Enliven’s commitment to its staff and residents has been recognised with two awards at the prestigious New Zealand Aged Care Association Excellence in Care Awards.
The awards were held in August, after being delayed last year due to Covid-19, and Enliven won awards for Overall Excellence in Aged Care and Training and Staff Development.
Enliven clinical director Joy Tlapi says it felt good to get some external recognition of the excellent work Enliven is doing, particularly in staff development.
“The challenges with recruitment of staff and especially nurses are very apparent across the aged care sector, but at Enliven we take pride in taking the time to invest in those we have got and bring out the best in them, so they feel good about themselves and deliver the best care to our residents.”
Enliven general manager Nicola Turner says she was surprised, but very excited, to see Enliven win two awards.
There are a lot of nurses who have come in as new graduates and progressed up into senior positions with the support of our various training and development programmes. Nicola says this commitment to staff succession planning was recognised by the awards.
Enliven’s training programmes include professional development, support for postgraduate study, a Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) for internationally qualified and return to practice nurses, and a First Year of Practice Programme (FYOP) where graduate nurses are mentored by trained preceptors.
Nicola says the Overall Excellence in Aged Care Award was a tribute to Enliven’s care for both its staff and residents.
“When we make a difference in the lives of the staff, that flows through to the residents as well.”
Another Enliven Central initiative to make it to the finals of the awards was the garden to plate initiative at Cashmere Home. The project sees residents involved in making food right from growing the vegetables through to the cooking itself.
Joy says programmes like this make a difference in the residents’ lives and wellbeing, and are a part of Enliven’s philosophy of care, which is based on the internationally recognised Eden Alternative.
“It gives elders meaning, it gives them purpose, and helps them live fulfilling lives.”
A word from the New Zealand Aged Care Association (NZACA)
NZACA chief executive Simon Wallace says the award recognises the exceptional training and staff development provided by Enliven Central.
“Enliven is committed to growing its staff through training and has set a standard which can be followed by others.”
Mr Wallace says an essential part of the awards is recognition that the aged care industry has been operating under considerable challenges over recent years, including the Covid pandemic, significant staffing shortages and underfunding, and yet continues to provide excellent care.
“These awards recognised those care facilities and individuals that have made innovations to continuously improve services to residents and opportunities for staff.”
Rhonda Sherriff, clinical advisor for NZACA, was on the judging panel and says the judges were greatly impressed by the high calibre of entries across the board.
“Enliven has initiated a programme to provide a very clear clinical training pathway. They encourage their staff to become registered nurses, which is wonderful in the current nursing shortage. They are also growing their registered nurses into more senior roles, such as clinical managers and potentially into nurse practitioners.”
