St John S Court

St John’s Court

Monthly News Letter

March 2016

Sadly we have to say goodbye to:

Nancy Wilkes who was with us for a short time.

Their family & loved ones are in our thoughts at this sad & difficult time.

Forth coming Residents Birthdays:

Margaret Jones – 13th March & Eric Hazelwood – 21st March

All residents Birthdays are celebrated with a Card from all at St John’s Court & a Birthday Cake. If families wish to stay for lunch or have a room made available for family to hold a get together then please let us know.

Forth coming staff Birthdays:

Zoe Olds – 2nd March, Carol Clifford – 6th March, Tracey Cooper – 6th March, Kelly Dews – 7th March, Ffion Birch – 15th March, Mel Wilkes – 18th March, Faye Upton – 29th March, Elliott Edwards – 30th March & Lucia Tranca – 31st March

We wish you all a very Happy Birthday.

Employee of the Month:

I would like to thank all of the team at St John’s Court as you all work really hard to make it a lovely home for the residents & a happy place to work.

You all deserve to be nominated for Employee of the month but…………..

The winner of Employee of the Month for Februaryis:

Karen Hepherd

Karen was presented with a certificate & a small gift.

Well Done Karen& thank you for making a difference.

The nominations for Karen included the following reasons:

Always happy & is doing a super job, always helping all departments if needed, always laughing & smiling. Works very hard. Does an amazing job in her role as Head of Housekeeping & will always help everyone, nothing is too much trouble. Happy to help out wherever she can, leads & supports her team well & fairly.

Others nominated included:

Kelly Dews – Happy to help on the floor, takes on extra roles, never moans & is always happy. Supporting everyone with their training & sorting out the allocation board. Excellent carer & team leader. Improved her leadership skills. Committed to residents & staff.

Please support us & let us know who has made a difference to your daily life.

Planned Events for the coming Month:

Tuesdays – Pet Therapy – Maisie the Black Labrador visits
Sunday 1st March – St David’s Day – wear yellow & daffodils
Sunday 6th March – Mothering Sunday – Special Lunch
Thursday 10th – Mini bus trip out in the afternoon
Thursday 17th March – St Patricks Day – Wear Green - a good old fashioned Irish knees up with a taste of Irish food & Guiness – this was very popular last year & enjoyed by all
Tuesday 22nd March – National Bed Day – theme day – Wear PJ’s or Onesies
Thursday 24th March – Animals for parties – 2.00-5.00pm
Friday 25th March – Good Friday – Fish & Hot cross buns
Sunday 27th March – Easter Sunday – Entertainment with Lee & Keith in the Dining room 2.30-4.30pm
Thursday 31st March – Afternoon Tea – 2.30pm & a presentation from Kelly Dews themed on falls & falls prevention – all are invited

Information Morning coffee/Afternoon Teas:

We have arranged monthly morning coffee or afternoon tea information days which will be held on the last Thursday of the Month.

All residents, relatives, team members & people in the community (they are in the local paper) are invited to attend these events which are being hosted by our Champions who go above & beyond to ensure that changes to benefit the residents take place & changes are cascaded to the rest of the team.

Listed below are the dates of the events together with the time.

Everyone is Welcome & we look forward to seeing you - Please join us for a cup of coffee & a chat, your knowledge & experiences are welcomed & we would be happy to support with information, where possible.

March – Kelly Dews – Falls – 31.03.16- 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
April – Heather Mitchell - Community Links – 28.04.16 – 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
May – Laura Wilkes & Faye Upton – Safeguarding – 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
June – Faye Upton – Medication – 30.06.16 – 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
July – Cristina Sincu, Sue Mooney & Michelle Du-Roe – Diabetes & Nutrition & Hydration – 28.07.16 – 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon TeaTimes
August – James Mogg & Kath Upton – Dignity & Personal Appearance – 25.08.16 - 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
September – Wendy Dalby – Oral Health – 29.09.16 – 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
October – Ffion Birch – Parkinsons - 27.10.16 - 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
November –- 24.11.16 – Elliott Edwards – Mental Capacity & Mental Health (MCA) - 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
December – Lisa Dews & Jayne Raybould – EOL & Remembrance Afternoon – 29.12.16 2.30pm Afternoon Tea together with a balloon release with personal messages attached

Cuppa & Cake Meetings with the Cook:

The very popular Cuppa & Cake meetings continue with Pat our Cook alternate months & these are listed below:

Thursday 14th April – 3.15pm-4.00pm – Dining Room
Thursday 9th June
Thursday 11th August
Thursday 13th October
Thursday 1st December

Residents, relatives & members of the team are all invited to these informal meetings to discuss meal options & to make suggestions & requests to help with future mean planning & to keep everyone informed.

St John’s Fundraising:

We will be holding our Annual spring Fayre the beginning of April so if you have any donations for the raffle, tombola’s including bottles, cakes, bric a brac we would be very grateful to receive these.

If you would like to have a table to sell items then please speak to Heather or Ffion.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us & Good Luck!

Events which took place in February:

Pets for Therapy – this is always a very popular visit when Masie the Black Labrador pays us a visit, I’m not sure who enjoys it the most, residents, staff or Masie!
We have our weekly visits from the students of Bromsgrove School on Tuesdays & Thursdays who organize games & quizzes for our residents & this is very popular & enjoyed by those who attend.
Monday 8th February – Chinese new Year – Chinese New Year was celebrated with a Chinese Dragon & a selection of Chinese foods prepared by the cook at St John’s – this was very popular with some residents tasting Chinese food for the first time which included: Chicken Chow Mein, Chinese Curry, Sweet & Sour Chicken Balls, Chips, Rice, Prawn Crackers & Fortune cookies. Residents also enjoyed making the Chinese lanterns to decorate the home. We also spent time finding what our Chinese animal was according to the year we were born which was good fun.
Tuesday 9th February – Shrove Tuesday – Pat made & flipped pancakes with a selection of fillings & as always these were very popular – Pat was flipping pancakes in her sleep that night!
Thursday 9th February – Residents & families attended the Cuppa & Cake meeting with Pat the cook to discuss meals & suggestions – this is always popular & will be held alternate months – see listings.
Saturday 14th February – Valentines Day celebrations – Staff wore Red & residents were entertained with a sing a long which is always very popular. Residents also enjoyed making cards & decorations for Valentines.

A Good old sing a Long

Thursday 18th February – Mini bus Trip – unfortunately this was cancelled due to the hire company not having a driver
Thursday 25th February – Coffee morning & Dementia Information morning lead by Lesley Lewis – Dementia Champion – Residents, team members, family & friends were invited to this event & it was open to people in the community to come & join us, this was our first information open event & it went down very well with lots of shared experiences & knowledge being discussed during a relaxed time with a cup of tea & cake – with many thanks to Lesley who did a fantastic job.

Well done Lesley on hosting our first Information coffee Morning

Friday 26th February – Feel Good Friday – Theme Day staff wore bright colours for the day to cheer us all up on a gloomy February day!

There are more photographs displayed around the home of events during January.

Hair Salon:

The hair salon has had a further ‘revamp’ following the unsuccessful choice of colour previously.

We now have ‘a room with a view’. As the salon is small & we have no way at this time of developing this we purchased a wall mural which is a window looking out onto a field & wooded area. Everyone agrees that it has made such a huge difference to the room & made it feel much bigger & more pleasant to sit & relax whilst having your hair done.

Residents & Family Meeting:

The minute from the last meeting are on the notice board if you would like to have a look.

The next residents & family meeting will be on Thursday 3rdMarch at 11.00am & 6.00pm, everyone is welcome to attend.

The planned residents & relatives meetings during the year are as below but may be subject to change:

Thursday 2nd June – 3.00pm & 6.00pm
Saturday 2nd July – 11.00am
Thursday 8th September – 11.00am & 6.00pm
Saturday 12th November – 11.00am
Tuesday 6th December – 3.00pm & 6.00pm

CCG Inspection:

The CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) inspect & monitor the provision of care & nursing within Nursing Homes & on Tuesday 1st March we had our unannounced inspection.

During their visit they looked at care planning, individuals needs & wishes, dietary requirements, medical needs & interventions, the environment, audits & monitoring of care & support & spoke with residents, relatives & team members.

The visit went very well & they were very pleased with everything they observed & said that they had observed very good care practice & interaction & that the home was warm, welcoming & happy.

As always I would like to express my thanks to the team for their hard work & support in making a difference to everyone who lives at St John’s or visits us.

We will receive the report in approximately one months time & this will be made available to everyone.

If you have any questions please speak with Laura or Faye.

Thank you:

I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the team who sent me a wonderful card with such lovely messages & for the beautiful flowers I was also presented with to say thank you to me for the support I give them & to let me know that they support me in doing the best we can within St John’s.

This meant an awful lot to me & I can’t thank the team enough for their kind words & support, it is greatly appreciated.

March Facts

Facts

March is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It was the first month of the year in ancient Rome. Since March is the first month of spring, it was a logical point to begin the year. When the Gregorian calendar was adopted, it became the third month of the year. It is one of the seven months with thirty-one days.

Superstition

If Easter should fall on Lady Day – 25th March then a disaster will shortly follow.

‘When my Lord falls in my Ladies lap, England beware of some mishap’

Traditional Games

All through Lent the traditional games of Marbles & Skipping are played. However, the games were stopped at the stroke of 12 noon on Good Friday.

These games, in some places, were referred to as Marble Day or Long Rope Day

Birthstone

The birthstones for March are the aquamarine and the bloodstone.

Aquamarine is the more well known birthstone for March. The word Aquamarine was derived from ‘Aqua’ – meaning water & ‘marine’ – meaning sea because it looked like sea water. It was known as the ‘Sailors Gem’ promising a prosperous & safe journey as well as protection against the perils & monsters of the sea.

Aquamarine is thought to symbolise: Good Health, Love, Youthfulness & Hope.

Aquamarines colours range from greenish blue to blue-green. The colour of aquamarine has a calming effect and is said to cool the temper.

Bloodstone is actually a dark green jasper. Spots of iron oxide show up as vivid red spots in jasper, hence the word bloodstone. The Babylonians believed the stone had healing powers, especially for blood disorders.

Bloodstones are most commonly found in rocks or as pebbles in river beds. They are most commonly found in India, BrazilAustralia.

Bloodstone is the favoured material for carving Religious objects, particularly the Crucifix.

Astrological Signs

Pisces and Aries are the astrological signs for March. Birthdays from March 1st through the 20th fall under the sign of Pisces. March 21st through the 31st birthdays fall under the sign of Aries.

Historic Events

18th March 1935 – 30 miles an hour speed limit imposed on built up areas
22nd March 1888 – English Football League formed
25th March 1948 – HeathrowAirport opened
29th March 1886 – Coca Cola was introduced
31st March 1889 – The Eiffel Tower in Paris was officially opened

Flower

The flower for the month of March is the ‘Lent Lily’ or Narcissus (wild daffodil). Since daffodils are one of the first flowers to bloom in spring, they are considered to be a symbol of rebirth. They may symbolize rebirth, but beware, because daffodils are poisonous, if eaten.

The daffodil became a popular Welsh symbol in the 19th Century & continues to be worn to celebrate St David’s Day – 1st March.

We hope that you have enjoyed our Monthly Newsletter.

If you have any news, facts or poems to go into our April News Letter then please let Laura, Faye, Mel or Doreen know so that it will feature in the next News Letter.