It was lovely to see staff, consumers and their families and friends joining together and having a great time with good food, games and music after what has been a year of isolation and outbreaks.
A highlight for me was the Carols by Daylight at Barunga Homes, led by Risk Manager, David Edwards who has an impressive baritone. The sound of the carol singers progressing through the Homes was stirring and House Members joined in the singing. It was wonderful to see our House Members smiling and laughing.
Another memorable event was the Christmas afternoon tea at Barunga by the Sea. The decorations, food and games were all personally handmade, cooked and designed by Retirement Manager, Jodie Webb, the afternoon was a special and fun event.
Unfortunately, Barunga Homes did get a visit from the COVID-19 grinch the week before Christmas. Our fabulous Clinical and Care staff managed this extremely well, with the support of our wonderful House Members, families and friends.
We have a lot to look forward to in 2023!
We are excited to start using our new care equipment for Barunga Homes, and we are very appreciative to the Department of Health and Ageing for the Grant funding under the Business Improvement Fund, who made this possible.
We have plans to re-open Glorias Coffee Shop to the public later this year, (following implementation of a COVID-19 management strategy to make it safe for our House Members).
For the Community program we are keen to develop and introduce a broader range of services that meet client’ s needs and preferences.
We have been funded by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal Grant for a Dementia-Friendly Community Project, which aims to strengthen the local Port Broughton community by making it an better place for people living with dementia and their carers.
The project’s objectives are to:
Develop a sustainable Dementia Community Support Network in the form of a Dementia Alliance, to lead and continue the development of the Port Broughton dementia-friendly community. Increase awareness of and
understanding of dementia, and reduce stigma. Increase capability of businesses to serve customers with dementia. Identify and remove physical and environmental barriers for people living with dementia.
We will be putting out more information soon - please get involved in this project, which will help so many people to live the best life possible.
Late last year we farewelled Director of Finance and Business, Drew Ellis.
After a restructure of the previous role, I am excited to have been appointed as Director of Business Operations.
I have been with the organisation for seven years and in this time I have held a number of roles including Administration and Finance Manager, Quality and ICT Manager and back-filled for the Business Manager.
We have also appointed an external Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Adam Drabsch from Thnk Advisory based in Adelaide who is an industry expert. Adam will be reviewing our monthly financials and offering expert financial advice.
We have also seen some change to the Administration and Finance team. We recently farewelled Community Administration and Finance Officer, Sandy Ambaras and we wish her well in the future.
Sandy has spent the last couple of months handing over to Administration and Finance Officer, Nirmal Shrestha who previously worked in the Community Administration team and has a good understanding of the
Community program.
For the last 12-months, we have trialed the Community Administration and Finance Officer working directly under supervision of the Community Manager and have since decided that this work is better completed as a part of the organisational finance team and will be completed under the supervision of the Administration and Finance Manager, Elise Bormann.
Behind the scenes, the management team are working on implementing the Aged Care Reforms as a result of the Royal Commission into Aged Care.
These include:
Registered Nurse required 24/7 by 1 July 2023
Transparency of information by 1 December 2022
Information sharing by 1 October 2022
Permitted use of RADS by 1 December 2022
Independent Health and Aged Care pricing authority by 1 October 2022
Restrictive Practices by 1 October 2022
Aged Care funding ANACC to replace ACFI by 1 October 2022
Star Ratings by 1 October 2022
Code of conduct and banning orders by 1 December 2022
Governance of approved providers by 1 December 2022
Expanding SIRS into Home Care by 1 December 2022
Community Care fees capped by 1 January 2023
Mandatory care minutes by 1 October 2023.
Our Volunteer team had a busy 2022 with the year finishing off with over a month of Christmas festivities.
The festive season began with our Annual Volunteer’s Day Out in November. Our Volunteers enjoyed a lovely day in Clare.
On 8 December, we hosted a Christmas luncheon for our volunteer team at the Port Broughton Sporting Club. Congratulations to Chairperson, Julie Norman for winning the best dressed Christmas outfit.
House Members and volunteers were excited to participate in the Port Broughton Christmas Pageant. We entered two Barunga Village buses, one of our cars and a float with many staff and House Members walking, on gophers or being pushed in wheelchairs. We were lucky
sidelines cheering us on as we went past. I would like to thank our team of amazing volunteers and staff who made this all possible. A lovely evening was had by all.
Our House Members appreciated the Christmas card they received from the Kadina Apex Club.
During the festive season this year the Homes came to life. Christmas week started off with a Christmas Wonderland photo booth, our volunteer dressed up as elves and I took photos of our House Members to put into their Christmas stockings that Santa delivered on Christmas morning.
At our House Members Christmas party, they enjoyed entertainment from Cactus Martin and a special visit from Santa. It was great to see so
Christmas spirit.
I would like to thank Uniting Country SA - Paper Talk for their kind donations of radios for our House Members to enjoy. The paper talk volunteers record local newspapers on USBs for our House Members to listen to through these radios, this is extremely beneficial to our House Members who have a loss of sight.
Congratulations to our volunteer, Teresa Noble on winning the Rowan Ramsay award at Port Broughton Area School. Teresa has volunteered at the school every week for a number of years, while also volunteering three days a week at Barunga Village. Our community is extremely lucky to have so many giving people.
I hope everyone had a fabulous time celebrating the holiday season with family and friends. I know I certainly enjoyed some time off to recharge and just hang out with my family.
Last year, we kicked off the Christmas season with a bright and bubbly afternoon tea for Barunga by the Sea and Cottage residents. We celebrated in style with lots of yummy treats to share and played the game ‘Christmas Family Feud’. It is fantastic to see residents all getting along and enjoying themselves.
Our newest residents to Barunga by the Sea have settled in well and are enjoying the laid village has to offer. We know they will love the beautiful seaside location and the friendly community spirit that
our residents have come to know and love. While we were at full capacity for a short time, we now have one, twobedroom home for sale. Once it has been updated, it will be looking for a new owner. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact me on 08 8635 0528.
Recently, we welcomed our newest residents, Naomi and Wayne to Barunga Cottages, they have settled into their new home extremely well. While moving in through the hot weather was a challenge, they now have a permanent place to come home to.
fertilisers. It is lovely to have them straight from the garden to the table. Thank you to our hard-working volunteers that prune, water, plant and manage the produce, it is much appreciated by all.
I would like to thank all of our residents for their continued support.
Retirement is not always about slowing down; it is about repurposing your time and doing the things that are important to you and embracing your next chapter.
As I depart to retirement, we welcome Simone Tilbury to the role of Community Manager. Simone has a wealth of experience in the aged and disability sectors. She has worked at Barunga Community Care as a Client Liaison Officer (CLO) for the past seven months, so many of our clients are already familiar with her. Simone brings industry experience, strategic vision, great people skills and a lively sense of humour to the role and I congratulate her and wish her well.
Following Simone’s promotion and the departure of CLO, Sunny Ojiakor, to follow his dreams of becoming a pastor and founder of a not-for-profit aimed at using his Social Work skills. CLO, Naomi will now work full time in her role and we have welcomed Robyn and Heidi to the team.
Robyn is located in Port Broughton and is an Enrolled Nurse with years of experience as a CLO in the aged care sector. Heidi is based in Port Pirie, she is also an Enrolled Nurse with multiple qualifications in health, dementia and medication management with experience in aged care.
Lastly, it is with sadness that I announce Narelle Ireland, our Community Coordinator, has
decided to follow a new path too.
Over the festive season, we hosted several client and staff combined meetings. There was an agenda although it was more fun than most of our normal meetings. The theme of making your own Christmas hat was well received and decorated canes, wheel chairs and walkers vied for the prize for Most Outstanding Christmas Themed Mobility Aid, they all looked terrific. We sang carols and enjoyed a lovely morning tea supplied by Café Delizioso at the Port Broughton Bowling Club. We tried a dispersed model this year and at the Clare Bowling club, the ladies who served us fresh sandwiches and homemade cakes were delicious. They mentioned about how well Barunga Village is known in the Clare Valley, so it was great to hear our reputation is good across the region.
Our last meeting for the year was held in Kadina at the Copper Coast Sport and Leisure Centre.
Finally, I would like to say thanks to the team at Barunga Village, it has been great to work for an organisation whose brand and reputation are one that I have been proud to be part of.
I have enjoyed working with such a talented and committed group of people in this fluid and challenging sector. The Community team, which I have had the pleasure to lead, has encountered plenty of challenges, with COVID-19, staff shortages and turnover, and the concerns and issues of our growing client base.
It has been a challenging nine months, however our team continues to demonstrate a high level of optimism, resilience and good humour. I know that they will do well and
CommunityManager,Simone ClientLiaisonOfficer’ s,Robynand HeidiGreetings to all as we come out the other side of Christmas and New Year. I hope the holiday season was wonderful for you and I reflect with some sadness on the restrictions the (COVID19) outbreak imposed on those living and working in Barunga Homes.
I wish to particularly thank our lifestyle and care staff for their extraordinary efforts in trying to bring the seasons joy to House Members in their private rooms. Thanks also to our team of Registered Nurses for their diligent attendance to clinical care needs, and to our families for the support that we have experienced.
I wish to consider a very topical matter for residential aged care. The new Star Rating System was introduced in December 2022 in response to recommendations from the royal commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, with the stated goal to support older Australians and their representatives to easily compare services and make informed choices based on an over-all Star Rating.
Barunga Village is awarded an overall Star Rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
You can access Star Ratings by conducting an internet search for My Aged Care and clicking
on the Find a Provider link.
The four key areas are:
Compliance
The Compliance rating looks at whether an aged care home is meeting government regulations and standards. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission checks aspects of care including quality, safety, financial matters, and management.
Barunga Village is currently awarded 5 stars for Compliance with the most recent site accreditation audit having been conducted in September 2022. Barunga Village was issued a performance report dated 2 November 2022 that states, that performance standards have met all requirement and Barunga Village is accredited to provide residential care services for a further threeyear period. Current and historical compliance information is available on My Aged Care.
Quality Measures
Quality Measures relate to five important areas of care for older Australians. All government-subsidised aged care homes must report on their performance across these five areas every three months.
This information is used to improve quality of care and help you make an informed choice about your aged care home. This is stated by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to be an internationally recognised approach, with the Quality Measures based on the areas of care that older Australians have said are most important to them.
1. Pressure injuries
2. Physical restraint
3. Unplanned weight loss
4. Falls and major injury
5. Medication management
Barunga Village is currently awarded 3 stars for Quality Measures with the following outcomes for the last reporting quarter.
5% of our House Members experienced pressure injuries.
18% of our House Members were physically restrained
16% of our House Members experienced unplanned weight loss.
38% of our House Members experienced one or more falls and 1% experienced a major injury from a fall.
28% of our House Members were prescribed nine or more medications and 12%
were on psychotropic medications without a diagnosis of psychosis.
Clinical governance process is responsible to monitor care outcomes and collate clinical data. This means that the above data represents more than numbers, it is in fact the statistic arising from a holistic clinical process of assessment, evaluation, intervention, and further evaluation.
Take pressure injuries for instance. A new pressure injury is noted and assessed and intervention put in place to prevent further tissue injury. A pressure injury may be reported in one quarter and be resolved before the next reporting period. Should the tissue injury deteriorate, then this too is included in the reporting process.
Physical restraint includes environmental restraint. All 18% of the House Members who were reported as being physically restrained were infact living in our specialised dementia Houses - Eyre, Dale and Renni. There is no other kind of physical restraint being used in Barunga Homes.
Psychotropic medications in residential aged care are accompanied by specific
prescribing and administration requirements and a fact sheet is available on the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission website. Data reporting requirements reflect these principles and sit within a complex medical context. An example of someone being administered psychotropic medications without having a diagnosis of psychosis might be a House Member living with lifelong mental illness.
Residents’ Experience
The results of the Resident Experience Surveys (introduced in 2022 as Consumer Experience Interviews) let you know how older Australians who have been interviewed feel about the care and services they receive in their aged care home.
Barunga Village Incorporated is currently awarded 3 stars for Residents’ Experience with our first annual interviewer having attended on 10 August 2022, at which time 14 House Members were interviewed. An external interviewer will attend annually and you can view the 2022 results by clicking on the Residents’ Experience link.
Residents’ Experience feedback will be incorporated in our Quality Improvement process along with regular
internal audit findings and this includes discussions with House Members at quarterly House Member Engagement meetings and bi-monthly House Member and Family meetings. I do encourage you as family members to attend the latter at any time you would like to. House Member and Family meetings will be advertised through my monthly emailed letters or you can enquire with Reception.
Staffing
Every aged care home reports to the Australian Government the amount of care time their residents receive from a registered nurse, enrolled nurse, or personal care worker. Based on an independent assessment of residents’ care needs, the home receives an average quarterly target for care time from the Australian Government. The rating shows if they met their target in that quarter.
This rating is calculated based on two measures – total ‘nursing and personal care’ minutes per resident per day, and ‘care from a registered nurse’ per resident per day.
Barunga Village is currently awarded 2 stars for Staffing.
For ‘total nursing and personal care’ minutes, the minimum target for last quarter is stated at 192 minutes with 201 actual minutes being achieved –above target.
For ‘care from a registered nurse’, the minimum target for last quarter is stated at 38 minutes with 36 minutes being achieved – below target.
Care minutes are required to be reported on from December 2022 but will be a mandated requirement from 1 October 2023. Care minute reporting incorporates direct care provided by nurses and carers only, leaving lifestyle and allied health additional to direct care.
You can peruse the Barunga Village specific outcomes by clicking on the available links in the ‘Staffing’ sub-category. Clicking on the additional link will reveal tables that indicate how Staffing is rated, and you will see that a 5-star rating for Registered Nurse care minutes requires 125% of target minutes to be met.
The introduction of Australian National Aged Care Classification funding model (AN-ACC) in October 2022 and Star Ratings in December 2022 have brought significant change to residential aged
care process. Barunga Village is equipped to meet these challenges with the new ANACC assessment processes now established and improved direct care roster management and reporting systems being developed.
Star Ratings are driven by the Quarterly Financial Report (QFR), National Aged Care Quality Indicator Program (NACQIP), Residents’ Experience Interviews and ACQSC regulatory compliance.
I thank you for your ongoing support and encourage you to apply critical thinking to the commentary that the Star Ratings provide on the care services that we provide to our House Members. It is important to me that we all at Barunga Homes are motivated by an authentic impulse to care through emotional connection in combination with a high level of professionalism, in contrast to working to solely improve on a rating scale.
Perhaps one day Star Ratings will be able to reflect the heart that abides in our Home. At present they seem to me to be a rudimentary measure, albeit a measure that presents for us the challenge to continue to work to the best of
our ability, to strive to improve in order to promote for our House Members their very best life possible.
Barunga Village was successful kin receiving grant funding of $10,000 from Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal (FRRR) Strengthening Rural Communities. This grant will help the organisation to support those living with dementia through a DementiaFriendly Community Project in Port Broughton.
The project aims to: develop a sustainable dementia community support network in the form of a Dementia alliance, to lead and continue the development of the Port Broughton Dementia-
Increase capability of businesses to serve customers with dementia.
Identify and remove physical and environmental barriers for people living with dementia.
Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Carroll said Barunga Village hopes to establish Port Broughton as a DementiaFriendly community where people with dementia are understood, respected and supported.
“The project will run over sixmonths and will be led by newly appointed Project
she said.
The project will begin with community consultation, where Rosemary plans to reach out to the community and local businesses.
Rosemary said she is looking forward to meeting people face-to-face and listening to their concerns. I want to help to create support networks for those living with dementia and their carers” Rosemary said.
If you would like more information or would like to be involved in this project, we encourage you to register your interest with Head Office on 08 8635 0502 or email rosemaryc@barungavillage.co
We warmly welcome, Monica Merlano to the role of People and Culture Manager at Barunga Village.
Monica is an experienced Human Resource Manager with 14 years’ experience with Coca Cola FEMSA in Colombia. She has qualifications in Human Resources Management and Strategy as well as Leadership and Management.
Monica has relocated with her family from Adelaide and started in her new role on 3
support when needed. She has hosted her first induction training for new staff members and will continue to host inhouse induction and mandatory training, whilst also allocating online training modules for all staff.
Her first impressions of Barunga Village are it is a wonderful place to work. She said the staff are so passionate about what they do. They have a strong purpose with a focus on the people they care for and
Over the next 12-months, Monica said the organisation’ s key focus continues to be on their values of show kindness, support connections and strive to improve. She will support culture diversity in the organisation with education to ensure staff and consumers feel respected. She will be hosting small workshops regarding understand behaviours around the organisational code of conduct with the overall focus on professional development.
CARERS SA MORNING TEA AND INFORMATION SESSION
Are you an unpaid Carer who helps a family member or friend with emotional support, grocery shopping, preparing meals, administering medicine, personal care, paying bills and more?
Join Carers SA for a free information session and morning tea.
When: Monday 6 March 2023
Where: Barunga Homes Function Room, 11 Edmund Street, Port Broughton
Time: 10:30am - 12:00pm
RSVP: Please rsvp by scanning the QR code or contacting Tim at Carers SA on 0491 031 841.
Family and friends of Barunga Homes, you are warmly invited to attend the opening of the Barunga Homes time capsule.
The Barunga Home time capsule was buried on 10 December 2000 by Chairperson, Gloria Edwards to be opened in 2020, however due to COVID-19 the opening was delayed.
Join us as we look back at Barunga Homes in 2000 and create a new time capsule to be buried for another 20-years, followed by morning tea.
When: Wednesday 5 April 2023
Where: Barunga Homes - 11 Edmund Street, Port Broughton
Time: 10:00am
RSVP: Please rsvp by Thursday 30 March to Marketing and Communications Officer, Renna Stringer on 08 8635 0597 or email rennas@barungavillage.com.au
At Barunga Village, we pride ourselves on truly knowing our consumers and their life stories to ensure we support them to live the best life possible.
We invite our consumers, family and friends to contribute to BV Lifestyle.
If you have a poem, story, event, celebration or exciting news that you would like to share with the Barunga Village community, we encourage you to submit your contributions for consideration to rennas@barungavillage.com.au.
We also welcome the opportunity to celebrate the lives of those we have cared for by sharing their eulogy on our website.
At Barunga Village, we are committed to continually seeking new ways to strive to improve. Our Quality team have been investigating new technologies that provide greater efficiencies for our staff and better outcomes for our consumers.
A smartphone application (app) downloaded on to Support Worker’ s smartphone, provides access
to all the required information while out on the road.
Benefits of the app include:
Live roster updates. Daily schedule including address, phone number, appointment time and the assigned Client Liaison Officer View alerts
Calculate kms travelled with clients
Read and write notes e.g. Client prefers Support Worker to enter via back door Allows Support Worker to record the start and end time at location
We believe this will ensure accuracy of rosters and improve access to information for our Support Workers to provide the highest level of care.
At Barunga Village, our aim is to provide the highest standard of service and to ensure that we consistently meet and exceed your expectations.
To help us to do this, we encourage you to tell us what you think.
If there is any aspect of your experience that did not meet your expectations, we would appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns and are committed to doing this in a prompt, fair and consistent manner.
For your convenience hard copies are available at the entrance of each house at Barunga Homes or please visit barungavillage.com.au/contact-us/ and complete the form for our Quality and ICT Officer to review – we may contact you to discuss your comments or you can remain anonymous.
Alternatively, you can contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission with your concern by visiting their website.
As we extend our deepest sympathies to our consumers family and friends as they pass, we also acknowledge that these donation are vital to our work.
Donations are used for a wide variety of support services and projects which enable us to continue to provide quality care to the seniors in our community.
Any donation is appreciated.
Community
House Members, staff and volunteers at the 2022 Port Broughton Christmas pageant.
Stanley House Members, Margaret, Margaret and Glen decorating their Christmas tree.
Renni House Member, Russell and Evelyn House Member, Gwen visiting the Port Broughton Santa Cave.
Renni House Carers, Alicia and Belle were doing their best to put a smile on the faces of House Members over Christmas.
team members, Nicole, Naomi, Simone, Julie and Nirmal at the staff BBQ lunch held in Gloria’s Coffee Shop garden area.
On Wednesday 14 December 2022, Barunga by the Sea and Barunga Cottage residents attended - Community Centre. Retirement Manager, Jodie hosted the afternoon tea with homemade desserts. A fun-filled afternoon enjoyed by all.
On Tuesday 14 February 2023, House Members in Spencer, Stanley and Evelyn Houses’ enjoyed a morning tea and House Members in Renni, Dale and Eyre Houses shared a special afternoon tea to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Agnes sadly passed away on 10 January 2023 and is missed by many House Members.
Barunga by the Sea residents, Lindsay, Terry and Raelene enjoying a game of lawn bowls in the Barunga by the Sea Community Centre.
Stanley House Members, Doug, Shirley, Fay, Lorene, Violet, Margaret and Carlene celebrating Australia Day with a BBQ lunch and lamingtons.
Stanley House Member, Brenda with Barunga Homes much loved cat, Agnes.
Stanley House Members, Lorene, Fay, Shirley, Margaret, Violet and June keeping fit at their weekly exercise class.
On
5 July 2022, Barunga by the Sea resident, Snowy celebrated his 90th birthday at Café Primo in Port Pirie.
Barunga by the Sea resident, Rex with his newest great grandson, Korbyn, born on 27 October 2022, and great granddaughter, Brooklyn.
Barunga Village proudly sponsors the School Value Awards for Port Broughton Area School and Bute Early Learning and Primary School.
Chairperson, Julie Norman was pleased to present these awards to the successful students at their award ceremonies.
Serves 10
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1kg chicken thighs
20g ginger
20g garlic
150g curry powder
80g tumeric
10g fresh chilli
150g cashew nuts
Step 2
In saucepan, add potato wedges and cover with cold water. Bring potatoes to boil and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, in a hot wok add a tbsp of oil and sauté the marinated chicken until light golden brown then add cashew nuts and cook for a further 5 minutes, remove from the heat and add fresh basil.
Step 4
