Church Link Winter 2022

Winter 2022

Building Life Care’s chaplaincy team Life Care is pleased to introduce three new chaplains who are providing spiritual care across our homes.

Welcoming the trio, Coordinating Chaplain Nigel Uppill said the relationship between churches and Life Care was being strengthened through prayers and involvement.

Dianne Thiele has joined Life Care as a relieving chaplain at various sites including Glenrose Court, Aldinga Beach Court, Reynella Lodge and Gaynes Park Manor.

A former high school mathematics and science teacher, Dianne has devoted 20 years of service as a family ministry coordinator at Calvary Lutheran Church, Morphett Vale and was a school chaplain in Port Elliott, Adelaide and Bunbury, Western Australia.

In 2014, she gained a Graduate Diploma in Theology from the University of Divinity in Melbourne with a longer-term focus on becoming an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church.

She has settled happily into her chaplaincy role with Life Care welcoming her warm engagement with residents, staff and volunteers.

“I really enjoy the spiritual interactions that I have developed within the Life Care community with its rich diversity in cultural and family relationships and life experiences,” Dianne said. “As a former school chaplain, I particularly enjoy meeting children when they come to our sites to visit their grandparents and great grandparents.”

Lutheran pastor and former Royal Australian Air Force chaplain, Darryl Mattner, is providing spiritual support for residents and their families, along with staff and volunteers, across various Life Care sites.

Prior to joining Life Care he was an aged care chaplain at Albury in New South Wales after working in Aboriginal ministry in central Australia. Darryl has also been an industrial chaplain with the global logistics company Toll Group, and he served as a pastor to Lutheran congregations in Victoria.

Life Care’s chaplains (back, left to right) Darryl Mattner, Randall Lawton, Peter Chilver, Paul Tyler (front) Nigel Uppill, Lorraine Croker and Julie Simpson.

Dianne Thiele (unavailable) Darryl’s chaplaincy with the RAAF included deployment to Qatar in the Middle East.

“I have been welcomed into the Life Care community and find it a very professional and friendly organisation seriously devoted to quality aged care,” Darryl said.

As a devoted West Coast Football Club supporter, he has instilled some cheerful rivalry among Crows and Power fans in his roving chaplaincy with Life Care.

Paul Tyler has rejoined Life Care’s chaplaincy team after a four-year term as a chaplain at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

It is a welcome return for Paul, having served as chaplain at Glenrose Court for two years and also as Life Care’s Coordinating Chaplain for about a year before becoming part of the chaplaincy team at the RAH. Now based at Parkrose Village three days a week, and one day a week at Glenrose Court, Paul was originally a pastor at Baptist churches in Rostrevor, West Beach and at WestCare in Adelaide.

“Being in an acute care setting at the RAH, it was challenging to develop longer-term relationships with people in care, and this is one aspect that called me back to Life Care, where we can journey with people over time.

“So, it is very pleasing to be back as part of the Life Care chaplaincy team in an organisation where the core values of pastoral care are so highly regarded.”

INSPIRED LIVING

Many of our valued volunteers recently enjoyed a recognition luncheon in Adelaide to share stories of their experiences with residents and their families and support of members of the Life Care team. Trevor Gordge, is a Life Care Board member as one of two representative of the Churches of Christ. About a year ago, he became a volunteer at Glenrose Court. “My late mother, Barbara, volunteered with Life Care for about 30 years and she also enjoyed the last three and a half years of her life as a resident at Parkrose Village,” Trevor explained. “When I retired from work, I decided to become a volunteer in part to express my appreciation for the wonderful care that my mother received with Life Care. Volunteering helps team members who are juggling many responsibilities of their roles. For some residents whose memories are fading it is an opportunity for us to help them recover happy experiences in their lives. Other residents enjoy engaging with us about current affairs or activities in the wider community. I know how much our residents appreciate the company and support of volunteers. It is also very satisfying to contribute as a volunteer to our culture of quality care, even if it is just to make time to listen.”

Ensuring we make positive first impressions that last!

Life Care is continuing to engage in individual and focus group meetings with new residents in our aged care homes to ensure their arrival and settling in experiences are positive and welcoming.

We have engaged the independent advocacy group, Point Heard, to consult with residents who have transitioned to residential care in each of our homes within the previous three months along with their family members.

Feedback from this consultation is allowing us to review our processes and procedures in welcoming new residents and helping them to transition into our living environment. We recognise that coming into aged care can be an emotional experience for residents and their loved ones, often involving a lot of information to digest, particularly in the early weeks.

We are committed to maintaining best practice through continuous improvement recognising that if people respond positively to our care in the first few months of their time with Life Care they will look positively to the future with us.

Aged care is the ultimate people industry. It relies on effective one-on-one engagement with people meaning that excellence in communication is a vital factor to understand and respond to individual needs and expectations.

Church Link magazine is a publication of the Churches of Christ.

128 Greenhill Road Unley SA 5061 INSPIRED LIVING

Meanwhile, Life Care is continuing its efforts to recruit new nursing and care staff to supplement our existing workforce of highly trained and committed people. The COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years has presented formidable challenges for the aged care sector, particularly in restricting the movements of people seeking to work in our industry.

I have the highest respect for our wonderful team members who have navigated through the pandemic with total dedication to maintaining our standing as a premier provider of accommodation and support services for older South Australians.

We have in place excellent team training and retention programs ensuring that we have flexible and family friendly employment conditions. I encourage anyone interested in joining Life Care as a team member or volunteer to register your interest on our website www.lifecare.org.au Allen Candy, Chief Executive Officer

Would you like more information about Life Care or to receive your own copy of Church Link?

Contact us T 1800 555 990 E enquiries@lifecare.org.au lifecare.org.au