Ripples Summer Edition 2021/22

Ripples Our Brightwater Staff Newsletter

Summer | 2021/22

From Jenny

Dear Team, Welcome to our Summer Edition of Ripples 21/22.

As 2021 draws to a close, and we prepare for the New Year I want to thank everyone at Brightwater for another 12 months of dedication and caring for our clients. Each of you play such an important role in ensuring that our clients receive the best care possible and can pursue their dignity of independence.

2021 also marks our 120th anniversary of caring for the Western Australian community. For 120 years Brightwater has responded to huge changes including two world wars; the great depression; medical discoveries; an ageing population; and more recently a global pandemic and the Royal Commission spotlight.

Change is something that we are used to, and we will continue to keep evolving and growing. To think that we have been at the forefront of care for more than a century is a triumph that Brightwater has not only survived, but thrived. This could not have been possible without an amazing team of pioneers, and I am proud of how far we’ve come. Whether you’ve been here six months or six years, your contribution has been an important step in helping us reach this important milestone.

In this edition of Ripples, we celebrate just some of our staff, their achievements and understand more about their roles and how they impact the lives of our clients.

Happy reading,

Jenny

Brightwater Research Centre Director, Dr Angelita Martini and Senior Research Officer, Robyn Bett

Brightwater Research Centre – making a difference to our operations Our Brightwater Research Centre conducts research that makes a positive difference for Brightwater and for the wider sectors of aged care and disability services.

What is equally important to Centre Director, Dr Angelita Martini and the team of 15 researchers is that the work they do directly benefits our clients and staff.

“The Research Centre provides an opportunity to investigate issues that are important to clients and staff at Brightwater. The common element to all the research studies is a focus on improving the lives of Brightwater’s clients and actively seeking ways to support them, their families and our staff through improving service delivery,” Angelita explains.

The Research Centre was launched in 2011 and in the last five years, 48 studies have been completed and

a further 20 are underway this year. In 2021, the studies have ranged from studies on nutritional analysis of Brightwater menus in residential aged care to the development of resources to support children and youth impacted by a family member with an acquired brain injury or younger onset dementia.

The diversity of studies demonstrates the unique strength of the Research Centre model: that which researchers are provided with a real-life setting where data and evidence gathering can be informed by the knowledge and experience of our clients and their families as well as our staff and then translated into practice.

Of the research projects undertaken this year, most have been internally generated. Since coming into the role four years ago, Angelita has prioritised the need for research studies to originate from within Brightwater.

“Interviews with staff across the organisation have identified clear themes for future investigations. This led to the mapping of strategic priorities for research projects, an approach that continues today,” Angelita said.

Through the interviews, Angelita was able to identify strategic priorities for research, looking for ways to bring the most value to clients, staff and Brightwater as a whole. While many of the approved studies still come from external sources, such as universities, they must fit with the strategic priorities that have been identified.

“We have a clear governance process and we have an evaluation tool that we use to determine whether it’s of value to Brightwater, and whether or not it’s a burden – on clients, staff or financially.”

The Brightwater Research Centre occupies a unique position within the research sector, as study findings are applied directly into a care/community setting.

“Research is always trying to answer the unknown and create new knowledge. And we have the opportunity to do that in a timely and applied way,” said Angelita.

Currently the strategic priorities for research are brain injury rehabilitation, independence, nutrition, ageing well, dementia care, quality of life, and continence.

“The genesis of most of the studies comes from the staff.

It’s about giving our staff the opportunity to look at what is the best practice for their work area,” she said.

“We also provide a platform for people to ask questions, and opportunities for clinicians and carers that are curious, and interested in expanding what they know.

We get emails that say, I’m really interested in this topic, how could I be involved? Or I’d like to do further study - the Research Centre provides a chance to engage staff.”

Robyn holding her co-authored story book for children that shows life after a family member experiences an acquired brain injury

For student researchers as well as universities, the real-life setting is a valuable opportunity to have direct contact with the people who can provide the evidence and data for their studies. That is, Brightwater’s clients as well as the care staff and clinical health professionals who support them.

Angelita with Rotarians who support Brightwater’s research initiatives

There is also a thorough process for approving research projects. The Research Centre is responsible for approving, coordinating and monitoring all research activities with Brightwater, and approval is formalised through the Brightwater Research Steering Committee.

For Brightwater, having an in-house research capability promotes a culture that prioritises learning and growing, and enables continuous innovation that ultimately delivers new ways to enhance lives. Many of the studies will not only make a difference for Brightwater’s clients and staff but also across the wider community.

In recent years, studies into organisations with a strong research culture have shown there are benefits for clients, staff and the organisations as a whole.

This is very much the experience at Brightwater where the work of the Research Centre has meant the opportunity for valuable partnerships with community, industry and academia that translates rigorous research into practice.

Listening to our clients Everybody wants an excellent customer experience.

When we do our grocery shopping, purchase items online or attend a gym class; we want it to be easy, enjoyable and we’ll come back for more or recommend to friends and family if we are impressed. A good experience doesn’t just ‘happen’, it takes a team of professionals, who take the time to understand and assess what you want, when you want it and how you want it, based on previous experiences.

And just like us, our clients (or customers) want an excellent experience with Brightwater too.

Our Customer Experience team, that sits within our broader Customer Team, is on a mission to understand our clients’ journeys to determine where we deliver our services well and where we can improve.

Chief Customer Officer Alice Manners with Maddies Cafe volunteers

“We’ve mapped out every possible client journey and at the key touchpoints - such as contacting the Welcome Team, visiting a site, moving in, or starting At Home services - our clients and family members will be invited to rate their Brightwater experience,” said Alice Manners, Chief Customer Officer.

The Customer Experience team will be centralising all surveys and feedback through the new user friendly platform, Care Page. Up to this point, we’ve been sending out ad hoc surveys when requested, and staff have been inputting feedback data manually into E10. Care Page will replace E10 as the single case management tool going forward.

“Care Page is designed with graphics to be very user friendly; it’s accessible for people with a cognitive disability or people who are visually impaired.”

“It’s a really great tool; providing surveys that actually provide meaningful insight and direction for our teams.

It’s also a time saver for staff and family members - we can put the feedback directly in their hands, so they feel more comfortable giving real objective, raw feedback.

It’ll be on the website, on site, it will be everywhere.”

Care Page is a user friendly tool designed to centralise feedback That mapping extends to recording key milestones throughout a client’s entire journey with us. To understand how our clients, families and visitors feel about Brightwater, the team are implementing tailored surveys and a range of feedback options.

“Over time we will have collected genuine feedback that our Service Managers can use to make informed decisions that place our clients at the heart of all that we do.”

“Visitors and family members will be able to provide feedback in a range of different ways including SMS, emails or by visiting our website. For our residents we want to make sure that we have a face-to-face chat with them to collect their feedback, which can be anonymous if they choose. Not only do we want to gauge their general sentiment we also want to understand where we can improve.”

“The team will be focused on listening, learning, and making positive changes where possible based on the feedback from clients and family members. For example, if the sentiment score is high at a particular site, we can gather insights to understand why, and then replicate that at other sites.”

Training for staff is taking place over the next few months, including webinars, virtual classes and support from the team, with the aim to roll the new system out by early 2022.

from colleague to colleague, team to team, site to site, so that we can get to know each other a little better, and create a great team environment.

When somebody holds the Communication Torch, the idea is that they can film themselves using the camera on their phone (or get a colleague to film them) and introduce themselves, where they work, and give an insight into something that they enjoy doing outside of work. From there, they can nominate someone else to share their story by passing them the torch.

for 2021 Our Brighter Working Groups for 2021 resulted in some great projects and initiatives, with staff from across the business collaborating to solve issues and implement ideas that positively impact the culture and safety of Brightwater. Let’s have look at what each group came up with.

Sparking the flame of the Communication Torch Sharing information about our clients, whether it’s about their care routine, clinical updates or how they are feeling that day, is part of our many of our site staff’s regular work routine. But one thing that became clear to our RAC North Brighter Working Group, was that staff don’t necessarily share stories about themselves or learn about each other.

The RAC North Brighter Working Group decided they would find a way to help connect staff, not just who work at the same site, but across different sites, teams and offices.

Deva North participates in the Communication Torch

Each story will be shared on Brightwater Plus in the Shared Stories blog, for all staff to be able to get involved.

“You don’t realise how much you’ve got in common with each other, until you start opening up. We did a few test runs at different sites and the torch idea opened up that communication between staff. If we all know a little something about each other, it can be a conversation starter.”

Nicola said she has enjoyed being part of a Brighter Working Group and encourages others to give it a go.

“We are all part of a team. It, doesn’t matter where you are, we all need to work together, that was why I wanted to join the group.”

“Our main focus is to try and get us all to communicate better,” said Brighter Working Group member, Nicola Cooper.

In the spirit of the Olympic Games, the idea of a Communication Torch was born. The Communication Torch is a symbol that represents how we can each share a little bit about ourselves, passing the torch

Deirdre Pastina, Soon Lee & Nicola Cooper

All a-board the client’s journey Many staff are involved in our disability clients’ wellbeing journeys while they are living in a Brightwater home or are receiving services in the community.

From physiotherapists, nurses, care workers to occupational therapists, there are various different services that our clients receive from our staff, and our Disability Services Brighter Working Group have a mission to help the team understand each of those different parts that make up a client’s wellbeing plan.

“We’ve come up with a short video that will be used in training, to help care staff and all staff to help the client better,” said Brighter Working Group member and Enrolled Nurse, Natalie Corry.

The video is a cartoon animation, depicting the client’s journey symbolically, and representing their circle of support.

“It’s about the client’s circle of support. We’ve got a client as a driver of their bus, and we follow them through their journey. Lots of different staff get on and off the bus, to try and symbolically show that sometimes you might need a physio, an occupational therapist or a nurse to help you, or a care worker, and family members. So these people are getting on and off the bus all the time, to support the client on their journey.”

“The video is designed to help the staff; some staff don’t know what each team member does, so this video breaks it down for them and also says that it’s okay to talk up if you are unsure of something and if you do have a question. If you’ve got a query, you have the power to step up and ask the question.”

“We thought it would be beneficial for staff to have something like a video that they could refer to. That was easy, and not too over loaded with information,” said Natalie.

Watch the video here

Ultimately, this will help staff understand the client’s journey and how certain team members and family members are involved in that journey. This is known as a client’s circle of support.

Supporting a long term solution that takes team work and time Our Brightwater at Home (BAH) and Regional Assessment Services (RAS) Brighter Working Group have done a deep dive into how their teams use CareLink. CareLink is a system that BAH staff use on a daily basis to schedule, manage finances and, track and document client information.

The team’s goal was to figure out what works, what doesn’t and apply those findings to the setup of the Client Portal, and as a work around for now – seeing what can be done in the interim to make the functionality of CareLink better, including supporting staff to input quality and succinct information into the Support Plans.

Asking questions has brought up other questions, helping us to focus on what does and doesn’t work so that when we implement the portal, we know what’s important.”

Once the Client Portal is introduced many of the hurdles which the team faces with CareLink will be resolved, due to the information this group is compiling at the moment.

“Whilst we try a work around in the interim, we also need to keep pushing for change. We need to find ways to work more efficiently and make sure the tools we provide, work for the staff. We can use CareLink to do some of the things in the interim, but it’s not the solution,” Jenni said.

“This project focused on the review and accessibility of care plans for front line support staff. Exploring options to make it more dynamic in response to clients changing needs and preferences. Not only will this help support workers provide consistent care, but ensures that the client receives care they actually want, based on their individual goals,” said Vanessa McDonald, Client Assessor.

Upon exploring the inner workings of CareLink the team have also been discovering how different staff members use different parts of CareLink, and that coming up with a different format for the Support Plan is a much bigger project than they initially anticipated.

Jenni Gamble, BAH Manager, said “the reason we started this project initially was because staff felt that the current Support Plan didn’t meet their needs. We started with something small and then it grew bigger.

Community Support Worker (CSW), Kris said she has enjoyed being part of the Brighter Working Group and that it has helped her understand other team’s roles.

“As a CSW it certainly opened my eyes to the issues that other people have in their own areas, so it’s been really good.”

Improving productivity starts with a step by step approach At Brightwater Linen, the team process the hundreds of laundry items that come through the facility each day. The team work hard to deliver what is needed across our facilities - and for our external clients too - on a daily basis. But the actual numbers of sheets, pillow cases, towels etc., during the workflow have not historically been tracked through the process.

The Commercial Brighter Working Group have been working together to develop a way to improve production efficiency, step by step, by fine tuning the hourly score sheets, so that they can measure performance of staff in a more efficient way.

“We talked about everything and decided to concentrate on linen. We tried to see what was the first thing that should be done, and from there, decided to start with the sheets.”

The group trialled an hourly score sheet system in which staff who work to clean and prepare sheets were given a specific number of sheets to complete during their shift. Staff mark off the card as they go, so that by the time it gets to dispatch, the team can ensure that the items match up with the numbers that must be delivered.

“One by one, we want to get to know each area, because they all impact the dispatch. Step by step we are trying to get our productivity higher. We are a team, now staff know when they work, they have to mark off how many sheets they’ve done, and people step up because now they understand how if effects dispatch.”

Cindy says being part of the Commercial Brighter Working Group is rewarding because everyone is trying to find a way to improve the way things are done.

Brighter Working Group member and Linen Dispatch Assistant Cindy Collis said the group saw an opportunity for improvements in the production line.

“We asked ourselves; what best work practices were already in place, and where are the opportunities to implement them? We also considered if staff were trained to understand the effects of inefficiency and how it impacts each section of production.”

“At first I thought, it wasn’t going to make a difference, but now the project is evolving and it’s really interesting.

Everyone brings different ideas and opinions. Everybody is trying to make things easier, to achieve a goal.”

A mentor program to support new recruits Our Brighter Working Group for RAC South acknowledged in the early stages of their group discussions that teaching new care workers the skills they need to feel confident on the floor by themselves is a challenge for staff in residential aged care.

Brighter Working Group member and Enrolled Nurse at South Lake, Amanda Massie, said that group members agreed there was a need to change the current ‘Buddy Process’ for new care workers.

“What we’re trying to do is streamline the process once newly recruited care workers are actually on site,” Amanda said.

Amanda and the group came up with a new process for newly recruited carers, who will have a Mentor for their first three shifts, and be provided with more support and time to learn, before they take shifts on their own.

“Our intention is that on their very first shift, the new staff don’t actually go on the floor, they go around with the Mentor, who is not working the floor but is solely there to support the carer. So for their very first shift, the carer and the Mentor come in for three hours and they spend that time being shown where everything is and getting a thorough understanding of the site.”

For their second shift, the carer will work in one of the houses with a more experienced carer, but there will also be a ‘floating’ Mentor who can travel from house

to house, monitoring the new carers and taking the time to talk them through processes and demonstrate tasks.

“Several of our staff said they’d be willing to do be the floating Mentors so that they can help. It means the regular carer in the house can do their shift and the new carer can be with them, ask questions and observe, but the nitty gritty learning will come from the extra staff member.”

“For their third shift, they will do a normal shift, but their Mentor will be by their side to only step in when necessary. After that shift there will be a discussion about how they feel, what they still feel they need to learn, and if they both feel that the carer is ready to go on the floor.”

There will also be a Mentor badge that experienced staff can choose to wear, which signifies that they are an open person that you can ask for help.

Congratulations to all of our Brighter Working Groups for 2021. We will be advertising for expressions of interest to join the next Brighter Working Groups during Spirit Week in February 2022, so keep an eye out!

Congratulations to our Brightwater Spirit Award Winners for Quarters 2 and 3!

Authentic Jacqui Sycamore-Hollick from BAH. Jacqui was nominated for having honest and difficult conversations with clients. Jacqui often gets feedback that she goes above and beyond for our clients.

Marg Donald, RAC Social Worker. Marg provided exceptional support to a new resident and their family at The Oaks. The family could not speak more highly of the amazing difference Marg has made to their experience.

Caring Mischelle Gimarino from South Lake. Mischelle was recognised for creating a personalised playlist for a resident to support their end of life journey. The playlist was so meaningful to the client and his family that his daughter requested a copy after he passed away.

Jan Hoskin, SIL On Call Officer. Jan was recognised for her willingness to help out at Oats Street. Jan’s presence and caring, down to earth approach was valued by staff and clients.

Progressive Louise Roux from The Oaks. Louise was nominated for applying all she had learned at her wound care course to her practice. Louise demonstrates pride in her wound care and also provides advice and encouragement to other staff as well.

Kaveen Goundar from Oats Street. Kaveen has taken on the role as Resource Facilitator and developed it to the benefit of Oats Street. His quick thinking and problem solving is appreciated by the team.

Courageous Bhabina KC Thapa from South Lake. Bhabina’s nomination recognised commitment to embedding new skills and bravery when faced with challenging situations.

Kuda Chiriga DSW from Oats Street. Kuda was nominated for his steadfast contribution to the team and his amazing care for his clients. Kuda accepted additional work and stepped up in an organised and empathetic manner.

Mission Lily Tolcon from Madeley. Lily’s nomination recognised her commitment for caring for her clients deeply. Her nomination said: “You are courageous and progressive by trying new things - what a great idea senior yoga is after breakfast!”

John Oakes from Onslow Gardens. John supports his clients to be independent by making sure everyone could participate in Friday drinks. Responding to client requests for hot chips and thickening red wine to cater for different swallowing abilities is incredibly caring.

Log in to Brightwater Plus to nominate a staff member who displays the Brightwater Spirit. For quick access to Brightwater Plus on your mobile, add a shortcut weblink to your home screen. If you need any help logging into Brightwater Plus email susan.hutchinson@brightwatergroup.com and she will be happy to help.

Property round-up There are a lot of exciting projects happening across our organisation!

Brightwater Central Brightwater Central is the name of our new campus incorporating our existing residential aged care home, The Village, and our new building next door. The new residential aged care home, Brightwater Inglewood, head office and training space is taking great shape and we are on track for completion around mid-2022.

Onslow Gardens Major Refurbishment The team at Onslow Gardens have been doing a wonderful job keeping clients, visitors and each other happy and well during the major refurbishment. The works will include wonderful new staff areas as well as refurbishment of all client houses.

New Huntington’s disease Village Curtis Reddell has been appointed as the Project Manager, Inglewood Commissioning for the next 12 months. Curtis has been most recently the Program Manager (TAP) for Marangaroo and brings much experience and change management skills to the role. Curtis will be working closely with Project Director, Adam Roebuck, to manage the project – so any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to Curtis and Adam.

Do you have a great news story we should know about?

Please send it to communications@brightwatergroup.com

This project is in the early stages of development, with a block of land identified in Piara Waters. Brightwater has a long history of supporting people, and their families, with Huntington’s disease and we are in the early stages of planning a build of a purpose-built home to replace the existing Ellison and Kailis houses.

Subject to development approvals and settlement of the land we are hoping to commence construction in mid-2022.