Please note this blog will no longer be updated and serves as an archive only for blog items from
February 2008 to early March 2012.
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This Month
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Friday, April 5
NEW BLOG
by
Zoe
on Fri 05 Apr 2012 15:54 GMT
Wednesday, March 7
Residents' Meeting
by
Zoe
on Wed 07 Mar 2012 20:54 GMT
We held our Monthly residents' meeting at the end of last month, which was
again very well attended. Amongst the topics discussed were food and nutrition,
entertainment & outings.
Two other subjects that were popular were the lounge being ‘converted’ into a library / quiet room, which will be available once the new bookcases have been installed, and also the upcoming Jubilee celebrations. One idea which generated a lot of discussion was one put forward by our gardener Claire, which was to create an orchard with fruit trees. Monday, March 5
February Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Mon 05 Mar 2012 20:52 GMT
Hello everyone, February found us busy as usual. We started the month with a game of Bingo... always a favourite with some of our ladies and gentlemen. Our Mind Benders included Favourites, The Apple Quiz, Matched Sets and Planning a Day’s Menu. We enjoyed some lovely entertainment from Bud Whiteman who gave us some Country and Western songs as well as some Old Time favourites. Table Tennis was also on the menu which is becoming very popular. Giant Snakes and Ladders and Tin Can Alley kept us on the move as well. One of our lovely Carers is with child and the Residents want to knit for her and her forthcoming little one so Joyce (our knitter extraordinaire !) has been busy sorting out everyone who wants to use their knitting skills.  We
celebrated the birth of Norman Wisdom in 1920 by enjoying one of his films and
sang a long to music from the 1940’s.Our usual Reminiscence session brought us into conversation discussing individual’s favourite Spring Flowers and Confectionery. See if you remember some of the favourite sweets that were mentioned... Snowballs, Gobstoppers, Dolly Mixtures, Pear Drops, Torpedo’s, Sherbert Dabs, Flying Saucers, Jelly Beans, Aniseed Balls and Chocolate Creams... yummy are your mouths watering ! Regarding the Spring Flowers the overall favourites were Narcisis others included Primroses, Daffodils, Asters and Blue Bells. One lady remembered that she once had Cowslips in her garden that flowered in December.  We
started our Reflexology Sessions much to everyone’s delight. Hopefully
this will be a regular monthly event so that everyone who is interested will be
able to enjoy the relaxing music and massaging on offer. March will be a busy month with St. David’s Day, St. Patricks’s Day and Greek Independence Day. See you next month. Robin Friday, February 24
Happy 21st Holly!
by
Zoe
on Fri 24 Feb 2012 20:00 GMT
 I would like to wish a very special Happy Birthday to Holly, one of our senior care staff who is celebrating her 21st Birthday this Saturday. We could not let it go without celebration at Valerie Manor and everyone enjoyed a Happy Birthday chorus along with a cake made by our lovely chef Chris – Oh to be twenty one again! Happy Birthday Holly from all the staff and residents at Valerie Manor! Thursday, February 23
Table Tennis Champions
by
Zoe
on Thu 23 Feb 2012 20:01 GMT
  Steve from Horsham Council brought his table tennis
equipment along again recently for his regular session, which proved as popular
as ever. Well done to all who took part (residents & staff... we're not sure who was better!) – who knows we may even enter a team for the Olympics! We look forward to Steve returning again next month for another table tennis championship round! Friday, February 17
Gold Standards Framework
by
Zoe
on Fri 17 Feb 2012 18:35 GMT
 I am pleased to say that Valerie Manor has commenced the Care Home Training Programme for the Gold Standards Framework (GSF) to assist us to improve our standards and provide a high standard of care for people nearing the end of their life.  My Deputy Manager Alison and I are committed to delivering the programme and implementing
changes in the home; Alison has been keen to be the Coordinator for the programme and will be utilising her high standards of clinical and theoretical knowledge.We attended the launch meeting this week and are pleased that a lot of the initiatives are already being used at Valerie Manor but are also excited that there is so much that we can do to improve what we are already doing to enable us to provide a ‘Gold Standard’ here at the Manor for our residents and their families. The GSFCH training programme is a three stage quality assurance programme that enables care homes to provide quality care for all residents nearing the end of life. By implementing improved coordination and better organisation GSF helps care homes deliver better patient outcomes in line with their needs and preferences. "The fact that there is now a Gold Standard for palliative care means not only that everyone now knows what can be achieved, but that patients and families are beginning to know what they should be asking for - and expecting!" Baroness Julia Neuberger, DBE House of Lords You can find out more on the GSF website; www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk Friday, February 10
Bud Whiteman
by
Zoe
on Fri 10 Feb 2012 10:34 GMT
 We welcomed Bud Whiteman (and his cowboy hat!) to Valerie Manor on Wednesday, who entertained the residents with a great Country & Western concert as well as some ‘Old Times’ favourites. This was Bud’s first visit, but it certainly won’t be his last judging by the many great comments we have received. Bud encouraged plenty of audience participation – which he received from both residents and staff! You can find out more about Bud and his band on their website; www.budwhitemanband.co.uk Thursday, February 9
Residents' Meeting
by
Zoe
on Thu 09 Feb 2012 10:33 GMT
It was lovely to get together recently with our residents to discuss their home over a glass of sherry. We talked about the gardens and we all look forward to the bulbs coming out again. We have had some good suggestions about the bird tables as we are sad to say that the birds do not seem to be enjoying the tables, but we will move them closer to trees and shrubs to see if this helps at all.
As always we discussed food; overall everyone is very happy and have seen major improvements since Chris joined us as head chef. There have been suggestions of cheese & biscuits being offered with coffee after supper, which we will start immediately, plus more fresh fruit but otherwise all are very satisfied. Activities are enjoyed by most residents and we have had some suggestions for outings and some for activities at the home. A great suggestion is the use of the lounge – we are going to turn it into a library / quiet area for reading and board games. What a lovely idea! The full minutes are available to read here. Friday, February 3
Four Year Anniversary
by
Zoe
on Fri 03 Feb 2012 09:34 GMT
 Last week I celebrated another year at Valerie Manor with the residents, their families and staff and what a very special day it was. I can’t believe I have been at Valerie Manor for four years now, it has gone so quickly. Although 2011 was most probably the most difficult year with all the work involved in opening the new wing, it has been the most rewarding as well. If I look back now I am so delighted with what we have achieved and to be able to share the end result together.
It feels like the new wing has been open for years and that all the new staff have been with us for a long time as everyone has settled in so well together - I feel that we have such a happy community.Thank you to Alan, Emma, Alison and Chris for organising the day and making it so special and thank you to all the staff, residents and their families for all my lovely gifts, cards, flowers and best wishes – it means so much! 
Thank you to everyone for your continued support!
Thursday, February 2
January Activities Summary
by
Robin Bates
on Thu 02 Feb 2012 09:37 GMT
 Hello again January found us very busy at the Manor with our Activities and Celebrations. Firstly we enjoyed a lovely afternoon with residents and some families and friends enjoying Chris’s wonderful canapés and bubbly to celebrate the fourth Anniversary of Zoe being at Valerie Manor. A lovely time was had by all... please see separate article. John and I would like to congratulate Zoe and Rob for working so very hard to realise the dream, not forgetting the support of all the staff and relatives who together work towards the wellbeing, happiness and comfort of our Residents. On to the Activities...Analogies, The Name Game, Triads, Word Search and Crosswords were among the ‘mind benders’ Target Toss, The Parachute Game, Indoor Boules and the regular Exercise from the Chair got people moving.  We've enjoyed some more physical activities such as table tennis and skittles, as well as resuming the ever popular outings in the Jalopy.We celebrated Elvis Presley’s birthday with his music and a video of his Gracelands home, Australia Day... the decorations were out with an Australian Quiz.  Chinese New Year was great... the year of the Dragon saw
us exercising to Chinese music and sampling Prawn Crackers with a sweet chilli
dip (too hot for some !) we enjoyed some fun opening Chinese
Fortune Cookies and reading out the messages inside. By asking resident’s
year of birth we found out which animal individuals they would have been in the
Chinese Horoscope. We had Goats, Dogs, Horses, Rabbits, Tigers and an Ox
and Rat ! One of our lovely young carers was happy to join in until we
found out that she was a Monkey... we decided it was apt as she is a lovely
cheeky young lady !We are celebrating The Oscars and St. Valentines Day in February as well as a possible new venture of a visit from a Reflexologist. I’ll give you a catch-up next month. Bye for now Robin Saturday, January 28
Outings
by
Zoe
on Sat 28 Jan 2012 09:43 GMT
Now that the weather has remained fair, we have resumed our outings, last week we took a leisurely trip over the Bostal then past Shoreham airport and then onto the seafront at Shoreham. This Friday, as the sun was out we decided to take a trip along the coast road from Shoreham to Worthing. Everyone had a great time as it prompted many memories, of days gone by. Following our meeting with the residents recently we have several more suggestions about future trips so keep an eye out for the Valerie Manor Jalopy, and give us a wave! |
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