Cake Sale in aid of Huntington’s Disease
Chollacott House and the Drake Unit will be holding a cake sale in aid of Huntington’s Disease on Tuesday 12th May.
Happy Birthday John!
Dove Tree House resident John (William) Woolway celebrated his 85th birthday last week, with a fabulous personalised cake! John worked for Esso for 30 years unloading petrol from the canal basin and loading it onto tankers for distribution. John loves doing jigsaws and watching football. He enjoys having jobs to do around the home, such as collecting the daily newspapers from the front door and handing them out to the other residents and opening and closing the blinds in the lounge and dining room. John also helps one of the deaf residents to complete her daily menu.
Dove Tree House one of the Top 10 homes in the South West!
Congratulations to Dove Tree House in Exeter for coming 9th in the Top 20 Awards from www.carehome.co.uk. Home Manager Jaz Lemin said:
Everybody at Dove Tree House, residents and care team, is delighted that our home has been rated so highly – being in the Top 10 in the South West is a fantastic achievement. We know we have a lovely home, it’s a great place to live and we’re lucky to have lots of visitors and a waiting list of people who want to come and join our family and be a part of the action. There’s always something going on and this award is another great reason to celebrate.
Farewell to Senior Nurse Shirley Benny!
Chollacott House bids a fond farewell to Senior Nurse Shirley Benny, who is retiring after 8 years working for Stonehaven’s Tavistock home. She has been an invaluable member of the team at Chollacott and will be very much missed by residents and staff alike. We wish her well in her retirement, and send thanks for all her hard work and dedication.
Beatrice Staddon celebrates turning 100!
Beatrice Staddon, resident at Dove Tree House in Exeter recently celebrated her 100th birthday. She received congratulations in a card from the Queen and enjoyed a party thrown by family and friends at Dove Tree House. Beatrice, a former nurse at the city’s old Eye Infirmary, grew up on a farm in North Tawton. She married her husband Victor Thomas in 1938 and the couple had three children, Kenneth, Anne and John. They set up home in Baker Street, Heavitree, where they remained throughout their lives. Beatrice moved into Dove Tree House in January 2012, and her son John feels that since she has been with us she has come on in leaps and bounds due to the high standard of care she receives. Congratulations Beatrice!
Devon County Show – our stand is up!
We have spent the morning at the showground today setting up our fabulous stand. Come and visit us over the next three at stand 183 in the FSB area and have a piece of cake! We look forward to meeting you!
Visit us at the Devon County Show 22-24 May 2014
Stonehaven have designed a stand with a difference to exhibit our care homes at the Devon County Show this week. We have copied a room to look like one of the rooms at Chollacott House using advanced photographic techniques. Come and meet us on Stand 183 in the FSB area and enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of cake, and enjoy the ambience and surroundings of a Stonehaven home.
A New Look for our Care Team
This week has seen the launch of our new uniform. We were keen to continue to create more homely environments and become less institutionalised. The way our care team looks is a very important element in this. We considered a non-uniform approach, but our residents felt it was important that their carers were easily identifiable. So, we have gone for a less ‘traditional’ tunic in a vibrant purple, a colour believed by researchers to be the most relaxing, calming, yet creative.
To enhance the new uniform, we have developed a pin-badge to wear on the right-hand side of the uniform identifying individual employees as ‘Care Jewels’ (In the “They’re all such gems” sense) but not based on any exam, test or qualification.The Stonehaven Care Jewels concept has been developed in order to:
1. Achieve some more ‘direct connections’ with individual employees to show we value each one;
2. Remind and strengthen a sense of individual duty and pride-in-the-job;
3. Seek and apply any useful way of setting Stonehaven Care Group well apart from and well above the run-of-the-mill competition, in a form that could be immediately noticed, mentally registered and effortlessly remembered by all and especially the outside world.
4. Raise morale and enhance individual carer’s job enjoyment and satisfaction; with a view to that radiating out from them and so presenting an exceptionally ‘happily-busy-at-care’ image to the world.
The ‘Care Jewels’ concept sits well alongside ‘The Jewels of Dementia’ as presented as part of the ‘All About Dementia’ training course delivered to Stonehaven. The jewels program is belief in an idea, that we can give excellent care to people with dementia, and it is easy to do so if we have the empathy and skills required. ‘Care Jewels’ do not think outside the box, for Care Jewels, there is no box.
The new uniform is being trialed at Kent House, Okehampton with a view to rolling it our across all of our homes in the New Year.
Stonehaven proud sponsors of the region’s Best Chef
Last Thursday evening, Stonehaven attended the Devon Life Food and Drink awards at Sandy Park in Exeter. We were proud to be sponsoring the Best Chef category. Ralphe Stone, Operations Director presented winner Anton Piotrowski from The Treby Arms in Sparkwell, with his award. Congratulations Anton – such a worthy winner!
