Business View Oceania - Mar 2024

onto online training where they complete and are reviewed by our Education Coordinator. Also we have target-based training. With that, care managers and registered nurses observe the caregivers and then give reports to our Education Coordinator about the needs of the individual staff. If someone needs manual handling training, or infection control training, that additional training is either provided one-to-one or online.” Te Hopai employees about 150 staff, including caregivers, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, medical staff and laundry staff. In addition to two registered nurses with a PhD in nursing, three with post-graduate qualifications, and one doing post- grad studies–and nurses are supported to achieve those qualifications so they are up to date on the latest methods of care. As a result, the facility is able to provide residents with continued care from rest home to dementia and hospital. It is also a very inclusive organisation in terms of staffing and meeting residents’ needs from different cultural backgrounds. A particularly timely and important focus is on how the rainbow community is aging and how aged care is meeting that need. Stewart notes, “The levels of care have changed so much in the last few years. Whereas in the past we may have had someone enter rest home care in their 60s, now they’re in their 80s. And the people coming into the hospital are often palliative care. The tenure or longevity of our residents has dropped alarmingly. And one of the biggest challenges is that we initiate a care plan for a resident coming into the facility and then within sometimes days or weeks they’ve passed away. It’s an incredibly stressful environment for the staff, and another level of training we’ve had to provide.” Sari adds, “We also have younger residents. Last year we had three under the age of 50 in palliative care, they come and live with us and die within six to seven weeks. It was very disturbing for staff having young children crying in the room, quite a different scene than with older people. One of our funders has given very generously to individual and group counselling for our staff members, as needed.We are very fortunate to have three donors – Thomas George Macarthy Trust, Sutherland Self 75 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 06, ISSUE 03 TE HOPAI HOME & HOSPI TAL