Ryman Times - NZ Summer 2020

RY M A N T IM ES • SU M M E R 20 World-leading researcher wins Ryman Prize Strong demand for Ryman villages William Sanders opens village centre doors

NEW ZEALAND EDITION

A wonderful sense of community at Highton

A note from Gordy Welcome to the summer edition of Ryman Times for 2020.

Well, it is starting to feel a lot like Christmas, and this is my last chance to thank everyone in our community for all your support this year.

I think that if you are anything like me you will be quite pleased to see the back of 2020, but there are a lot of positives we can take out of a tough year.

Firstly, we have managed to come through with not a single case of COVID-19 among our 12,000 residents and team of 6,000 staff. We could not have achieved this without superb support from everyone in the wider Ryman family – and that includes everyone reading this publication – so thank you all!

There is nothing like a pandemic to test you, and this year was one heck of a test. We have managed to protect our existing workforce and also continued to invest record amounts for the future, which in turn creates new jobs as well as homes.

new villages and celebrating the grand opening of Murray Halberg in style.

We have also picked up a number of awards, including high profile Eldercare Innovation awards for Nellie Melba and myRyman Care in Singapore, and repeated success in the Quality Service, Most Trusted Brand and AgedAdvisor’s People’s Choice Awards.

And we ended the year on a high note with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern awarding our sixth Ryman Prize to the amazing Professor Miia Kivipelto, whose research into Alzheimer’s Disease is benefiting millions of people worldwide, and will continue to do so.

So, all in all, it was one heck of a year, and we have a whole lot to celebrate and be grateful for. I really hope you all find some time for a break over the summer and a chance to relax.

See you next year.

We have 12 villages on the go – a record for us – and have prevailed to keep on building despite COVID. I am enormously proud of what the team has achieved.

We have also managed a lot of significant milestones – moving our first residents into

Gordon MacLeod Chief Executive

In this issue World-leading researcher wins the 2020 Ryman Prize........................................................3 Strong demand for integrated villages..............................................................................................4 Pioneers Wanted: Expert Ryman residents vet potential employees........................6 Grand opening for Murray Halberg......................................................................................................7 Building Ryman’s most environmentally sustainable village..............................................8 William Sanders opens village centre doors................................................................................10 Neighbours make retirement move together............................................................................. 12 From rural life to retirement village..................................................................................................... 13 The Sleeping Beauty is a real beauty................................................................................................14 Oldest outward bounder conquers Anakiwa..............................................................................15 Ryman supports latest round of entrepreneurs.......................................................................16 New experimental kitchen passes the ultimate test............................................................. 17 Great turnout for Riccarton Park public meetings..................................................................18 A wonderful sense of community at Highton..............................................................................19 Ryman scoops awards.............................................................................................................................. 20

Ryman Healthcare Ltd Airport Business Park 92 Russley Road, Christchurch PO Box 771, Christchurch 8042 0800 588 222 • rymanhealthcare.co.nz

Front cover: Gordon MacLeod with the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, and Professor Miia Kivipelto.

World-leading researcher wins the 2020 Ryman Prize Professor Miia Kivipelto has won the 2020 Ryman Prize.

The award recognises Professor Kivipelto’s more than 20 years of research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.

Professor Kivipelto was awarded the prize by the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, at Ryman’s Murray Halberg Retirement Village.

The Ryman Prize is an annual $250,000 international award for the best work carried out anywhere in the world that has enhanced quality of life for older people.

It is the richest prize of its kind.

experience of caring for her grandmother who lived with Alzheimer’s Disease.

whole lot of risk factors is the only way to tackle Alzheimer’s and dementia.

She was delighted to win: “This is a great honour, not just for me, but for my team. I believe this will give us even more energy for what we do, which is more important than ever.

We’ve kept going though COVID-19 and we’re getting great results, and we will keep going.’’

The 6,100-strong Ryman team also received a special mention from the Prime Minister.

Professor Kivipelto is the principal investigator for the world-leading Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability. Known as the FINGER study.

The prize has been awarded six times and the prize winner is presented with the medal in person – but Professor Kivipelto joined via video link in Sweden because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the first large scale trial that showed multi-domain lifestylebased interventions can reduce the risk of cognitive and functional decline among elderly persons.

She is now leading the worldwide FINGERS network adapting and optimising her FINGER model in more than 30 countries.

Professor Kivipelto was inspired to take on the research by the

Professor Kivipelto believes a preventative approach targeting a Ryman Times • 3

“I want to thank all of the Ryman staff for the dedication and care towards older people and their whanau that you show every single day.

You make a difference to thousands of people’s lives on a daily basis and for that I want to say thank you.”

The Ryman Prize attracts a world class field of entrants each year.

Each winner is chosen by an international jury of experts from across many disciplines.

Professor Kivipelto was singled out for this year’s prize for her tireless dedication to her research, and her far-reaching impact around the world.

Pictured: Professor Miia Kivipelto winner of this year’s Ryman Prize.

Strong demand for integrated villages Ryman Healthcare’s unaudited first half underlying profit has dropped by 14.2% to $88.4 million, due to the impact of COVID-19, but prospects are expected to improve in the second half.

Unaudited reported (IFRS) profit, which includes unrealised fair value gains on investment property, increased 12.8% to $212.4 million in the six months to September 30.

Gordon MacLeod said the pandemic had increased costs and restricted sales and construction activity in key markets.

But with lockdowns coming off in Victoria and a buoyant housing

market in New Zealand, Ryman was expecting conditions to improve in the second half, and the company had a record number of new villages in the pipeline to take advantage of the recovery.

“While there is likely to be some ongoing uncertainty due to the pandemic, there is clearly a lot of pent-up demand in the housing market and we are in a good position to continue to invest heavily in new homes and jobs.

“We are anticipating cash collections of at least $275 million in the second half from new sales. With 12 villages in progress and more on the way, we will be creating Ryman Times • 4

more than 2,000 jobs as well as homes and care for more than 4,000 residents.’’

Ryman’s integrated villages and high-quality care continued to be in strong demand in the first half, with care occupancy in established villages running at 97%. Only 1.9% of the retirement village portfolio was available for resale at September 30.

Gordon said the focus in the coming year would continue to be on keeping villages COVID-19 free, developing the team and delivering new villages to meet demand.

The construction team continued to build at a reduced rate in Victoria and Ryman is planning to have

Twelve new villages currently under way: New Zealand •

Lynfield, Auckland (Murray Halberg)

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Devonport, Auckland (William Sanders)

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River Road, Hamilton (Linda Jones)

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Lincoln Road, Auckland (Miriam Corban)

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Havelock North, Hawkes Bay (James Wattie)

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Hobsonville, Auckland

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Riccarton Park, Christchurch

Australia

five villages open in the state by December 31, although there is potential for this to be slightly delayed because of COVID-19.

There is clearly a lot of pent-up demand in the housing market and we are in a good position to continue to invest in new homes and jobs.

Ryman is now looking to recruit a chief executive for its Australian operations as the company gears up to expand in Victoria and into other states.

Chairman Dr David Kerr said the challenge of the pandemic had been a learning experience and reinforced

the benefits of living in a retirement village.

“One thing we know for sure – the security and reassurance of living in a Ryman community is more important than ever,’’ David said.

We have built an outstanding record for care and reputation for quality in Victoria and we think this will serve us well in the future.

Pictured left: An aerial look of the Murray Halberg Retirement Village in Auckland.

Pictured above: Pele Vaaga Site Manager at William Sanders.

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Brandon Park, Melbourne (Nellie Melba)

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Burwood East, Melbourne (John Flynn)

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Highton, Geelong, Victoria

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Ocean Grove, Victoria

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Aberfeldie, Melbourne

Sites in the land bank: New Zealand •

Kohimarama, Auckland

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Bishopspark / Park Terrace, Christchurch

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Northwood, Christchurch

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Karori, Wellington

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Newtown, Wellington

Australia •

Highett, Melbourne

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Ringwood East, Melbourne

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Mt Eliza, Victoria

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Mt Martha, Victoria

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Coburg, Melbourne

PIONEERS WANTED Expert Ryman residents vet potential employees in new campaign Ryman Healthcare’s latest recruitment campaign has put residents firmly in the driver’s seat with an expert panel of ‘Resident Recruiters’ asked to select the best and brightest to work for the company.

The campaign draws on the expertise of residents Anna, Les, Terry and Janet, whose diverse experience working in sectors including nursing, business and construction meant they were selected to identify the next generation of Ryman leaders.

Recruitment Manager Matt Wright said asking residents to interview prospective employees aligned with the company’s culture of putting residents at the heart of every decision.

“Our residents are amazing people with a huge amount of experience and expertise, many of whom have had successful careers. We thought, who better to help us identify the

next generation of Rymanians than the people they are building our villages and caring for,” he said.

The campaign is set to reach hundreds of thousands of potential employees with digital adverts on Facebook and Instagram across New Zealand and Australia.

Ryman’s continual growth in New Zealand and Victoria meant there was increased need to find additional exceptional people to join the team, particularly construction leaders, nursing and care workers, sales advisors and office specialists and leaders.

Working with creative agency Strategy Creative, a ‘casting call’ to find pioneering residents went out and 15 skilled residents were identified with four ultimately selected for the campaign, based on who would add value to the recruitment process and who would inspire future Rymanians.

The colourful campaign clip shows a man named Tom and a mother preparing for interviews with Ryman before entering a room to meet an interview panel of residents, accompanied by the tagline ‘We only want the best people.

So, we’ve enlisted the best people we know to help us find you’.

“The residents in the campaign all had really interesting and inspiring stories to tell about their lives and careers and their stories have been known to give people goosebumps!” Matt said.

The campaign follows Ryman’s ‘Pioneers’ campaign which was released in February and celebrates the diversity and spirit of Ryman residents, highlighting how they are pioneering a new way to retire.

Pictured: From left to right Terry, Janet, Les, and Anna on their Ryman Pioneers photoshoot.

Grand opening for Murray Halberg Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Olympian Eliza McCartney have officially opened Murray Halberg Retirement Village in Lynfield, Auckland.

More than 200 residents and guests celebrated the opening of the village, with Eliza and Mayor Goff helping to officially hand over the village to its new residents.

Mayor Goff is a former Lynfield resident and said residents had made a great choice to move to Murray Halberg.

“It’s a great place, it’s a community and not just a home, a place you can be safe, it’s a place with great facilities.

“Lynfield is a really great little community and we are really proud that this village is here, and that you as residents are enhancing this place. I want to

compliment Ryman for the fantastic job that you do… I have a number of friends moving in and I think you have made a great choice.’’

Eliza McCartney paid tribute to Sir Murray Halberg (the village namesake), whom she said was a great icon for all Kiwi athletes.

Gordon MacLeod thanked all of the designers, builders, consultants and sub-contractors who had worked on the village.

Sir Murray, who won a gold medal in the 5000m at the Rome Olympics, used his fame to set up the Halberg Foundation.

He also thanked all the residents who had chosen to move in – including a number of the village’s neighbours from nearby Tropicana Drive and Commodore Drive.

His aim was to ensure that sport was inclusive for all Kiwi children, including those with physical disabilities.

“ I want to thank you all for putting your faith in us,” Gordon said.

“Our aim is to make this village a place of fun, of compassion and a wonderful place to call home.

I know, from the warm sense of community we’ve all seen here tonight, that we are off to a flying start at Murray Halberg.’’

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“Sir Murray’s selfless dedication to the foundation which has been so honourable has won him a place in our hearts,’’ Eliza said.

“He and his legacy will be ever present in New Zealand sport.’’

Pictured: Olympian Eliza McCartney at the opening ceremony.

Building Ryman’s most environmentally sustainable village Ryman’s new Aberfeldie village is making good progress and will open its doors to its first residents next year.

What sets the new village apart is its sustainable design features, including rain gardens, a solar energy generation system and top of its class energy ratings which will save 28% on heating and cooling energy consumption for residents’ apartments.

The solar array on the roof will include 158 PV panels, generating 39.5 kW of power for the village.

This will save the equivalent of 61,246 kg of carbon dioxide each year.

Its rooftop system will be used to store rainwater to be used for gardening and for toilets, saving more than 1.3 million litres of water a year.

Alexander Duncan, Mechanical and Ecological Sustainable Development Engineer at Melbourne engineering consultancy BESTEC, said the Aberfeldie village had been designed to exceed Australia’s Best Practice Standards for sustainable design.

“We’ve built in a whole lot of sustainable design improvements and initiatives to minimise the impact on the environment as well as making it a great place to live.’’

Ryman Healthcare has been part of the Toitū carbon measurement and reduction programme since 2018 and is committed to reducing its impact on the environment.

Alexander said the footprint of the building, with low rise blocks set across the site, meant that it could be designed to maximise sun, light and views making it a nice place to live, as well as more environmentally sustainable.

The company’s commitment to sustainable design is driven by an internal team from across all disciplines, so there is a champion in each part of the business.

Gordon MacLeod said the Aberfeldie village had set a new benchmark for sustainable design for Ryman.

“It’s our most ambitious yet and we will be watching closely to see how the village works and how we can use any lessons in other designs.

We have adopted sustainable design principles now because we know that everything we design today is going to be around for a long time, and we want to leave the world in the best shape possible for the generations to come.

“While it might cost slightly more to design sustainably upfront, the long-term savings and the payoff for the environment make it worthwhile.”

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Alexander said his motivation to design sustainably came from growing up in a country town during one of Australia’s worst droughts in the early 2000s.

“The subsequent changes in attitudes resulting from the drought, and the debates we had over it at high school really shaped the way I think. I have carried that environmentally conscious mindset with me since.”

The Aberfeldie village will open early next year and will be home to more than 200 residents.

Pictured: Ryman's Aberfeldie village design is a big new step in establishing environmentally friendly villages.

William Sanders opens village centre doors The William Sanders team reached a huge milestone at the end of September – the long-awaited opening of its stunning village centre.

The sizeable block includes the residents’ lounge, dining area, café, gym, activity room, pool, library, snooker room and beauty and hair salons as well as a care centre with resthome, hospital and special care levels. There is also an adjoining block with 77 serviced apartments.

The construction team had faced considerable obstacles along the way, including not one but two lockdowns which hindered progress.

While work could continue during the second lockdown, unlike the first, a number of essential tradespeople could not travel into the Auckland region during the second.

Project Manager Matt Bell said the challenges had proved frustrating, but it did mean that handing over the buildings to the operations team was all that more meaningful.

“ I’m very proud of what the team has achieved despite facing multiple challenges,” said Matt.

Also included in the handover was a third block – the Stage 3a independent apartments.

“It’s been a huge few months with all hands on deck – we reached a peak of 512 workers on site which has dropped by half since then!”

In the meantime, residents have been moving in on a daily basis.

Village Manager Murray Bain said it was a real thrill to see residents using the spaces at last, be it to grab a coffee in the village café, take a dip in the pool or just to chill out in the lounge.

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“The highlight for me personally is being exceptionally proud of the work our construction team have done to build this wonderful environment and the immense pride I had in presenting this village to our residents when it opened.”

The success of two recent open days showed there was plenty of interest from the Devonport community to take a look inside the long-awaited building.

There were 118 visits on each day during the last weekend of October.

Murray is now looking forward to extending the care centre to full capacity.

“That way we can provide the level of care that is ‘good enough for mum or dad’ to more people,” he said.

Pictured: The proud members of the William Sanders construction team.

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Neighbours make retirement move together The moment Henderson resident Diane Garner met her new next-door neighbours Dave and Judy Brown, she had a feeling they would all get on.

“I used to just jokingly say ‘that’s where I’m going’ thinking that in a couple of years I would move in, and Judy used to refer to it as ‘Diane’s house’!” she laughs.

“We were introduced by the land agent and we just got on, from that day on,” says Diane.

“Di said to me ‘if I go down there will you come too?’ but I said ‘No!’” says Judy.

And that’s proved to be true, because during the 18 years of living side by side a firm friendship has developed – so much so that they’ve now decided to move into the same apartment block at Miriam Corban Retirement Village in Auckland.

But then Diane found out her friends had changed their minds.

Dave is quick to point out that they don’t live in each other’s pockets, but they have had a few routines over the years that they plan to continue in the village.

Judy said after having time to think they realised they wanted to put things in place for the future.

“We get together for drinks every so often or a cup of tea,” says Diane.

The idea to move into the village was first planted by Diane about a year ago when construction first began, but the idea didn’t initially appeal to the Browns.

“Judy called me and said; ‘we’re moving.’ I said; ‘where to?’ thinking it would be out by her daughter’s and then she said they were going to Miriam Corban!”

“We thought as we got older we might not be able to do the housework like we used to and with the village having all the different care levels, the resthome, hospital and dementia, it’s there if we do need it and we don’t have to move anywhere else,” says Judy.

Dave, who ran his own joinery business in Mt Albert for many

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years, liked the village’s proximity to DIY stores and supermarkets and he loved the flat site it was on.

And they all agreed that no more lawnmowing and house maintenance was a great proposition!

“We’ve got one above the other, I’m downstairs and Judy and Dave are upstairs.

“We wanted to be in the same building,” adds Judy.

One of the great things is that the village is local so Judy can continue with her hospice work and helping the children with reading at the local primary school, and Diane will keep up with her weekly walking group, RSA outings and picking up the grandchildren.

But the best thing?

Says Judy: “With this decision, we’re looking after ourselves.”

Pictured: Neighbours and friends Dave, Judy and Diane.

From rural life to retirement village Rhonda and Dave are having the time of their life in their stunning new townhouse at the James Wattie Retirement Village in Havelock North.

Sitting in their spacious, cathedral-ceilinged living room is a far cry from the rural life they lived on a sheep and beef hill-country farm with the children, and then Waipukurau.

While Dave drove stock trucks, Rhonda looked after the half acre of garden and lawns and became involved in the small community.

They’d considered moving to a retirement village for some time, so when the opportunity came up for a place at James Wattie, they jumped at it.

“There were no great deliberations for us,” says Rhonda, “we knew what we wanted.”

“We saw the plans, and said, ‘we’ll have that one’ and that was it.”

“We have fantastic neighbours and we meet up at Happy Hour on a Thursday. It’s always a full house,” says Rhonda.

Dave looks relaxed in his new home.

“There are no lawns to mow and no garden to worry about - and,” he remarks wryly, “You can’t keep doing that maintenance forever and a day.”

They both agree that a big part in coming to the village was the provision of care, available if needed, in the future. They wanted to make that decision themselves.

“It takes that pressure off the family,” he says.

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“For me,” says Rhonda, “It’s the friendship, the reassuring security and the fun we are already having.

And the staff are outstanding nothing is too much trouble.

“I’m looking forward to playing outdoor bowls and enjoying all the amenities and meeting new residents.

“These homes are exquisite; beautifully finished, I’ve never had a kitchen so flash, and the bathrooms are so big! And when you close that door, this is your own private space.”

Dave smiles to see his wife so happy.

They have both worked hard for this and now it’s their time to enjoy it.

“We absolutely love it.”

Above: Moving was an easy choice for Rhonda and Dave.

The Sleeping Beauty is a real beauty “The Sleeping Beauty has been a beacon of hope this year for everyone at the RNZB.” These words from Patricia Barker, Creative Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) hung in the air at the Opera House in Wellington as the hushed audience waited with anticipation for the opening of the Ryman Healthcare season of The Sleeping Beauty.

With a worldwide pandemic still raging, New Zealand

audiences are some of the few in the world currently enjoying the delights of live ballet performance without restrictions.

It was also timely that opening night was held on World Ballet Day 2020.

The fairy-tale ballet enchanted Wellingtonians, the first in a nationwide tour and won great reviews before heading on its tour.

Stuff reviewer Lyne Pringle said the production was Ryman Times • 14

magical and showed the RNZB was back in style, while the music was sublime.

For ballet fans there is more in store soon - Ryman is sponsoring a new season of Tutus on Tour – the RNZB’s provincial road trip – next year.

Pictured left: The Sleeping Beauty dancers Kate Kadow and Laurynas Vejalis.

Credit/ Stephen A'Court.

Oldest outward bounder conquers Anakiwa Woodcote resident Rob Waldron has pushed out the boat like no other before him. At the age of 84 he is the oldest person to be a graduate of one of New Zealand’s iconic challenges – an Outward Bound adventure.

Outward Bound has been running since 1962 and Rob is the oldest participant to complete the formal challenge in the Marlborough Sounds.

Having lived in a number of parts of New Zealand after his initial upbringing on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, located between the United Kingdom and France, adventure has somehow crept into Rob’s life.

Certainly his enjoyment of the course in Anakiwa shows this.

Born in 1935 Rob was evacuated from Guernsey in the early stages of World War II to the relative safety of Bolton in Lancashire.

Back on the island he trained as an electrician, met his wife Jean,

married in 1958, and then in 1959 the couple decided to emigrate to New Zealand.

The couple also brought up two daughters, Joanne and Debbie.

The pair moved to Woodcote village in Christchurch nine years ago, where they continued to love life and getting to know other residents from their townhouse. Jean passed away a couple of years ago.

Rob kept in close touch with his daughters and family members, but during COVID-19 lockdown decided to expand his horizons.

He took up walking challenges, venturing up to 23km a day and reckons he has covered many hundreds of kilometres in total.

“ I don’t think I’ve ever felt fitter,” he said.

While Rob was aware that the eight-day ‘Aspire – Low Impact’ course could include a tree-tops walk, kayaking, rock climbing, Ryman Times • 15

sailing and a solo challenge, he didn’t know the course details or in what order he would face them. But he wasn’t fazed.

Rob has been appreciative too that the cost of attending the course was provided by Ryman Healthcare.

“I think if I’d done it on my own, I’d have possibly backed out. Now I can’t back out. So a big thank you to Ryman,” he said.

The family has remained very supportive. His daughters, Debbie (Perth) and Joanne (Lincoln) are very proud.

“They’re more excited than I am,” he said before starting the challenge.

Pictured: Woodcote resident Rob Waldron showed that age was just a number when he completed the Outward Bound challenge.

Ryman supports latest round of entrepreneurs The inaugural HealthTech Supernode Challenge, sponsored by Ryman Healthcare, has uncovered some inspiring healthcare solutions.

Rick Davies, Ryman Healthcare’s Head of Technology and Innovation and a judge of the competition, says that when Ryman was founded in 1984, innovation was central to the DNA of the company and continues to be so today.

He says the HealthTech Supernode Challenge revealed many innovators such as Richard Shepherd and his team from HT Systems.

HT Systems’s Kera Transfer Aid won the Best Aged Care Solution category as well as a $5,000 prize. The patient lift/hoist is a unique transfer system that allows someone with mobility issues to be picked up and moved with the aid of this machine, operated by a single helper.

“It’s an impressive device that has the potential to help the many

thousands of New Zealanders that have difficulties with mobility,” Rick explains.

The idea for a mobility system has been around for quite some time, with the concept originally devised by HT Systems director and technical guru Keith Alexander.

“What happened was about 20 years ago some surgeons at Burwood Hospital actually approached the university and said ‘we’ve got a problem, all our nurses are getting injured, lifting people around’.

“So Keith came up with some concepts, worked it around and in January 2018 we (HT Systems) picked it up and ran with it.”

Rick says Ryman Healthcare is looking forward to exploring opportunities to work alongside the successful innovators from the Healthtech Supernode Challenge, such as HT Systems.

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“It’s been a huge effort by all involved in the competition. They’ve proven what tremendous potential there is to harness technology to improve the lives of older people, and it has been an absolute privilege to be involved,” Rick says.

Other category winners on the night included teams behind an insulin treatment pump, and an implantable sensor system for mending during spinal fusion.

Ryman will continue to have a big role to play in the wider healthcare and innovation sectors.

“We’re incredibly experienced in innovating in ways that improve the lives of older people and we are keen to continue this pursuit, and to support and partner with external suppliers, partners and innovators to achieve the best possible quality of life for our residents.”

Pictured: Richard MCulloch with Ryman Healthcare's Head of Technology and Innovation Rick Davies.

New experimental kitchen passes the ultimate test Ryman’s new test kitchen has passed its ultimate challenge – keeping 10 hungry and discerning residents happy.

The brand-new test kitchen has been fitted out at Ryman headquarters in Christchurch where a former café has been converted into a food lab and teaching space for Ryman’s Hotel Services team.

The team is experimenting with new recipes and found a willing focus group made up of hungry volunteers from among serviced apartment residents at Charles Upham and Anthony Wilding villages.

On offer was a choice of two lunch mains, salmon fillet with pistachio crust, or stuffed roast chicken, followed by Italian fig cake, custard and ice cream, and finally, coffee.

The lunch was prepared by Matt Orr, Training and Development Chef, and included a test of the new mains, three new ice cream flavours, and a new coffee brand.

Resident Services Quality Manager Andrew Gibson was on serving duties with Resident Experience Manager Rachel Garrard.

Rachel gave the residents a warm welcome, and said it was a big day for the Ryman food team.

“You’re our first resident focus group at our test kitchen so welcome – you’re all special,’’ she told the residents.

The resident food tasters soon got down to business, and the room was a hive of eating, chatting and comparing notes.

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Sam Clarke thought his lunch was beautiful, while Robin Andersen said the highlight for him was the asparagus with his salmon.

They were joined for lunch by their van drivers Robert and Cindy, as well as Regional Operations Manager Diana Hanafin.

Since there is no such thing as a free lunch the residents were asked to fill out a food appraisal form at the end, so Matt, Andrew and Rachel could analyse the results.

With happy hours to return to after lunch, the residents headed off in their vans for even more fun.

Pictured: It was a fabulous afternoon testing out Ryman's new Delicious menu.

Great turnout for Riccarton Park public meetings A Christchurch function centre was packed with people attending a public meeting to learn more about Ryman’s new village site at Riccarton Park.

Two Ryman residents, Ross and Margaret Nicholas, from Diana Isaac village, shared their experiences with the audience, praising Ryman for its food parcels during the time of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Margaret and Ross said that they looked for a suitable village for a considerable time and they had many friends and acquaintances in other villages.

“One of the things we considered at a very early stage was: Who is the best provider? It stood out from our going to villages, talking to people and communications we had that Ryman stood out!

“To me in particular that has been proven to be the case.”

Ryman organised two public meetings at the Riccarton Park Racecourse Function Centre to showcase what Ryman villages had to offer.

Corporate Affairs Manager David King said Ryman Healthcare was one of New Zealand’s best known and trusted brands. In 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 & 2020 Ryman was the most trusted brand in aged care and retirement villages, according to Reader’s Digest New Zealand readers.

He had worked for Ryman for seven years and his mum, who lives at Anthony Wilding, is looked after by a team that feels like family, David said.

New Zealand Sales and Community Relations Manager Bernadette Forsdyke went on to talk about what Ryman villages offer and what the lifestyle looks like.

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“You’ll be able to make use of all the other amenities on site including the indoor pool, spa, bar, movie theatre, café, hair and beauty salon, library, gym and of course stunning views of the racing action from the village viewing lounge,” Bernadette said.

“The main thing that sets us apart is that we offer a full continuum of care in our villages which includes independent living, assisted living as well as resthome, hospital and dementia care.”

At the site the first stage of townhouses are underway with the foundations and services for the first blocks already in place.

“Our team are working well towards the first residents moving in mid next year. Work will also get under way on the village centre, which will open in 2022,” Bernadette said.

Pictured: Diana Isaac residents Ross and Margaret Nicolas at the public meeting.

A wonderful sense of community at Highton Highton Retirement Village Manager Jennifer Storer said since welcoming the first residents in late August, about 20 people had moved into villas at the South Valley Road village, with the number of people calling the community home set to almost double by Christmas.

“With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions a great atmosphere is growing at the village,” Jennifer said.

“We are having to be a bit inventive with our events in order to meet social distancing requirements, however we have already had sausage sizzles, a Melbourne Cup sweepstake and we are in the midst of planning a residents’ Christmas lunch which will no doubt be very special.”

While seeing the stunning villas at the village become occupied had been wonderful, most exciting of all was seeing residents making friends and enjoying cups of tea and the occasional meal with one another, she said.

“Despite the challenges caused by COVID-19 our fantastic residents have wasted no time in getting to know one another, the staff and their new home.”

Highton retirement village resident Pat Harkin said the move to the village had been a highlight during a challenging year.

“It’s been a very difficult year for everybody hasn’t it, but I’ve been looking forward to moving here all year, so I didn’t find the move

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stressful, it was something for me to look forward to,” she said.

“I’ve met a few of the other residents and they all seem to be very nice people, and the location is handy to everything in Highton.

“And now I’m here, the staff are all very lovely too.”

An official opening event, during which the village’s name will be announced, will be held in the new year.

Upon completion the village will include 57 villas, 23 apartments, 60 serviced apartments, and 100 care beds across low care, high care and specialist dementia care.

Pictured: Pat Harkin is very happy to move in to her villa.

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2020

Ryman scoops awards Ryman Healthcare has picked up national and international awards which recognise excellence across the company.

And the myRyman Life model of dementia care was named Innovation of the Year in the Dementia Care Solution category.

Ryman has won the best group provider award in the Aged Advisor People’s Choice Awards for the third year running and Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village in Christchurch was named best small retirement or lifestyle village in the South Island.

The Eldercare Awards attract entries from across the Asia Pacific region and are billed as ’the Oscars’ of the industry.

The company was also voted the top retirement village operator in New Zealand for its exceptional customer service in the Reader’s Digest Quality Service Awards.

It is the fifth time Ryman has won the award.

And in Singapore, Nellie Melba Retirement Village and the myRyman Life dementia care model scooped top awards in the 2020 Eldercare Innovation Awards.

Nellie Melba, Ryman’s second village to open in Victoria, was named Project of the Year in the Residential Aged Care in the Asia Pacific region.

Gordon MacLeod said the awards made for a great finish to the year.

“It is fantastic to get recognition in all of these awards because they span everything we do, from building beautiful villages to caring for people.’’

The Eldercare awards showed Ryman’s design, construction and operations teams could foot it internationally.

“A huge amount of teamwork goes into taking a bare piece of land and turning it into an absolutely stunning village like Nellie Melba.

The village’s design is the combination of a whole lot

of experience, learning and innovation that you can only get with experience.’’

Ryman Healthcare has been providing specialist dementia care for more than 20 years, and currently has more than 850 dementia beds in New Zealand and Australia.

Ryman’s model of dementia care was developed in conjunction with its residents and families, as well as considering the latest international research.

“The recognition of myRyman Life is reward for a huge amount of innovation and determination from our operations team, whose goal it is to ensure that our residents living with dementia can have the best quality of life possible,’’ Gordon said.

“This year has been an incredibly challenging year because of COVID, and these awards are a wonderful way to end it. I have never been prouder of our team.’’

Award wins Eldercare Innovation Awards 2020: Project of the Year in the Residential Aged Care in the Asia Pacific region – Nellie Melba Innovation of the Year in the Dementia Care Solution category – myRyman Life Aged Advisor People’s Choice Awards 2020: Best Group Provider – Ryman Healthcare Best small retirement or lifestyle village in the South Island – Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village Reader’s Digest Quality Service Awards: Gold Medal for Customer Service – Ryman Healthcare