Older People Valued with Wide Range of Services

Whether they receive domestic or personal care support in their own homes, live independently in a retirement village, or are residents in rest home or hospital, older people connected to Presbyterian Support Otago are encouraged and supported to be as active as possible – mentally and physically.

One such person is Darcy Hoffman, a rest home resident at Ross Home & Hospital in Dunedin. Darcy, 88, is a well known Otago resident with an interesting life and he wanted to write his memoirs. So, with the help of Ross Home’s Manager and a few volunteers, old newspaper cuttings and scrap books were poured over and interviews conducted, with the resulting book published recently.

Another is Sue Young, a resident at Wanaka Retirement Village, who continues to play the piano for various local groups. Sue’s husband is a resident in the adjacent Elmslie House Home & Hospital where he tends the garden to provide fresh vegetables for the kitchen.

Then there’s a member of the Maybank Activity Group, Katherine Campbell, who knits clothes for babies and children then donates them to foodbank clients.

With over 100 years’ experience in supporting Otago people as they age, Presbyterian Support Otago (PSO) knows that by putting a variety of services in place – services that encourage clients to have a say in what they want and when – those clients will live more fulfilling lives.

Caregivers and home support workers undertake extensive in-house and national training with an emphasis on catering to the individual needs of all residents. Policies and procedures are also revised on a regular basis with that same goal in mind…the wants, wishes and needs of individuals.

Five PSO’s seven homes carry four year certification from the Ministry of Health – that puts them in the top 4% of residential facilities for older people in New Zealand – and the other two have three-year certification. Auditors are fulsome in their praise of the homes and their reviews can be read on http://cert.moh.govt.nz/certification/review.nsf/default?OpenForm

Enliven Positive Ageing Services is the name for PSO’s services to those people wishing to remain in their own homes. Services range from domestic assistance and personal care right through to the CommunityFirst programme that provides people assessed as needing rest home level care, all the help they need to stay in their own home. Enliven also runs two day activity programmes; in Dunedin and Central Otago. The programmes are vital in keeping older people connected with others and their community.

Enliven Visiting Volunteers are invited into many clients’ homes for a regular chat, and the Enliven Family/Whanau Carer Training Programme helps people who care for family members in their own homes.

Wanaka Retirement Village residents make extensive use of the Village’s Common Room where Tai Chi and other activities provide hours of fun and contact with like-minded people, while those who live at Ranui Court (Alexandra), Columba Court (Oamaru) and in some of the rest home independent living units throughout Otago, mix and mingle amongst themselves offering support and companionship when needed.

To find out more about PSO’s vast range of services for older people visit www.psotago.org.nz