks for Koalas’, an initiative raising funds to support koalas, that will be going live soon. She has also donated a watercolour koala artwork to be auctioned with funds raised going to the Adelaide Koala and Wildlife Hospital.

“I also do a lot of charity pieces during the year, in last year’s devastating bushfires I managed to raise over $500 for charities that help injured wildlife and then rehabilitate them back into nature”, Linda said.

“I love our Australian lifestyle and wildlife and a lot of my work is inspired by what is around me. I generally have a camera ready wherever I go, and I am constantly taking photos of our native fauna and flora.

The Fleurieu region as the backdrop made the position to work as the lead artist for ACH Group’s Art in Focus even more appealing to Linda.

“I was aware of many of ACH Group’s programs due to my father recently being diagnosed with early onset dementia. He receives regular support with outings and housework. When I told him I had taken this position he was so proud of me. Silly, I know, but even at 51 years of age, your dad being proud of you still makes you smile.”

Linda said that ACH Group’s Art in Focus is for everyone, from beginners to pros and everyone in between.

“It is an inclusive environment where peer learning is encouraged. Everyone is so excited to see each other’s progress in the group, it is such a great environment to work in,” she said.

“You’re never too old to learn something new or try to reconnect with art even if it has been 20 or 30 years since doing it. I love how each person is so happy to learn or mentor each other, it really is a lovely environment to work in.”

Visual arts and the practice of it helps with an increase of self-esteem, socialising and building a social network which encourages a feeling of place in society.

“There are so many art exhibitions ACH Group customers can enter. Showing their work publicly will get their art and stories into the world and give themselves pride in what they have accomplished,” Linda said.

“I find in my classes that people feel relaxed and calm as they leave the session, because creating something has lifted them spiritually and physically. I know art is a wonderful place to let go of a lot of stress.

“You may never be a Van Gogh, but you can give it your best shot and enjoy yourself while doing it in the process.”

Read more about the benefits of art.

 

Calling all knitters and knitters to be!

ACH Group residents are driven to give back and need the community’s help to keep hearts full and hands warm this winter.

Residents at ACH Group’s seven residential care homes are seeking to partner with knitting enthusiasts from across the state to make mittens, gloves and scarves for people supported by charity organisation St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies).

Anyone handy with a needle and thread is being asked to knit the base pieces for mittens using a supplied pattern and drop off to ACH Group Perry Park residential care home at Port Noarlunga, or ACH Group’s office in Mile End. From there, residents will sew the pieces together and decorate the mittens ready to be gifted to Vinnies. Residents will also knit gloves and scarves; two items Vinnies have identified are also in demand this winter.

Download the pattern here.

It’s all part of aged care provider ACH Group’s ‘Keeping hearts full and hands warm’ campaign.

ACH Group CEO Frank Weits said the initiative – now in its second year – is driven by residents wanting to give back to the community and support those experiencing homelessness.

“2020 was the first year of the campaign with over 100 knitted pieces donated to Vinnies by Perry Park residents and their local community,” Mr Weits said.

“On the back of this success, residents from all eight ACH Group residential care homes are getting involved this year and are looking forward about teaming up with fellow sewing and knitting enthusiasts.

“It’s a lovely way for residents to work in partnership with the broader community, build meaningful connections, and help South Australians experiencing homelessness.”

Vinnies Fred’s Van Coordinator Teresa Branch said, “Vinnies was delighted to receive the knitted items last year, and they were gratefully received by the men and women staying in our crisis centres and people accessing the Fred’s Van meal service.

“To know that someone had gone out of their way to knit something made them all the more meaningful during a time when people were in a very vulnerable state.

“We can’t wait to see this initiative come to life again.”

The completed knitted pieces can be dropped off or posted before August 31 to:

ACH Group Perry Park
26 River Road
Port Noarlunga SA 5167

ACH Group Office
22 Henley Beach Road
Mile End SA 5031

Not a knitter but have some balls of wool taking up room in your cupboard, we would love your donations!

There are 2 drop off locations:

ACH Group Perry Park
26 River Road
Port Noarlunga SA 5167

ACH Group Office
22 Henley Beach Road
Mile End SA 5031

*Please note, all current Government residential home requirements will be upheld on arrival to Perry Park. Please refer to our Site Entry Requirements here.

ACH Group is offering three different fully supported entertainment packages so you can experience the Adelaide Fringe with ease.

Experience the mesmerising power of gospel singing with the Soweto Gospel Choir night out. Take your time to discover the Garden of Unearthly Delights and Yabbarra Dreaming in Light show night out, or travel back to the 1920’s to the golden years of magic with Auslusion in Improbable Deductions.

Or would you prefer to book your own Fringe show and want cheaper tickets? Get $10 off your Fringe membership just by being part of the ACH Group community.

Being a Fringe Member gets you exclusive access to discounted gigs, shows and venues all year. To claim this offer, call FringeTix on 8100 2088 or visit the Fringe website and apply the discount code ACHGROUP20

See you at the Fringe!

A new dog park at Port Noarlunga is set to get tails wagging and create community connections at ACH Group’s Perry Park.

Located alongside the Perry Park residential care home and adjoining retirement living units on Murray Road and Riverview Drive, the park has been created in an enclosed communal space with a barbecue and seating, shading and dog water fountain.

ACH Group’s CEO, Frank Weits, said it was hoped the park would bring together owners of dogs and others in the community.

“For many people, young and old, our dogs can be a connection point, a way of bringing people together, starting a conversation and helping people form new relationships,” he said. “Pets are our companions, they can reduce loneliness and depression, relieve stress, lower blood pressure, provide opportunities for social interaction and exercise, a sense of purpose and belonging.”

Residents also experience other benefits living in retirement villages as they can make use of a range of shared spaces, like Perry Park’s new dog park.   Common spaces and activities, whether they be a BBQ area, a community hall or a simple park bench make catching up with neighbors easy; helping to connect and bring people together and reducing social isolation and loneliness.

“ACH Group is committed to providing good lives for older people, which includes connecting and supporting our communities to be as healthy and happy as possible.”

City of Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson and ACH Group CEO Frank Weits officially opened the park at Perry Park Retirement Living Village Murray Road this week.

Residents from the village together with their dogs Bertie, Benji, Scruffy, Roxy, Holly, Olly and friends joined in the opening, enjoying ‘puppuccinos’, dog treats and free vet checks.

ACH Group allows people to bring a small pet with them when they move into most Retirement Living locations across South Australia and Victoria.

ACH Group’s work to attract more nurses to the aged care sector has been recognised in the 2019 HESTA Aged Care Awards announced yesterday.

ACH Group’s Student Placement Team has taken out the Team Innovation category in the awards, which recognise Australia’s most innovative and proactive aged care organisations, teams and individuals.

ACH Group was one of four finalists in its category and 12 finalists in the national awards.

Samantha Manoel, Student Placement Manager at ACH Group, said the award provided recognition of the organisation’s aim to attract more nursing students to work in aged care by developing a strategy to improve the experience students have during their university placements with ACH Group.

“We identified that negative stereotypes were a significant factor in the shortage of nurses working in the sector,” Ms Manoel said. “We set out to develop a strategy to demonstrate first-hand to students that working in aged care can be a rewarding job and career.”

The team has developed a number of student placement initiatives to change student perceptions, including a pre-placement education day, providing an informative online orientation, developing an induction booklet and conducting pre- and post-placement student evaluations. Since these changes in 2012, more than 4,000 students have had placements in ACH Group services.

“Post-placement feedback shows that students now consider aged care as a unique and dynamic work environment, with 68 per cent of students saying they were interested in working in aged care compared to only 40 per cent who said they were interested prior to their placement.”

Ms Manoel said pre-placement education day touched on a range of areas including healthy ageing, dementia, the admissions process and relationship building. “We find that this day helps alleviate any stress or uncertainty about working in an aged care environment,” she said. “Students are given an insight into all aspects of care from all disciplines, including allied health offerings and early intervention initiatives. We want people to understand that the aged care workplace is a place that’s dynamic, and that it’s about supporting people to live a good life.”

HESTA CEO Debby Blakey said this year’s finalists were selected for their outstanding compassion, leadership and innovation in improving services and standards of care in the aged care sector.

“This year’s finalists have pushed the boundaries and developed innovative services and programs that rise to the challenge of providing high-quality care to the growing number of ageing Australians,” Ms Blakey said.

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety released an interim report on 31 October 2019, providing insight into what the Commission has learnt from 13 hearings held across the country and over 6800 submissions since January 2019.

The Commissioners identified three areas where immediate action can be taken to:

• provide more Home Care Packages to reduce the waiting list for higher level care at home
• respond to the significant over-reliance on chemical restraint in aged care
• stop the flow of younger people with a disability going into aged care.

The report also identifies systemic problems in aged care with a system that;

• is designed around transactions, not relationships or care,
• minimises the voices of people receiving care and their loved ones,
• is hard to navigate and does not provide information people need to make informed choices about their care,
• relies on a regulatory model that does not provide transparency or an incentive to improve, and;
• has a workforce that is under pressure and under-appreciated and that lacks key skills.

Despite the identified failures, the Commissioners also heard many examples of providers who deliver innovative and effective models of care and examples of individual staff members dedicating themselves to providing exemplary and compassionate care, despite the challenges of the system and their environment.

The interim report can be read here: https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/Pages/interim-report.aspx. The final report is due by 12 November 2020.

ACH Group strongly supports the work of the Royal Commission because it:

• is committed to continual improvement and transparency
• values its passionate and dedicated workforce and recognises the great service they provide with empathy and professionalism
• wants the aged care sector to be strengthened through industry-wide improvements so all older Australians have access to affordable, quality care and services that meet their changing needs as they age.

As part of ACH Group’s commitment to excellence, feedback on our services and the care provided to residents and customers is always welcomed via www.achgroup.org.au/contact/feedback or by calling 1300 22 44 77.

A group of aged care workers from Sun-Vision Social Welfare Corporation in Japan will spend a week in South Australia learning about the latest in dementia care, prevention and understanding as part of an exchange with not-for-profit aged care provider ACH Group.

The group of 11, including social workers, care workers, team leaders and unit leaders, will focus on innovation and the latest thinking on brain health ahead of Sun-Vision Social Welfare Corporation’s international symposium on dementia care next year.

Sun-Vision Coordinator Tomoko Suzuki said the group was interested in ACH Group’s Planning Ahead Advisory Service which supported people to complete an Advance Care Directive and Enduring Power of Attorney. “We would like to learn how ACH Group supports people living with dementia who have difficulties communicating their decisions, will and preferences,” she says.

Welcoming the group, ACH Group CEO said: “For over a decade we’ve exchanged ‘students’ to learn about aged care from different cultures and perspectives and share best practice developments. A key learning has been our shared passion for working with older people to support them to have their best life.”

The group will hear about ACH Group’s strategies to reduce employee turnover, innovation in mobility and independent living equipment and focus on early intervention to improve health outcomes. They will also learn about ACH Group’s holistic approach to physical, mental and cognitive health at each of its residential care homes to help residents continue to live healthier, happier and more active lives.

During the week the group will participate in a range of activities that are of benefit to people living with dementia including a mosaics and tai chi class at Colton Court, McLaren Vale and will participate in a dementia master class with dementia expert Teresa Moran at ViTA, Daw Park. The exchange will wrap up with a visit to South Australian attractions Gorge Wildlife Park and Beerenberg Farm at Hahndorf.

In its 12^th year, the Sun-Life exchange program involves annual visits to Australia and bi-annual visits by ACH Group employees to Japan.

A delegation from ACH Group who travelled to Japan in October as part of the exchange will help as hosts and translators on this visit.

ACH Group’s work to attract more nurses to the aged care sector has been recognised in the 2019 HESTA Aged Care Awards.

ACH Group’s Student Placement Team is one of four national finalists in the Team Innovation category. A total of 12 finalists have been announced in the awards, which recognise Australia’s most innovative and proactive aged care organisations, teams and individuals.

Samantha Manoel, Student Placement Manager at ACH Group, said the award provided recognition of the organisation’s aim to attract more nursing students to work in aged care by developing a strategy to improve the experience students have during their university placements with ACH Group.

“We identified that negative stereotypes were a significant factor in the shortage of nurses working in the sector,” Ms Manoel said. “We set out to develop a strategy to demonstrate first-hand to students that working in aged care can be a rewarding job and career.”

The team has developed a number of student placement initiatives to change student perceptions, including a pre-placement education day, providing an informative online orientation, developing an induction booklet and conducting pre- and post-placement student evaluations. Since these changes in 2012, more than 4,000 students have had placements in ACH Group services.

“Post-placement feedback shows that students now consider aged care as a unique and dynamic work environment, with 68 per cent of students saying they were interested in working in aged care compared to only 40 per cent who said they were interested prior to their placement.”

Ms Manoel said pre-placement education day touched on a range of areas including healthy ageing, dementia, the admissions process and relationship building. “We find that this day helps alleviate any stress or uncertainty about working in an aged care environment,” she said. “Students are given an insight into all aspects of care from all disciplines, including allied health offerings and early intervention initiatives. We want people to understand that the aged care workplace is a place that’s dynamic, and that it’s about supporting people to live a good life.”

HESTA CEO Debby Blakey said this year’s finalists were selected for their outstanding compassion, leadership and innovation in improving services and standards of care in the aged care sector.

“This year’s finalists have pushed the boundaries and developed innovative services and programs that rise to the challenge of providing high-quality care to the growing number of ageing Australians,” Ms Blakey said.

Winners will be announced at the 2019 HESTA Aged Care Awards on 14 November 2019 in Adelaide.

Learn more about ACH Group’s Student Placement program.

Read more about the award from HESTA.

Synonymous with fine dining in Adelaide for years, legendary chef Cheong Liew reflects on his rise to fame, from Neddy’s to The Grange, and shares his thoughts on Instagram, gardening and being ‘Gung Gung’.

You were a big part of the food movement in the 70s and 80s. How do you reflect on that?
When I first came to South Australia, the popular restaurant was the pizza shop – that was the big night out. I worked in a Spanish restaurant in Hindley Street, and everything came out of a tin.

One of the first things I did back in the 70s was open Neddy’s restaurant. It was probably one of the first places where we would go to the market, buy all the ingredients, bring them back to the restaurant and start on the menu. That is how we started – everything was always on the blackboard.

People started saying that Neddy’s was cooking interesting food. Then we started getting all these hobby farmers bringing in produce for us like flat leaf parsley. That was very hard to get in the 70s. You could always get the curly but not the flat leaf Italian variety. Now it’s so common, it’s like a weed in my garden. The same with lettuce – so much variety now.

Neddy’s had a fabulous reputation without social media. Do you think Instagram has changed things?
We never thought about taking pictures of our food. Even in the 70s we hardly took any photos of our food at Neddy’s. Now, everything I cook, I always take a picture.

After Neddy’s, you then moved on to the Grange at The Hilton?
The Hilton era was great. The success of one place is everyone working together. It takes a team like the one at The Grange, it is next level. It was food for people that wanted to excite themselves, once in a lifetime. Something more extraordinary!

Can you tell us about your early years?
As a boy, I lived on a farm. We would walk for miles to catch a bus to get to school.

Why Adelaide?
I went to Melbourne and studied engineering for a couple of years before moving to Adelaide to visit my brother Khai. Adelaide was much better for me because in Melbourne I wasn’t mixing with other people. My brother had so many different friends – Malaysian, Italian, Czech and Polish.

What’s been happening in 2019?

I celebrated my 70th birthday earlier this year and went back to my home in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. We had a family reunion; like a clan gathering. There were about 60 people including my cousins and their offspring – all my family from Australia, Canada and America too.

 

Exercising in water offers many benefits to people who are recovering from injury or living with a range of conditions, from mild to chronic.

As well as its abilities to calm, relax and ease pain, water also supports our body weight reducing stress on joints.

“People are often surprised at what they can do in the water; when weight is dispersed across the body, it is so much easier. This means water exercise is a lot more suitable for those living with a range of chronic conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia,” said ACH Group Exercise Physiologist Daniel Peacock.

Daniel, who runs hydrotherapy and water exercise classes across ACH Group’s health sites, said water exercise is an ideal way to stay active for any age group.

“By simply walking or moving in the water, you activate a range of muscles. For people who have found exercising on land too challenging or painful,

it can be great for confidence, giving people that little bit of hope and helping them in their recovery.”

Hydrotherapy is modifiable and exercises can be prescribed and adapted according to an individual’s goals or needs. Instructors are in the pool with the class to ensure exercises are done properly.

As well as building strength, water exercise can help people lose weight, manage pain and improve cardiovascular health or lung function, balance and mobility.

“Besides the physical health benefits, there are a range of mental health benefits from mood modification, a reduction in stress and anxiety, and improvements in sleep.”

Like any exercise, it’s always best to start slowly and not overdo it.

“One of the key things we tell people is not to go too hard in the first two weeks because when you’re in the water, you’ll feel great, and feel less pain, but you’ll feel it the next day when you’re out of the pool.”

Daniel has witnessed many ‘good news stories’ as a result of hydrotherapy including a customer who started classes as part of her recovery from a car accident.

“This customer was having trouble walking and struggled to get into the pool – now the steps are no problem and her walking is almost back to what it used to be,” he says.

Water wise

Lap swimming is an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise and can contribute to the recommended 150 minutes moderate to vigorous activity per week for those aged 65 plus.

Water is about 50 times thicker than air and supports our body weight. Swimming in water can require four to six times more energy.

All ACH Group hydrotherapy pools are heated at 30 to 34 degrees Celsius and have hand rails for customers who are less confident in the water.

Water exercise provides an excellent alternative to land exercise for older people with the same cardiovascular, strength, balance and mobility benefits.

Project to create dementia-friendly pools

ACH Group is leading a project that aims to create dementia-friendly swimming experiences and environments.

Funded by a grant from Dementia Australia, the project has enlisted the help of people living with dementia, their carers, family and care workers, along with people who work at swimming pools, to find out what changes could be made that make swimming easier and more accessible for all.

Project Coordinator Fiona Telford-Sharp says online surveys and face-to-face interviews helped shape a series of fact sheets for swimming pool venues, swimming coaches, people living with dementia and their families.

“We know that swimming offers many health benefits and we recognised the need to raise awareness of the needs of people living with dementia and to take steps to create a welcoming and safe environment for all swimmers.”

To find a hydrotherapy or water exercise class near you call 1300 22 44 77.