Out of the Blue Winter 2015

2015 Our Customer, Our Passion

Visitors and staff enjoying devonshire tea at the BlueCross Livingstone Gardens Open Day

Customer service in actionWelcome to the Winter Edition of Out of the Blue.

This year’s focus ‘Our Customer, Our Passion’ has been a source of inspiration for our staff who demonstrate time and time again, exceptional customer service in action.

I recently experienced this when over 75 BlueCross staff volunteered to help with the Livingstone Gardens open days. Staff from all over the organisation worked seamlessly together to welcome thousands of visitors to our newly opened residence. Staff took visitors on tours, provided information about aged care and enjoyed being there to have a chat with members of the community. It was a wonderful day for our visitors and an incredible day for BlueCross.

I would like to congratulate Robert Harris, the BlueCross Property Development Manager and his team, who managed to deliver this project on time and on budget. Congratulations also to Wendy Calder, the Residence Manager at

Livingstone Gardens. Wendy and her team are putting the heart and soul into Livingstone Gardens. It is very challenging working in a brand new building, with new systems and new faces but the Livingstone Gardens team are already demonstrating the STARFish principles.

2015 STARFish award winner, Sharon Gell.

A personal highlight of each year is the BlueCross staff conference. Having hundreds of staff from dozens of locations, in the one place is hard to manage but always worth the effort. Congratulations to all STARFish award nominees, finalists and our 2015 award winner, Sharon Gell.

I also had the privilege of listening to the thoughts of some of our customers, one who uses Care at Home and others who live in BlueCross residential care. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the thoughts of Judith Mance,

who lives at BlueCross Hansworth:

“I love the staff, I love the care and I feel safe. The care I receive you just can’t buy it”. The thoughts and experiences of our customers is very important to us, as it tells us what our customers value. We use this feedback to enhance every aspect of our services.

David Eccles

Message from the Managing Director

Livingstone Gardens welcomes first residents, as Peggy returns home.

Peggy Sanderson has kept up-to-date as Livingstone Gardens was being rebuilt from the ground up. For Peggy, Livingstone Gardens was always going to be much more than Vermont South’s newest residence.

Peggy had lived at Livingstone Gardens for two and a half years before the original building was decommissioned. Peggy was so eager to move back to Livingstone Gardens, she put her hand up straight away to be admitted as one of the first people to live in the new residence. Although Peggy did not grow up in Vermont, Livingstone Gardens is very close to where her daughter lives and that is very important to Peggy and her family.

Having relocated to BlueCross Baradine, Peggy had enjoyed her lifestyle there and had made many new friends. Her friends from Baradine have arranged to visit Peggy for morning tea at her new home at Livingstone Gardens.

Peggy Sanderson at the newly opened BlueCross Livingstone Gardens

Livingstone Gardens Open Days

Livingstone Gardens opened its doors to an incredible crowd of over 2,000 people on the 16th and 17th of May. Our hospitality team served over 900 coffees, over 1,000 sausages and more than 1,000 scones. Our volunteers conducted hundreds of group tours, showing visitors the private dining room, cinema, cafe, hair and beauty salon, men’s shed, day respite centre and private rooms. Visitors were able to experience 360 degree views of the Dandenong Ranges and green suburbs that surround Livingstone Gardens. The response to Livingstone Gardens has been incredibly positive, with many visitors impressed by the modern and thoughtful design of the building, comprehensive, person-centred care and lifestyle programs, passionate and customer focused staff and beautiful metropolitan spaces. BlueCross Managing Director, David Eccles said “Livingstone Gardens is the result of listening to what our customers want, what they value, and providing them with choice. Our customers want private rooms with ensuites, natural light, individual climate control and wall mounted TVs. Livingstone Gardens is the future of aged care”.

BlueCross Livingstone Gardens

37 Livingstone Road

Vermont South Vic 3133

Taking enquiries now

1300 133 414

Out of the Blue - Winter 2015

STARFish Awards 2015

ANZAC Day-25 April 2015

Ernest Treloar’s story

September 1, 1939, a significant date in history. This day was the outbreak of World War II.

In 1941, Ernest Treloar was 23 years old and he and Betty Treloar had just been married. Ten days after his wedding, Ernest was deployed on the H.M.A.S. Wanganella to Singapore. His unit had been urgently formed, on the grounds of the Caulfield Racecourse. Here he spent his last night in Australia, sleeping on a bed of hay in a horse stall.

Having completed a St. John Ambulance course prior to enlisting, he had been assigned as a medical assistant.

On Ernest’s journey, he was faced with many challenges and witnessed the direct effects of the war come through the hospital doors.

Ernest was one of twenty-two thousand Australian soldiers captured as a prisoners of war in south-east Asia.

Ernest Treloar at the 97 + birthday celebration

Upon returning to Australia, Ernest started his own printing business in Healesville, and went on to help establish the Healesville RSL. In 2011, Ernest and Betty celebrated 70 years of marriage. Ernest now resides in Surrey Hills at BlueCross Broughtonlea.

The STARFish award ceremony was held on the 9th of May, at the annual Staff Conference. Here staff are recognised for their exceptional customer service and the adoption of the STARFish principles in their everyday work.

The STARFish principles are:

• be there

• choose your attitude

• have fun and

• make their day.

This year’s winner, Sharon Gell from Riverlea was nominated for “being there”.

An occasion where Sharon demonstrated “being there”, was when maintenance was taking place in the room of a resident. A delay in the maintenance meant that the resident had to wait longer than expected to return to her room and this was causing her distress. All other staff were busy and could not sit one-on-one.

Sharon stepped in and stayed with the resident, going over photos on her iPad from her recent trip to Japan. The room took till about 8:30 pm to be ready, but Sharon stayed with the resident the whole time, engaging her in conversation about her trip to Japan. The resident was no longer distressed, the maintenance was completed and the she was able to return to her room.

Sharon demonstrates the STARFish principles on a daily basis, her positive attitude and initiative embody the BlueCross way.

The BlueCross staff conference was hosted by the entertaining and charismatic Jean Kittson. Staff also enjoyed a talk by the energetic and inspiring Catherine DeVrye.

Congratulations to all STARFish nominees. You make BlueCross a special place to live for our residents and clients at Care at Home. Thank you for making BlueCross an enjoyable, fun and rewarding place to work.

Finalists

Sam Hindocha, Autumdale

Sharon Hose, Cresthaven

Sharon Gell, Riverlea

Sarath Dahanayake, Care at Home

Suzanne Moore, Central Services

A special thank you to our many years of service award winners. Your contribution and commitment to BlueCross is greatly appreciated.

For all BlueCross enquiries call 1300 133 414 www.bluecross.com.au

At our residences

Residents, their families, friends and staff enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at Silverwood with a sausage sizzle and devonshire tea.

There was also face painting and a petting zoo which included guinea pigs, rabbits and chickens.

Residents, families, friends and staff had fun chatting for hours, whilst children played games on the terrace.

BlueCross staff also raffled off toys to raise money for the Nepal earthquake appeal.

Family fun at Silverwood

As a life long supporter of the Western Bulldogs, Peggy Lee received the surprise of her life when she celebrated her 100th birthday.

Peggy’s family worked with staff to arrange for Western Bulldogs footballer Dale Morris to attend her milestone birthday.

After Morris delivered her cake, a delighted Peggy asked him for a kiss.

Dale Morris presented Peggy with a Western Bulldogs membership pack.

“I didn’t want anything, but I got everything. It’s been wonderful” Peggy said of her surprise birthday celebration.

Western Gardens, surprise Bulldog birthday for Peggy

Broughtonlea, knitting for Nepal Mother’s Day tea at Tarralla Chocolate roses, cake and candles adorned the Tarralla lounge room, to celebrate Mother’s Day. Residents enjoyed the afternoon with activities such as a Mother’s Day quiz and afternoon tea.Everyone recieved a chocolate rose and a Mother’s Day gift.

Following the earthquakes in Nepal, the Broughtonlea knitting group gathered together to knit blankets to help with humanitarian aid relief efforts.

The ladies at Broughtonlea have hand knitted twenty-one blankets, which have been made to help provide warmth and comfort to those who have been affected by the earthquakes.

These blankets have been given to the charity, Nirmal Education Foundation. They will be delivering these blankets to Nepal.

The Nirmal Education Foundation has been touched by the generosity and hard work of the Broughtonlea knitting group.

AVONDALE HEIGHTS

BOX HILL

CHELSEA

CHELTENHAM

CROYDON

GLENROY

HEIDELBERG

KEW

KILMORE

MALVERN EAST

MILL PARK

MOOROOLBARK

MOUNT WAVERLEY

MULGRAVE

SANDRINGHAM

SUNSHINE

SURREY HILLS

TEMPLESTOWE

TEMPLESTOWE LOWER

TOORAK

VERMONT SOUTH

Donations BlueCross Staff conference…Over $2,000 was raised by BlueCross staff for the Nepal Earthquake relief efforts. BlueCross increased this donation to $5,000. Livingstone Gardens Open Days…Over $800 was raised from gold coin donations for the BlueCross STARriders participation in the Ride to Conquer Cancer.