Australian Edition
Summer 2017
Ryman signs on with the Lions
2
Ryman Times
A note from Gordy D Dear residents, staff, sshareholders and everyone e who makes up the else Ryman family – welcome R to 2018! Last year flew by and I’ve loved my first six months in the role of Chief Executive. I’ve visited a lot of villages and construction sites and I've really enjoyed spending time with r residents, their families and staff. There is a lot going on everywhere throughout Ryman as you can see. We reported another good financial result in November. We also took the time to remind market analysts and investors what Ryman is all about – the care of our residents. This sometimes gets lost in translation in the finance world but we left them in no doubt that care for our residents is at the very heart of what we do. So, one of the highlights for me during the year, has been seeing the commitment of the team to continuous improvement in care. More than half of our New Zealand villages now have four-year accreditation from the Ministry of Health, which is a very rare achievement in this sector. This is the gold standard of care, and reflects our commitment to continually improving what we do. We also know that our staff have loved myRyman – our new care application – at the villages where it has
gone live. We believe it will improve our care standards even more. I’ve also been impressed with the difference our new Delicious menus made in our residents’ lives. I’ve shared lunch with a lot of residents during my travels and believe me, everyone loves having a menu choice! I do too! I’d like to congratulate our group operations manager Barbara Reynen-Rose on her 25 years of service – she hates the limelight – but she deserves an accolade for all her hard work and innovation over so many years. She has a lot of responsibilities but her key role is to oversee the clinical care of all our residents. She’s done that superbly and she can be proud that she has made a whole lot of difference to many lives over a long time. I was recently at the reopening of Malvina Major village, which has undergone a complete transformation. It looks fantastic and we had a great celebration to say thanks to the residents and families for their patience during the refurbishment. The construction team has also done a great job, as has the village team who worked hard to keep everyone happy during the process. I'd like to thank all of you who worked through the holiday break at the villages. I know your care and commitment at this time of year is hugely appreciated by our residents and their families. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer break with family and friends. Kind regards, Gordy
Results round-up Ryman has reported a good first half of the financial year, and plans to build a seventh village in Victoria. Chairman Dr David Kerr told shareholders and analysts at the results announcement in Auckland that underlying profit rose 11.4% to $85.2 million, thanks to continued growth in resale volumes and strong demand for villages. Dr Kerr said strong gains from the resale of occupancy rights had driven the result, as Ryman’s unique villages and high-quality care offering continued to be in strong demand. “We are pleased to be able to report another good first half result and we have a great pipeline of villages to develop. We are in a very strong financial position, and our total assets are now $5.3 billion.’’ The site of the seventh village in Victoria is at Mt Martha on the Mornington Peninsula. The landbank in Victoria is now close to matching that in New Zealand, reflecting plans to expand at the same pace in both markets. Work is now well under way on three new villages in Auckland and one in Melbourne. Ryman has another
10 villages in its landbank and the development team is busy looking for new sites in Victoria and New Zealand with long-term demand just beginning to take off. “We know that we have great demand ahead but we will only be successful if our residents and their families love what we do. Our latest survey results show that the investments we’ve made in improving the resident experience have hit the mark, and our retirement village residents are telling us they are happier than ever,’’ Dr Kerr said. “As a board, we are also delighted to see that we are achieving consistently excellent external clinical audit results, which shows that our care is of the highest quality and is continuously improving.’’ Ryman village staff have been given further pay increases and improved entitlements. A new leadership programme is also being rolled out to support Ryman’s current leaders and identify the next generation needed as the company grows. Ryman remained concerned about New Zealand’s immigration settings and would continue to lobby at a Government level to support members of the Ryman family who were born outside of New Zealand, he said.
Ryman Times
Weary Dunlop's residents had a fantastic time entertaining the public
Lighting up shopping centres in Vic With a combined age of 1775, a group of retirees surprised morning shoppers in Melbourne on a whirlwind tour of three shopping centres. The group of 22 residents from the Weary Dunlop Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill performed the flash mobs in three hours at Brandon Park, Waverley Gardens and Wellington shopping centres. The flash mob tour was conjured up to mark the Victorian Seniors Festival and prove that there's no age limit on being fit and funky, and having fun! They had been practising their dance moves for just under six weeks under the expert guidance of their dance coordinator Kerri Stephens and were asked for encores at each mall. Iris Tippet (85), one of the performers who took pride of place in the front line of the formation, was thrilled that all four of her daughters came along to support her. "It was fantastic. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!" she said. Iris actually nearly did miss it as she had tripped and hurt her wrist the day before and her daughter Debra thought she should go and get it checked out. "There was no way she was missing it," said Debra. "She was determined to be there!" Granddaughter Kate brought her children - Iris' greatgrandchildren, Jayden (3) and Makayla (4) - who came dressed as superheroes for the occasion. Everyone in the family firmly agreed that Iris was also a superhero! Debra added that Iris had had a tough time with her health over the years undergoing over 30 operations and even suffering a broken back. "It's been amazing seeing Mum gain strength and fitness from doing exercise classes and she's made great friends too. Last year three of them all went on a cruise. "It makes me think I can't wait to move into a retirement village!" she laughed. New residents to the village, Betty and Alan Clarke only joined the group two weeks before the performance but had no trouble learning the moves.
"We've done a lot of square dancing over the years so it wasn't too difficult for us," said Betty. "I loved every minute of it," said Alan. "We've been saying to the staff, 'what are we doing next?'" Friends Yvonne Fernando and Diana Gatehouse said they had a blast and were keen to do another performance back at the village happy hour on their return. "It's just so much fun. I think we should do this every week," said Diana. Village manager Chris Barnett said he was impressed with how well they had learned the new routine. "They loved having a new challenge and took to it so well, full credit to them," he said. The flash mobbers are all participants in Ryman's inhouse exercise programme, Triple A, which stands for Ageless, Active and Aware. Chris said he noticed the multiple benefits on those who take part. "Our residents credit their agility to the Triple A classes. And as well it's given them the confidence to tackle something pretty adventurous like this." The Triple A programme was devised by exercise physiologist Nicki Brown, formerly Ryman's activities and lifestyle manager and now a regional operations manager. Nicki completed a study of Triple A as part of her continuing education and concluded that individuals generally exercised less prior to moving into a retirement village, and their fitness improved in the new environment. Her mantra is that the fitter you are – whatever your age or stage – the healthier you will be in the years ahead. More than 3,000 residents follow the regime at Ryman's 31 villages. "Having such a good take up of the programme is significant because there's a wealth of evidence that shows the more you exercise the healthier and more independent you will be in the long term," she said. "The truth is you're never too old to exercise – you've just got to choose the right way to do it."
3
4
Ryman Times
Gordon MacLeod talking to the crowd and explaining Ryman's ethos and development schedule
New villages spark intense interest Auckland’s retirees have flocked to Ryman Healthcare’s two recent public meetings regarding its newest villages. In October, Devonport locals attended an information session in Takapuna while last month the Blockhouse Bay Bowls Club was the venue for Gordon MacLeod to explain what the company was all about. With Auckland’s housing supply being under particular pressure, Gordon said Ryman’s development schedule for the city over the next few years would make a positive impact on relieving the pressure. “Over the next four years we will free up 2,500-3,000 homes in the Auckland area as people move into the 2,500-3,000 units and apartments in our villages,” he said. “The Auckland build rate is currently about 8,000 per year so we’re a significant contributor in creating more housing for Auckland.” He said Ryman’s point of difference was the fact that the company designed and built its own villages, which it then went on to run. Ryman Devonport
“We’re all about providing choice for older people and offering them the very best in aged care. “We build facilities that we will look after for a long time. “Because we do everything in-house, our designs evolve over time and we’re continuously looking to improve on the last. “We see if there are any lessons to be learned to take forward for the next village, whilst taking into account residents’ feedback.” Both the Lynfield and Devonport sites, which will be Ryman’s 34th and 35th villages, were spacious and stunning, with views over Manukau Harbour and Waitemata Harbour respectively. Work is now underway at both sites. More than 250 Devonport residents attended an open day hosted by Ryman Healthcare in late October. The visitors included families, nearby neighbours of the site and numerous future residents keen to check out aspects and views.
Ryman Times
5
The Brandon Park site during October 2017
Brandon Park roaring ahead Work is really cranking into gear at Ryman Healthcare’s Brandon Park site with numerous concrete pours under way. Walls have just gone in place for both Buildings 1 and 2 and regular observers will really notice the pace picking up now. The first few pours kicked off in mid-October which were for the footings of Buildings 1 and 2, followed by the stairwell for Building 2. These will be the village centre and the first apartment block when completed. The pour on this occasion involved around 10 concrete trucks which were scheduled to come onto site in 15 minute intervals. Next up were pours for the floor slabs of both buildings which were on a much bigger scale, said project manager Travis Cocks. “That involved around 140 cubic metres of concrete for a 1,100m slab so there were 25 odd trucks on site for that,” he said. “There’s something pretty much every day.” And if concrete wasn’t being poured it was being lifted in, in the form of pre-cast panels. This was using the 200-ton crawler crane on site which is set to reach up to 60 metres. Once the buildings start getting some height, a luffing boom will be added to the main boom to enable it to reach over the building sides. Travis said two all-terrain cranes would also be arriving in mid-November to help with the heavy lifting. Greg Conquest and Connell Bergin are the foremen for Building 2, helping concrete contractor Andrew Bradford manage the pour.
Greg said he was excited to join Ryman to work on such a big project. “This is the biggest project I’ve worked on to date. Everything is so much bigger!” he said. Andrew said he was excited to work with Ryman as his Auntie, Liz Bradford, was the activities coordinator in the Special Care Unit at Christchurch’s Anthony Wilding village. “She’ll be really chuffed!” he said. Travis said the 11-man Ryman team was expanded by around 60 contractors working on site but that will more than triple when the construction reaches its peak. First residents are due in July 2018. Foremen Greg Conquest and Connell Bergin are pleased with the progress
6
Ryman Times
Ron Scott, Arie Molenaar, Reta Morris and Shirely Wilson made Bob Scott proud
Bob's team give Ryman the big tick! While most of us were quietly sleeping off the remnants of our Christmas festivities on Boxing Day morning, four keen residents from Bob Scott village were up with the lark and checking their passports (twice!) before heading off to Wellington airport. The four were winging their way to Melbourne as the winners of the Ryman North Island regional bowls tournament, and they were beginning a six day trip which they described as absolutely fantastic! Arie Molenaar, Shirley Wilson, Ron Scott and Reta Morris said they were treated like kings and queens from the moment they arrived. "We give a big tick to Ryman," said Shirley We had all the time in the world and a chauffeured car waiting for us. Everything was perfect, she said. They treated us very well." Arie was full of praise for Ryman and the Glen Waverley Bowls Club which hosted the competition. "It was brilliant. Denise [Thompson, from Ryman Melbourne] picked us up everyday even to take us shopping. It was exhausting with 36 degree heat but the hospitality at Glen Waverley was absolutely out of this world. It was very well run and Russ Nicholls from Glen Waverley was very good to us. Even the board members came and introduced themselves." There were three full greens going all the time and each day was a separate competition. Ron and Arie played pairs on the ďŹ rst day and came fourth. They were beaten on the last ball of one game and the last end of the other game. "It was very very close," said Arie, "and on the ďŹ rst and hottest day!" The players came from all over Australia for the event and many were much younger than our residents. There are 150 bowls clubs in Melbourne alone. "They were good, said Arie, "they are young and used to the heat and the longer 40m greens. The greens are
slower than ours and longer, so it was an effort." They even had a secret weapon when fellow Naenae club member Lisa White turned up to support them and grabbed the green jersey! It just so happens Lisa is an international bowler, a former New Zealand player and the home team did very well that day! "The atmosphere was brilliant. There was a lot of interest in us and people asking how we were doing. Everybody talked about it." The team also enjoyed their visit to Weary Dunlop village in Melbourne where they had a tour and morning tea with the residents. "It was so good how we clicked together," said Arie. "We're all friends through bowls. It was good fun! When we went out for dinner at night we wore our Ryman tops and everybody noticed us in our bright green. We did a good job talking to a lot of people about Ryman over there. We were very happy! No complaints." Arie, (aka "Mr Bowls") is an avid believer in the power of bowls. He pounds the table and proclaims,"Bowls keeps us alive! There is nothing worse than waking up in the morning with nothing to do. I think Bowls! Bowls! Bowls!" They all agree it is the best thing to have a bowling green in the village. It brings people together. "When you get to our age people want to talk to each other and you can do that on the green and at the bus stop!" said Arie. The "bus stop" is the name the residents have given to the shelter on the village green! A lot of people go to the bus stop and just sit and talk there. It's a social spot, Arie says. Sometimes we're there for half an hour and we don't play bowls we just talk! They all give a very big thank you to Ryman and Denise and Russ. "We're just so proud to be part of Ryman."
Ryman Times
Ryman partners with the Lions Ryman Healthcare has signed up as a key partner of the Coburg Football Club – one of Melbourne’s oldest and most respected Australian Rules football clubs. Sebastian Spagnuolo, General Manager of the Coburg Lions, approached Ryman Group Sales and Community Relations Manager Debbie McClure about a possible partnership earlier this year. Debbie, a footie fan, could immediately see the attraction in partnering with a local team. The Coburg football ground borders Ryman Healthcare’s new site on Bell St in the suburb which is just 8km from Melbourne’s CBD. The site was formerly occupied by a school, and Ryman Healthcare plans to build a retirement village on the vacant land with independent living, serviced apartments and a care centre on site. The village will also provide low and high-level aged care, and dementia care. Sebastian said the club was pleased to see the site used for a significant community asset.
“It will be fantastic to see the space next to us utilised. We’re excited to be partnering with a company that values community as we do.’’ “We’re not a flashy club – we’re a hard-working club in a hard-working suburb that values its community. We’re going through a rebuilding phase and we look forward to having Ryman as a neighbour and a partner.’’ Debbie thought the affiliation with the Coburg Lions it would be a great match for residents who could choose to get a view of Piranha Park from their apartments. “We’re building the village so that retirees who love the area can stay in Coburg no matter how their health needs change over time. I’m sure being so close to their beloved footie ground will be the icing on the cake for many of them.’’ The Coburg Football Club was founded in 1891 and competes in the Victorian Football League. The Lions have plans to redevelop their grandstand and refurbish the ground. Ryman Healthcare’s management team visited Piranha Park to celebrate the partnership with the Lions in Coburg.
Coburg Lions General Manager Sebastian Spagnuolo (left) Ryman Healthcare Group Sales and Community Relations Manager Debbie McClure, Lions Club President Kevin Breen and Ryman Healthcare Group Development Manager Andrew Mitchell at Piranha Park in Melbourne.
7
8
Ryman Times
Meserat Cherente celebrated the Rotary award with her colleagues and residents at Rita Angus village
From Africa with love Rita Angus caregiver Meserat Cherente has come a long way, and caring for others has always been an integral part of her life. Quietly spoken and humble, Meserat doesn’t easily accept praise but it’s not hard to see how much she is respected by her colleagues. In October, she was nominated by the village for the Wellington South Rotary “Pride of Workmanship” Award. She was successful and it was recently presented to her by Murray Sherwin, the Chair of the New Zealand Productivity Commission at a special ceremony in Kilbirnie. Born in Ethiopia, Meserat grew up in the politically unstable country torn apart by wars and famine. She lived with her family in a simple, mud brick house, caring for her siblings and working hard to help her parents. “You have a responsibility to help your mum. Work is first,” she said. “We learnt to respect people and our family.” This ethic was reinforced by her strongly religious background with the church fundamental in their lives. After finishing school, Meserat left Ethiopia for Kenya as the country offered more opportunities and freedom. “I had to leave secretly all by myself. I told my mum. It was hard to leave them. You have to make a choice - the situation was unstable. Even at home you might die.” She was worried for her family, but it was easier for females to leave than males. “They didn’t want boys to leave as they needed them for the war.” She remembers putting girls’ clothes on her brothers to disguise them. “You fight each other in the same country - you don’t know who you are fighting for.” In Kenya, Meserat worked in a private hospital for an English woman who had lived in New Zealand. She helped Meserat find a sponsor in Christchurch and Meserat set off for a new life.
She applied for part-time work at Ngaio Marsh while she studied at the Christchurch Academy. She also attended Christchurch Polytechnic to improve her English. After she finished her course she worked as a caregiver full time. Meserat has worked for Ryman since 2000 beginning at Ngaio Marsh village in Christchurch. “Jenny (Thiele) taught me a lot. How to do things and what will make a difference for older people. “Small things for them are really important - getting to know your residents – such as how they do their hair, or the way they like to look. I make a note of it so that I remember it next time. I don’t like to make decisions for them. I want them to make their own decisions.” Jenny, now a regional operations manager, says “Meserat’s standard of care never changes. She never tires from being a wonderful caregiver and, also a great employee. She is one in a million.” Meserat’s colleagues have nominated her many times within the village for recognition of her work ethic. Meserat is surprised but delighted. “I just do my job, have a smile on my face and always try to be professional. I enjoy every day and I like to make the residents happy every day.” Her nomination from the village management for the Rotary award says, “If my mum needed care I would want Meserat to look after her.” Meserat’s core principles in caregiving are summed up with, “Respect and dignity. Everyone is equal to me. They are just like my family.” Meserat’s family is where her values and caring all began - back in Africa, surrounded by upheaval and civil war, but embraced by the love of her family. The Rotary "Pride of Workmanship" award was launched as a Rotary project in 1975. Its objective is to encourage pride in personal performance in the workplace. It enables managers to help employees achieve the goal of job satisfaction, and publicly recognise them for their efforts and to encourage favourable employer/employee relationships and a sense of community pride in individual achievement.
Ryman Times
9
The construction team celebrated the naming of Ryman's newest Auckland village
Logan Campbell Retirement Village – it’s official! The newest Ryman village in Auckland is named after the man known as the father of Auckland, Sir John Logan Campbell (1817 – 1912). The man whose legacy has helped to preserve Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill and its surrounding land in Cornwall Park as a beautiful amenity for Aucklanders was the overwhelming choice of name for the residents of the soon-to-be opened village. Chief executive Gordon MacLeod said he loved the choice of Logan Campbell as it was a name that would forever be associated with the area. “The new village is on Campbell Road and looks out towards Cornwall Park and Logan Campbell’s final resting place on One Tree Hill. “His contribution to public life was so pivotal to the creation of the city of Auckland as we know it today that in his lifetime he became known as the Father of Auckland. “It is therefore particularly appropriate for us to honour the man who is so integral to this part of Auckland.” Two of the first residents moving into the village, Jan Saussey and Gail Tennent-Brown, helped Gordon to unveil the sign revealing the village’s new name and logo which includes the obelisk on top of One Tree Hill. Gordon also paid tribute to project manager Antony Williams and his 300-plus team of construction workers, a large number of which gathered for a group photo next to the new village sign to make a sea of high-vis! “They’ve faced a few challenges during the course of the build, not least having to persevere through Auckland’s fourth wettest winter on record, but they have nevertheless rallied and risen to meet each challenge to bring us closer to finishing what will be our 32nd village,” Gordon said. Whilst a somewhat smaller scale of construction, it was John Logan Campbell who built the first house
in Auckland, named Acacia Cottage, and opened the first shop. Through a combination of his many business ventures and involvement in public life, it got to the point where no ceremonial occasion was complete without his presence, prompting his title as the ‘Father of Auckland’. As a token of his appreciation of Auckland, he donated his remaining farmland at One Tree Hill to the city for public use, establishing an endowment which is still managed by the Cornwall Park Trust Board today. Campbell received a knighthood in 1902 and when he died in 1912 at the age of 94 he was buried on the summit of One Tree Hill in the middle of Cornwall Park.
Gordon MacLeod with Logan Campbell village's first residents Jan Saussey and Gail Tennent-Brown
10
Ryman Times
Barbara Reynen-Rose (right) with Ngaio Marsh senior caregiver Chris Beckett. Chris is one of Ryman's longest serving staff members, and was hired by Barbara 18 years ago
Barb celebrates 25 years Barbara Reynen-Rose is nothing if not prompt. Her car is the first in the park each morning, she’s never late for meetings and she always replies to emails quickly. But when it comes to pinning her down to talk about her 25 years at Ryman, Barb is suddenly elusive. Which is very un-Barb-like and a little bit suspicious. Or maybe it isn’t. Because the last thing she will want to do is blow her own trumpet or have a fuss made about her achievement. But 25 years is a milestone and it deserves a fuss! When Barb started in 1992, Ryman had less than 300 residents. Back then she was a nurse specialising in quality certification, and Ryman co-founder Kevin Hickman had heard she was particularly good in her field. So, Kev took the direct approach. He turned up at her office, asked her what she thought of quality certification standards, and promptly poached her to take over as nurse manager at Glamis Hospital in Dunedin, which Ryman owned. Her career, and Ryman, took off. Since then, Barb has been guiding Ryman’s clinical operations and has overseen the design, commissioning and opening of 29 villages. Her operations team accounts for more than 4,000 of Ryman’s 4,500 staff. She’s also responsible for overseeing the welfare of more than 10,500 residents. To put her commitment into context, it is worth doing some maths. Barb is on call around the clock for any village issues. She has been on call, aside from the odd overseas holiday and a wedding a few years back to her beloved Laurie, for the past 9,125 days or more than 219,000 hours. For many years her favourite holiday spot in Wanaka had patchy cellphone coverage so she would climb a hill each morning and evening to get reception in case she’d missed a call or an email.
Her commitment reflects how seriously she takes her responsibility to the welfare of residents. You don’t go into nursing if you don’t care, and Barb has the caring gene in spades. At her 25-year presentation Gordon said there was no one like Barb in healthcare in New Zealand. “When Barb started, resthomes had shared facilities and were not the sort of places you’d want to see your mum in. In fact, that’s what drove Kevin Hickman to set Ryman up. “Barb’s constantly driven innovation and a whole lot of things we have done to improve care, and care facilities are far different to what they were 25 years ago. Ryman has had a big impact on the welfare of a whole lot of older New Zealanders.’’ Barb says the thing she’s enjoyed the most about her job at Ryman is building her operations team. Her operations team has had a great year in 2017. More than half of Ryman’s villages have achieved the gold standard of accreditation – more than four years – which is the best record of any large operator in the industry. And the team is part way through the rollout of myRyman, which Barb regards as the most exciting change she’s seen. Delicious – Barb’s brainchild – was rolled out in 2017. But what fires her up most is working with her close-knit operations team. “For me it has always been about the people and the great team I have had the privilege to work with. I have had great fun, I have so enjoyed working with my ops team and being able to actually make a difference to residents.’’ That commitment to improvement has defined Barb’s career, Gordon says. “Barb’s a Ryman icon – still leading positive change Congratulations Barb from everyone at Ryman.’’
Ryman Times
11
Resident Maureen Armstrong with Panmure School students Ivanyah Halalova (left) and Lavinia Ma'u
Spreading the cheer Residents at Edmund Hillary Retirement Village in Auckland are so full of Christmas cheer they are sharing it outside the village too! The Nanas and the Poppas group, who visit pupils at Panmure District School each week to help them with their reading, put on a special Christmas party for their young charges recently. The 12-strong group, only one of which is a Poppa, put on a delicious spread of chips, cheerios and chocolate fish, plus a few fruit kebabs for good measure! Group leader Joan Swift said it was the perfect way to end the year. “It’s been lovely getting to know the children better and their reading has improved well. They’re delightful children, they really are,” she said. Fellow group member Maureen Armstrong said she had also noticed progress with the children she helped. “We’re just like part of the furniture now! “We just try and make it fun and at the same time give them some good old-fashioned love so that they enjoy coming to school.” The children began the celebration with a karakia and then sang several songs for the Nanas and the Poppas. The sole Poppa, Trevor Agnew, urged other Poppas to join the group. “We need more Poppas!” he said. “It would be quite nice to have a few more because we talk about different stuff.” He said it was only for one hour of the day, but the return was priceless. “It’s a very pleasurable experience. They are really
bright-minded little people, we actually learn a lot from the children and they are pleased to see us and every now and then Mrs Jessie gives us a song!” Meanwhile, the village’s craft group have set up their Noel-themed wares in the reception area. Mini knitted Christmas trees, Christmas puddings and Christmas stockings filled with sweet treats are now on sale for $3, $5 and $2 each. Group coordinator Bev Caldwell said the treats were very popular and all the takings would go towards Ryman’s nominated charity, Alzheimers NZ. At the village’s recent Christmas fair, the craft table made $716 and with extra takings from Judith Heinstman’s jigsaw puzzle table and the raffle table the charity would be receiving well in excess of $1,000. “We were thrilled to pieces!” said Bev. Christmas treat at Panmure School
12
Ryman Times
Gordon MacLeod congratulates Jason Browne
New look for Malvina Major Malvina Major residents are now enjoying barista-made coffees and beautiful new spaces after a refurbishment. The Wellington village, which first opened in 1999, has been undergoing a complete makeover which has included the reconstruction of its Burma wing and a refit of its kitchen and lounges. Its foyer and reception area has been renovated and now boasts a café for residents and their families to enjoy. Originally the Burma Lodge Hotel, the village always retained a little of the feeling of the 1970s hotel with its original serviced studios. Fast forward to 2017, and the Burma wing has been transformed into a stunning Ryman village, with striking interior design, beautiful fabrics and large new one-bedroom serviced apartments featuring double glazing and underfloor heating. Ryman’s first Wellington village has now been updated to the standard of the newest villages with cosy lounge Village manager Lynne Peirse with New Zealand sales and community relations manager Bernadette Forsdyke, sales advisor Bronwyn Barry and regional operations manager Jenny Thiele
areas, plus dining and bar areas opening onto a huge conservatory and terrace. There is also a new reflection room and the Burma Lounge – a fabulous space to use for a celebration. Speaking at the refurbishment party, Gordon MacLeod thanked the residents and their families for their patience during the reconstruction work. The refurbishment was partially under way when the Kaikoura earthquake struck in November 2016 and caused damage to the Figaro block. The block has been demolished and the next phase of the work is to build a new Figaro. Gordon said a big vote thanks went to project manager Jason Browne and his team of builders for all their work, and to village manager Lynne Peirse and her team for keeping the village running throughout all the changes. “It’s a very special team and thank you Lynne, for leading them so positively,’’ Gordon said.