The DCM Institute is proud to present The VILLAGE SUMMIT 2020, two days of inspiration and unique learnings in community leadership for Village Managers and HO Management staff.
The VILLAGE SUMMIT 2020 delivers and accelerates focused technical and soft skill development, professional development and premium networking.
By popular demand we have brought back Matt Church, rated in the Top 10 Motivational Speakers of the world.
Rebecca Hogan, Operations Manager at Churches of Christ (QLD) will provide positive learnings on managing and supporting residents in the dementia journey.
Mark Bindon co-founded Oak Tree villages, Australia’s fastest growing village operator (26 villages), will share his experience building resident trust.
Plus another 18 great sector speakers.
Join 400 of your village sector colleagues in a great two days of learning. $1850+GST, including our unique State Dinners at iconic Sydney venues including The QVB Tea Rooms or The Studio at Centrepoint Tower, where you join delegates from your State to build networks and share.
To attend an upcoming meeting just go to the Meeting Hub page on the DCM Institute website and follow the prompts.
NSW Central Coast Tuesday 26 November 10:30am Host Tracey Palser Catalina Village Community Centre 68 Deaves Road Cooranbong Essential Services in Retirement Villages – Speakers Luke Moody & Chad Gardiner
Brisbane North Tuesday 3rd December 2019 11:30am Host Karen Naylor Redland Aged Care Providers and Retirement Living Group Fiction restaurant, Raby Bay Harbour, Shop 9 & 10/152 Shore Street West, Cleveland
NSW Mid North Coast Wednesday 4th December 10am Host Amanda Howton Ingenia Gardens Taree 60 Edinburgh Drive Taree
North Perth Wednesday 4th December 10am Host Janine Thompson Kingsway Court Retirement Village 6 Countess Link, Mandeley
Perth Wednesday 4th December 10am Village tour with Hosts Jemma Viney & Nikki Mollart Masonic Care WA, Forest Lakes Retirement Village 41 Geographe Way Thornlie
Everyone is welcome so please share this information with other village managers in your area.
We are approaching the time of year as Annual meetings and Melbourne Cup moves slowly behind us we start to think about planning for Christmas decorations, celebrations and the holiday period.
Village professionals often find themselves running on empty at this time of year and take the opportunity to have a well-deserved break. Often in the lead up to the leave it is busy busy busy and a time where there are lots going on.
Whether you are having a relief manager stepping in for you or a team member manning the fort it is good practice to be starting to think about the tools, resources and information they may need to access whilst you are away (especially if you would like to avoid that call on Christmas day when the code to turn off the fire system can not be found).
Some of the items I like to go through with a relief manager include:
Site orientation/plan – utility shut off locations
Earlier this year Jo Marshall (pictured) from Culturise joined our Professional Development program participants to deliver a session on Village Culture. We grappled with the question – Can a Village Manager impact upon village culture? And why would they want to?
There is no question that each village has its own culture. The challenge is how we describe it, and maintain and sometimes improve it.
Jo shared “Culture put simply is ‘how we do things around here’. At an organisational level our culture is demonstrated by our behaviours. In turn our behaviours are defined by our shared values. In groups we carried out a fun activity called ‘what makes a happy, healthy village”.
Our attendees were divided into groups and brainstormed to come up with as many descriptors as possible.
The strongest themes were – care, fun, community and respect. Jo posed the question: What if you were to do an activity like this with your residents? Why not ask them what makes a happy and healthy village to them? The results will give you some great foundations for continuous improvement and an opportunity to get to know each other better.
Human connection is one of the most important ingredients in happiness. Activities like this will help you create an even better village culture – without too much effort!
If you’d like to try this in your village please feel free to email Jo HERE to obtain more detailed templates and ideas. Culturise are experts in creating great cultures and supporting practical leadership.
The DCM Institute is passionate about adopting new technologies and is excited to partner with Pluss Communities and their new app.
It’s an organisor, calendar, newsletter and much more.
The app allows residents to stay in touch with one another and the village team. Residents can access village news, reserve places at events, complete surveys and log operational requests all in the ‘one-stop app’.
You don’t need to be a big village.
Pluss Communities is offering DCM Institute members the chance to be involved in a working party to customise the app especially for smaller operators.
Anyone interested in taking part in the project, which begins later this month, please contact me at jodiep@dcmmedia.com.au
Village operators should understand their obligations and potential liabilities in relation to ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ (‘DNR’) requests, being specific requests to withhold CPR if the need arises.
These are advance directives – that is, decisions made in advance when a person is still competent to decide.
They refer to decisions relating to future healthcare, and particularly refusal of treatment.
Advance directives are based on the principle that everyone has the right to decide what happens to their body. Even life-saving medical treatment cannot lawfully be given without consent, and any touching of a person without consent is a civil battery (and possibly criminal assault).
While not strictly necessary at common law (ie. law outside legislation), it is always recommended an advance directive is confirmed in writing.
A recent coronial finding in Victoria also suggests that the DNR request applies to natural events (eg. a heart attack), and not to unnatural events (eg. an accident).
There is emerging confusion about the validity of advance directives that do not comply with the requirements of statutory schemes which exist across Australia (other than NSW and Tasmania) in relation to advance directives. Some key points to note are as follows:
1. With the possible exception of Queensland, the common law is preserved in all states and territories such that if a competent adult refuses medical treatment it should not be given.
2. The statutory schemes generally only apply to health providers and substitute decision-makers. Retirement villages continue to be governed by common law principles, however, if healthcare is provided (eg. co-located care) or registered health practitioners are employed in the retirement village, state/territory legislation may apply.
It is important retirement village operators are aware of their obligations under complex and varied state/territory laws relevant to them and their interplay with the common law. Any risks associated with advance directives may be mitigated through contractual terms as well as clear policies and procedures for residents and staff.
For information or advice please contact Dr Melanie Tan (pictured) from Russell Kennedy on (03) 9609 1577 or Anita Courtney on (03) 8602 7211.
St Paul’s Lutheran Homes Hahndorf Retirement Village have just embarked on a new social calendar.
This was their inaugural bus trip – now the bus is full every trip, to the picturesque Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens in the Adelaide Hills.
A delicious picnic was prepared by the aged care kitchen and enjoyed by the group, along with lively banter and camaraderie. We were entertained by Blue Wrens and the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot.
The people in our villages are likely to be at various stages of their later years, ranging in age from late 60s to 100, some fit and agile others more dependent and anywhere in-between.
‘Well-being’ is the new buzz word, but what is it?
As a Village Manager achieving resident well-being isn’t about
Having the fullest activity schedule
The latest and greatest facilities or technology
Getting 100% of residents to village events
Working against illness and making sure they stay fit
What it is about is having a genuine interest in supporting those living in our community to lead the life they choose.
As Village Managers we have the opportunity to listen and respond, to be the link and facilitator of information.
This can be done in different ways:
Village interest groups – cards, walking, tennis, bowls, Local interests/service,
Local community activities – life-long learning U3A, Local & State government activities, volunteering,
And then with more support type services:
Meal deliveries, independent aides, home care providers
Council services – transport,
Allied health services, GP centres
Having a sense of the right times to step in and step out is of paramount importance.
Resident home visits
A good village plan is to have a resident home visit policy in place.
The visit, which should be done at least annually or at times when significant life events occur (illness or the death of a partner) can be a valuable tool for the Village Manager in ensuring he/she is empathic with the residents in the village.
The visit doesn’t need to be complex and ideally as a minimum it would touch on
Checking up on how the last 12 months have been in the village.
Any maintenance matters the resident might like to raise.
Discussion around additional support requirements – home care, transport, meals
Connection with interest groups both inside and outside the village
Update of contacts and personal information
There are many benefits to the home visit.
It allows you, as the manager, to support residents, and in some cases, you may be the resident’s only point of contact on a social front. The home visit provides an opportunity for both sides to reach out.
It generates ‘well-being’ for both the resident and you – through the satisfaction of fulfilling our roles well.
Village managers wear so many hats in their busy and complex roles and one of those hats you’ll be aware of is managing the ‘reactive’ and ‘proactive’ asset management strategies of your villages.
An important part of these strategies is determining the effective lifecycleof various assets from the sink tap to bigger items like the renewal of bowling greens or swimming pool pumps.
This data will feed into village operating budgets and capital expenditure budgets.
At the recent Village Manager Professional Development Workshop days, Village Managers said they spend anything from 30-50% of their day attending to property and asset management activities.
Many Village Managers won’t have building or quantity surveyor qualifications but that doesn’t mean they can’t be ‘proactive’ and have an extensive list of ‘trusted’ professionals they can turn to.
There are also a couple of tools that can help speed up the process of determining effective lifecycles for village assets.
For Village Managers in QLD, the legislative requirement for the completion of an independent review and report by a Quantity Surveyor every five years removes much of the risk of inaccuracy and provides confidence in the decision making around the management of assets.
If this approach isn’t something that’s possible immediately there are options that Village Managers could begin to adopt:
Ensure ALL product manuals are easily accessible and referred to regularly.
Seek professional help from a trusted cost manager/builder/Quantity Surveyor.
Refer to the taxation offices effective life asset list in TR 2019/5 Table A
Consider asset management software programs from the simple to operate to detailed ones like TechOne.
Who doesn’t want to be the best Village Manager and yet when it comes to recruitment, it’s business acumen that’s considered important, mostly to fulfil the ‘operator compliance requirements’?
However, village residents see those skills a little differently, and Resident Association Presidents have shared the characteristics they feel make a great Village Manager – the so-called ‘soft skills.’
Honesty and has a sense of humour
A genuine listener who takes an interest in the community
Consultative and able to understand every resident is different
Transparent and follows up on issues
An influencer for the good of the village
Many of these characteristics are based around good communication strategies, not ones put in place by marketing teams, it’s about you the Village Manager ensuring effective communication is a priority.
A smile costs you nothing. Add in empathy and it will go a long way to building trust and long-term relationships within your village.
I have often had to remind myself of the importance of stepping back from the busy day to day reporting, compliance and paperwork and take time out in my day to reach out and build great relationships.
Many of us will have been attracted to the role of Village Manager for the joy of supporting the community and serve residents, therefore for our own job satisfaction we too must ensure we build time into our diaries to make this happen.
If you are part of the VM program you can download the WHS checklist as part of the month-end materials.
