LIFESTYLE Experience Ryman Healthcare
COMMUNITY & FRIENDSHIPS
ISSUE ONE 2019
Children’s Party
Nellie Melba’s
Chef Peter
A perfect day
Village reveal
Welcome to Nellie Melba
A N OT E F R O M G O R DY
Welcome to Lifestyle Ryman villages are where community shapes the heart of your retirement.
My favourite thing about my job is the time I get to travel around visiting our Ryman communities. We’ve spent more than 30 years building communities at 34 villages across Australasia. They’re all unique with their own character!
Shopping Centre. The village is now fully up and running, providing not only independent and assisted living, but also care options that enable us to look after you now and into your future. We know this provides reassurance for our residents, knowing that if your needs change we can continue to look after you within the same village community. The opening of Café Melba is another highlight in this issue. We’re always striving to improve our resident experience and adding cafés to our villages is a great way to achieve this. Café Melba is also open to the public, which makes it an ideal spot for friends and families to meet. I hope you enjoy this issue of Lifestyle, and that it helps to paint a picture of the vibrant communities that our villages are renowned for. Best Wishes,
In this issue you will read about our resident, Helen. Her story demonstrates how our residents transform each village into a community. It’s their genuine caring, the lasting friendships they form, and their relationships with staff that turn the villages we build into something special.
Gordon MacLeod Chief Executive Ryman Healthcare
You will also read about our new Nellie Melba Retirement Village opposite Brandon Park
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VILLAGE EVENTS
A perfect day in glorious sunshine The fountain of youth washed over Weary Dunlop Retirement Village on Jells Road, Wheelers Hill in January, when more than 80 little ones arrived for the annual children’s party.
Resident Joan and greatgrandson Will
Residents and staff were joined by children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren in glorious sunshine for a fun-filled celebration of family. Little ones were entertained by a magician, bouncy castle and a petting farm with rabbits. They also enjoyed lolly packs, candy floss, icy poles and hot dogs.
mix it creates a beautiful, bubbly atmosphere.”
Village Manager Kym Faulkner said the day was a huge success.
Activities and Lifestyle Coordinator Deidre Forrester reflected on the days’ events.
“The kids had a wonderful time, and you could tell the residents just loved having them here,” she said. “The village is always a lively place, but when you add happy, excited kids to the
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“It means so much to the residents to host their loved ones at the village and share their community with them. “It was a perfect day.”
RESIDENT PROFILE
Feeling the love of a community that cares For Helen, Weary Dunlop is the Goldilocks of retirement villages: big enough to have everything she needs but small enough to retain a close caring community on Jells Road in Wheelers Hill.
Helen knows more than most just how deep that community support runs. Helen’s husband Geoff passed away in 2016. “I still miss him,” she ponders, but then smiles as she recounts how fellow residents and staff responded. “The whole community rallied around me. It was absolutely wonderful.” When she saw Weary Dunlop’s maintenance man sitting in a pew at Geoff ’s funeral, proudly wearing his Ryman uniform, she knew “care and
kindness” was more than an advertising tagline. Not long after Geoff ’s passing, Helen once again felt the warm embrace of the village. A health issue made it difficult to walk Buddy, her ‘canine village celebrity’. Village friends quickly put together a roster to help, and two years later Buddy is still enjoying his long morning strolls with residents Bill and Wayne three days a week. “That’s the sort of people they are here, they’re just wonderful.”
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Something of a social butterfly, Helen is a regular at weekly Happy Hours. She enjoys catching up with the many new friends she’s made since moving into the village. You’ll also see her at the village-organised events and activities, which she says are a great way to maintain social connections and foster a unique sense of community. “You have to meet people and put yourself out there.” Helen first heard about Weary Dunlop through her son’s father-in-law, Max.
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He had learned about Ryman Healthcare through Ryman’s sponsorship of his bowls club. Max and his wife Heather are now happily living in a beautiful apartment at Ryman’s new Nellie Melba Retirement Village. They had encouraged Helen to consider Weary Dunlop. “I made up my mind straight away,” Helen recalls. At that time Geoff was living with dementia, and the village could provide him with immediate access to specialist dementia care
in the care centre. This was a big driver behind their decision and it would ensure they were never far apart. Helen understands the challenges of being a single woman later in life, but she has some simple advice for others considering a village like Weary Dunlop: “I’d say go for it hands down, I really would.” “The atmosphere in this village is fantastic, it’s something really special.” Helen enjoying some quality time with Buddy
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VILLAGE HAPPENINGS
Nellie Melba’s village reveal 2 Collegium Avenue, Wheelers Hill
Barbara (resident)
Max and Heather (residents)
We recently opened our care centre and village centre at Nellie Melba Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill.
One visitor remarked, “My first impression when I walked through the doors was it’s absolutely amazing. When I went through other parts of it I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Over 800 people came to view the village. It was wonderful to see so many families enjoying the opportunity to have a look around our village.
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In fact, several visitors liked what they saw so much they grasped the opportunity to secure an apartment for themselves there and then!
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Colin (resident)
Australia Day barbeque at Weary Dunlop Weary Dunlop’s village centre was transformed into a sea of flags, patriotic costumes, banners and decorations as residents celebrated Australia Day with a traditional Aussie barbecue. They enjoyed a sausage sizzle, before having their true-blue credentials tested by an Australian trivia quiz.
Ryman resident
The Weary Dunlop singers then led a singalong of classic Australian tunes, which got the patriotic juices flowing among residents and staff alike. With everyone getting into the spirit of the occasion by donning their favourite Aussie garb, it was another wonderful celebration of the national day at the village.
Care centre opening Once you live in a Ryman village, you will have priority access to care options that suit your needs. So, it was an exciting day at Nellie Melba with the recent opening of their care centre. The village now provides independent apartments, assisted living in serviced apartments, plus low care and high care. Specialist dementia
care will be available at the end of March. All within the same village community. Regional Manager Eileen Kielty described the care centre opening as “a huge step” in the village’s journey to completion. LIFESTYLE
Nellie Melba residents had their hearts pumping with the launch of Ryman Healthcare’s complimentary Triple A (Ageless, Active, Aware) exercise program. Triple A aims to build strength and conditioning to reduce the risk of falls. Classes began in February, and Ryman’s Operations Activities and Lifestyle Coordinator Chelsea Richdale was on hand for the program’s launch. “The social element of the classes is also incredibly important,” Chelsea explains.
Rebecca (Assistant to the Manager)
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Ryman Triple A classes begin
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“Especially in a new village like Nellie Melba where residents can get to know each other while enjoying the benefits of physical wellbeing.”
S E R V I C E D A PA R T M E N T S
Did you know one in five Ryman Healthcare residents live in a serviced apartment? It’s easy to see why – you can still enjoy the independence of your own home, just with a little extra help.
Many residents say that serviced apartment living has taken the stress away. Perhaps it’s peace of mind, knowing that help is close at hand, or the bonds of friendships that are formed within the village community. Whatever the reason, our residents are loving the ‘best of both worlds’ that serviced apartments provide. The apartment is your home where you’ll enjoy a separate bedroom (some of our villages offer studio apartments), and a private ensuite. Along with help with daily living, you can relish in a Delicious home-cooked main meal, plus morning and afternoon tea. The beauty of a serviced apartment is that we can customise your preferences or needs, right down to the smallest detail. And if your needs change, Ryman villages provide low care, high care and specialist dementia care within the same village community. You are connected to caring and vibrant communities within Ryman villages. Because serviced apartments are located in the heart of our villages, it’s even easier to take advantage of all there is on offer. As well as regular outings in the village van to the shops and further afield. –
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Is a serviced apartment right for you or your family? • Has living alone begun to feel isolating? • Have your health needs changed? Could you benefit from a little support? • Would it be reassuring to have help close at hand? • Have household chores, the garden or cooking become too much? • Has getting out and about become more difficult?
“It just means if something happens, somebody is always there. That’s what we love about it. ”
Pam (Family)
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Café Melba – where everyone knows your name It’s only been open a few weeks, but Barista Cameron knows his customers by name and is already fielding requests for “my usual”.
Nellie Melba’s café has quickly established itself as a watering hole for residents, staff and visitors alike. Except the water is steaming hot and smells like freshly-brewed coffee. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to try some of our freshly-prepared cabinet food, such as delicious salads, sandwiches and sweet treats. Adjacent to the village’s main lobby, the café is the ideal spot for residents to entertain family and friends who have popped in for a visit. The café is also open to the public making it a hub for the community inside and outside the village. And as patronage steadily increases and the village grows, Cameron’s talent for remembering everyone’s “usual” is going to be put to the test.
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The taste of Nellie Melba: Welcoming new Chef, Peter He’s worked at high-end restaurants in some of the most interesting and exotic parts of the globe. Now Peter is bringing his 38 years of culinary expertise to Nellie Melba Retirement Village. The new village’s head chef has worked in exclusive restaurants and five-star hotels in Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Dubai, the Maldives, Hollywood and, most recently, at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. But now, he says, it’s time to give back. “I thought now is the time to share my passion and expertise with older people. That’s the reason I joined Ryman Healthcare.” Peter says he plans on taking Nellie Melba’s dining experience to “the next level”. “If you are serving older people you should have love for everything you do. If you have love and care in what you do the product you put out will reflect that. “I have 38 years of experience. I want to put out the best I can, and treat the residents the way they should be treated. That’s the passion in me.”
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WHO WE ARE
Ryman Healthcare has been building and operating retirement living and aged care facilities within one village community for over 30 years.
Because we get our resident experience right and look after our sta, everything else falls into place. This makes a positive dierence to the daily lives of our residents.
Aberfeldie
Nellie Melba Coburg
Burwood East Weary Dunlop
34 Friendly villages across Australasia
Mt Eliza Geelong
Mt Martha Ocean Grove
For more information about Ryman or to book a complimentary lunch and tour call Denise or Jennifer on
1800 288 299 Ryman village
Proposed village
rymanhealthcare.com.au