Business View Oceania | January 2020

77 78 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA JANUARY 2020 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA JANUARY 2020 W: WWW.MGZ.CO.NZ E: CAREY@MGZ.CO.NZ P: 03 365 2345 MGZ Employment Law is a dedicated company of expert advisors providing proven and cost-effective employment law advocacy services to employers throughout New Zealand; solving problems and providing solutions before issues become costly. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: Advice on all employment relations matters Employment Agreement - Drafting - Advocacy Advocacy in Collective Agreement Negotiations Employment Relationship Problems, Personal Grievance and Dispute Resolution, Mediation, Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court Client Newsletter and Updates Training We are proud of our long association with Windsor Care Retirement Village and Glenwood Home providing support, advice, solutions and representation. GLENWOOD HOME as their place of choice. Once they come here, they can transition from rest home to hospital level as their needs increase. It breaks our heart if somebody has to leave to go into high level care, because this is their home. That very rarely happens; we do everything we can to keep them here including moving them into a larger hospital room, or to be closer to the Nurses’ Station.” Home-made meals are a selling point for Glenwood. Fresh local produce is used as much as possible and all the cooking is done onsite. The idea is to make it as much a home as possible for people; the lovely aroma of home baking coming from the kitchen is a definite attraction. And the cook is directly answerable to residents, who don’t shy away from making their preferences known. Menus are set on a four-week rotational schedule and approved by a dietician. Because the nutritional requirements of residents vary, particularly as they age and are becoming frail, it’s important that they have a good balanced menu and appropriate choices according to their dietary needs, personal health issues and ability to swallow and eat. The environment enhances the residents’ dining experience. In 2018, the dining room was extended into a bright, modern, atrium-style dining area. A beautiful space architecturally designed by Rushton Architects that boldly declares Glenwood as a place that is up to date and focuses on professionalism and quality with a welcoming, warm appeal. Emergency planning is critical for an eldercare facility. Ligteringen recalls, “I came to Glenwood from Christchurch, where they had suffered major earthquakes. Timura is only a two-hour drive away, so they felt the quakes but didn’t suffer as much damage – although there were earthquake payouts to Glenwood Home at that time. So when I came here, I wanted to know what was in place for emergencies and I thought we should get a generator. But being a not-for- profit, we didn’t have a lot of money at that time to shore up our emergency planning. Then, about 18 months ago when we were building the dining room, the board decided to get a small generator that would service that whole living area and our essential kitchen services.” The board also purchased a modern, versatile barbecue for cooking in case of an emergency, and a log burner to keep the residents warm in the event of a power outage. In addition, enough extra supplies were stored away to feed Glenwood residents and support the Glenwood community for seven days. “The reality in New Zealand is that if there is a major earthquake, sometimes the Civil Defence people can’t get to you in a short time frame,” says Ligteringen. “So we’ve done a lot of work to be more self-sufficient. We’ve trained our staff in the critical incident management system that hospitals use. And we’ve created a business plan for sustainable services should there be an emergency. To me, that reflects the care and the ongoing development that Glenwood is committed to.” PREFERRED VENDORS n nulook Morse www.nulook.co.nz n MGZ Employment Law www.mgz.co.nz In a nod the to the importance of a great team, Ligteringen adds, “Recently, we were audited and accreditation here is usually three years, but as a place that runs efficiently and maintains high standards all the time, we actually got four years accreditation. That’s very hard to achieve. Glenwood really is a wonderful place to live and work and we get compliments all the time from professionals and people in the community. The quality of care our staff provide to our residents is superb and they really do care with compassion and kindness and love. For them it is a calling, not a job. They are special people.”