Tag: retirement homes

Categories : General Interest Medical IndustryTags :

Essenwood Residential Home – A Case Study in Elevated Care Through Staffing Partnership

On By ModernMedia

Essenwood Residential Home, a haven for senior women since the 1850s in Durban, South Africa, provides exceptional care for its residents. However, managing the complexities of HR for a growing number of caregivers became a burden, taking away time and resources from core resident care duties. This is where Allmed, a specialist medical personnel solutions provider, stepped in to make a significant difference.

A long history of caring
Founded by the Durban Benevolent Society to provide care for elderly women, it initially resided on Victoria Street and in 1921, the home relocated to its current location on Essenwood Road, a larger and more suitable site. The Greenacre family played a pivotal role in this development, with Walter Greenacre donating the land and a bequest from his father, Sir Benjamin Greenacre, facilitating the construction.

Over the years, Essenwood has continuously evolved to meet the needs of its residents. It acquired autonomy in 1950 and established a dedicated assisted living wing in 1970. Most recently, in 2015, the home underwent extensive renovations to ensure it remained a safe and comfortable haven for its residents. Currently, Essenwood is home to 85 residents, with the capacity to care for 110.

The challenge of HR burdens stifling quality care
Essenwood, like many care facilities, struggled with the time-consuming tasks of HR management. Nursing Services Manager, Colleen Dempers, found herself spending a considerable amount of time on tasks like rostering, replacements for absent staff, and disciplinary issues. This detracted from the home’s primary focus – ensuring the well-being and individual care of residents.

“We found that we were spending so much time on HR issues that it became a huge distraction, Dempers explains. “It detracted us from additional time on HR issues that could be better spent on quality of care. This is what led us to Allmed for a solution.”

Allmed to the rescue with a partnership for success
Building on their established trust with Allmed, a partnership that began in 2016, Essenwood Residential Home made a strategic move to elevate resident care. Allmed was already providing relief support for registered nurses and enrolled nurses, offering a flexible solution for fluctuating staffing needs. The governing board made the tactical decision to entrust Allmed with their entire caregiving staff, ensuring continuity and quality.

“Our core function is resident care,” clarifies Chad Saus, Essenwood Residential Home’s General Manager. “We need to provide individual attention, activities, and a stimulating environment. By outsourcing HR, IR and payroll for 56 caregivers, along with the flexibility of additional resources when needed, Allmed frees us to focus on what truly matters – our residents.”

Streamlining operations for quality care with the Allmed advantage
The partnership with Allmed has yielded multiple benefits for Essenwood:

  • Reduced HR burden: Allmed took over recruitment, payroll, and disciplinary processes for caregivers, freeing up Essenwood’s staff to focus on resident care and quality of service.
  • Enhanced responsiveness: Allmed provided prompt and efficient support, addressing Essenwood’s concerns quickly and professionally. Whether it was staffing issues, training needs, or resident care challenges, Allmed offered round-the-clock support, solutions, and a “can-do” attitude.
  • Improved caregiver fit: Allmed understood Essenwood’s care philosophy and resident needs. The caregivers placed by Allmed at Essenwood integrated seamlessly into the environment, providing the high-quality care residents deserve.
  • Leadership that listens: Essenwood valued Allmed’s commitment to open communication. Any concerns raised by Essenwood were addressed promptly and collaboratively.

The impact: residents feel the difference
The positive ripple effects of the Essenwood-Allmed partnership are evident in the high standard of care received by residents. With a dedicated and well-matched caregiving staff, Essenwood can cater to individual needs and provide a more enriching environment for its residents.

A model partnership for senior care
The Essenwood Residential Home exemplifies the success achievable through a well-structured healthcare staffing partnership. By outsourcing HR and leveraging a qualified care staffing agency, Essenwood has demonstrably improved the quality of care for its residents. This model can serve as an inspiration for senior care facilities seeking to elevate their services and prioritise resident well-being.

Categories : AgeingTags :

Old Age Funding is Not Keeping Pace with Our Ageing Population, Report Finds

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels

South Africa’s population is ageing, yet government funding for community-based elder care services is not increasing to meet the demand.

This is a key finding by Family Caregiving, a programme at the University of Cape Town focused on the needs of older people, which has released two reports on funding for old age care and how care is experienced by older people in South Africa. 

“We want to work with the government and make useful suggestions about what is needed,” says Dr Elena Moore, who led the research together with Dr Gabrielle Kelly.

There are nearly 6 million people over the age of 60 in South Africa, about 10% of the population. The older population is expected to grow to over 15% of the total population by 2050. Also, 40% of older people have a significant need for care, says Moore.

The government currently provides subsidies to non-profit organisations that provide health and social services for older people. But according to Family Caregiving’s research, the overall amount spent on these subsidies by provincial governments, when adjusted for inflation and the growing ageing population, has decreased by 13% since 2007.

A lack of sufficient care for older people means that family members, often women, carry the burden of caring for older family members. The government does provide a Grant-in-Aid social grant of R510 a month, but few people who qualify for it know about it and the amount is too little to cover the cost of a full-time carer, according to the Family Caregiving report.

Family Caregiving is calling on the departments of social development and health to expand the implementation of the Older Persons Act of 2006. The Act provides for community-based care services, ensuring that older people can stay within their households and access the care they need in their communities.

According to the report, approximately 80 000 older people in South Africa receive care at a community centre and about 18 000 people receive state subsidies in care homes. But the report found that the subsidies do not come close to covering the running costs of these programmes and that existing programmes do not meet the growing demand.

Underfunding

Neighbourhood Old Age Home (NOAH), a non-profit organisation in the Western Cape, provides a variety of services. Its housing programme provides 94 beds. For this, it receives R440 000 from the provincial department for social development. But the actual cost of running the programme is nearly R850 000, so the organisation has to absorb almost half the running costs.

In Khayelitsha, NOAH runs a service centre that provides community-based care and support services to nearly 90 older people. The centre operates five days a week and offers meals, educational and skills development programmes, health and social services, and recreational opportunities.

The centre qualifies for an R2230 subsidy per person per year. It receives R190 000 from the government, but it costs R540 000 to run.

In Woodstock, the NOAH service centre has 29 beneficiaries. It operates three days a week and qualifies for a subsidy of R1419 per person per year. It received R59 300 in government funding, but it costs over R600 000 to run.

In KwaZulu-Natal, non-profit organisation The Association For The Aged (TAFTA) runs a variety of services for older persons. Its frail care services rely on a subsidy as well as the beneficiaries’ monthly old age grants, but this makes up only 40% of its running costs, creating a monthly shortfall of R6600 per person.

TAFTA’s assisted living programme is not subsidised. Beneficiaries contribute their old age grant (R2080) towards food and accommodation and TAFTA contributes another R2500 per person. TAFTA service centres receive R18 per person per day, leaving a shortfall of R35 per person per day.

According to Family Caregiving, smaller organisations that do not have the institutional networks of NOAH and TAFTA are often not able to absorb these shortfalls.

Esther Lewis, spokesperson for the Western Cape Department of Social Development, says the province subsidises 186 service centres, catering for 12 000 people. The province also supports financially struggling organisations with mentoring and training. This year, the Western Cape department provided additional grants to organisations for operational costs.

Although funding has increased in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal since 2007, in most provinces subsidies are not paid or are not reported, Family Caregiving found.

Looking forward

Family Caregiving is calling for more funding for old-age care, from subsidies for care organisations to increased funding for health facilities for old age care.

Moore says a multi-disciplinary team is needed to address the challenges facing older people. The team should include representatives from the government departments and organisations as well as a range of experts, from economists to healthcare practitioners.

The Family Caregiving report recommends that the government take steps to ensure that all provinces provide subsidies for old age care and that subsidies increase to meet the growing demand. It recommends that while subsidies focus on service centres and residential care, government support for home-based care services be expanded. Also, existing healthcare facilities, such as clinics and hospitals, can be better optimised to care for older people. Health workers should receive training and information on caring for older people, the report says.

Republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Source: GroundUp

Categories : Ageing Mental HealthTags :

SA Retirement Home Study Reveals the Mental Health Benefits for Residents Interacting with Children

On By ModernMedia

A small South African study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE suggests that programmes promoting interaction between retirement home residents and children may provide quality of life improvements and could help manage residents’ anxiety and depression.

Among retirement home residents, previous research has shown that common mental health conditions often go undetected and untreated. These conditions, which include anxiety and depression, are typically treated with a combination of drugs and non-pharmacological interventions.

One intervention is the Eden Alternative, which identifies loneliness, helplessness and boredom as key challenges to overcome provide a higher quality of life. Evidence suggests that programmes that enable older adults to regularly interact with children may improve mental health, but these have mostly been done outside of retirement homes and few have looked at such programmes in South Africa.

To deepen the understanding of potential benefits of intergenerational interactions, Elizabeth Jane Earl and Debbie Marais of Stellenbosch University, South Africa, conducted a study at a retirement home in South Africa. Residents were able to regularly interact with children who attend an onsite preschool. Activities include playing games, doing puzzles, reading, or singing with the children.

Ten female residents were recruited and invited to complete a questionnaire evaluating their anxiety and depression levels, as well as asking them to describe their experiences with the children. Four of the participants were screened as possible having anxiety, depression, or both. The participants all took part in the same interactions, though to varying degrees of participation.

Generally, the participants reported positive experiences with the children. Analysing their responses, the researchers found that the interactions fostered a sense of purpose and belonging, fond reminiscences of their own childhood and a positive influence on mood and emotions. Recollections of childhood also sparked a sense of playfulness and positive self-evaluation. They noted that the participants differed in their preconceptions of children, which might have affected their experiences.

The authors wrote that, “Interactions with children promote a sense of belonging and purpose, evoke reminiscence, and positively influence the mental well-being of older persons.”

Based on their findings, Earl and Marais concluded that intergenerational interaction programmes may help manage the mental health conditions that are common for retirement home residents. They suggest that trained staff facilitate the interaction, preparing the children and residents, and should be voluntary, which helps preserve the residents’ agency. Running the interaction as a regular programme should help build bonds and give the residents something to look forward to. Additionally, there should be an educational aspect for the children, giving the residents a sense of purpose.

Looking to the future, they wrote that larger studies would be able to better outline the benefits of such programmes.