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Springdene Newsletter January 3 2023
HAPPY New Year and welcome to our first newsletter of 2023!
We’ve had a great Christmas season – probably the best for years – now the shadow of Covid has been largely lifted. Folk had a fantastic time with parties, carols, singalongs and even a staff festive jumper competition at Spring Lane (above). One of the high points was a delicious Christmas Day lunch, served by our directors so that staff could have a well-earned rest.
The success of the season was enhanced by the fact that we now have a full house of well-being coordinators. Thanks so much to Christina, Anoohya, Odile, Magda, Malwina, Emily, Steve and Pamela. Our activities programme is the envy of many other homes.
The team is led by a great new appointment in the form of Samantha Horsburgh who is our new group engagement and wellbeing manager. Samantha is busy devising a brilliant new activities programme, which will bring in a host of outside entertainers and coordinate activities between the homes. There will be more outings, too. (In the autumn Steve organised a brilliant trip of Springview folk to Westcliff-on-Sea for some fish ’n’ chips and lungfuls of sea air.)
There are other welcomes, too. Iva Petrova has joined us as manager at Springview, replacing Tamas Fazekas. Iva is also a qualified nurse, which adds to the range of skills in the home. Also joining us is Andrew Page, who takes on the new role of group catering manager.
As many of you know, in the summer we dispensed with the outside contract catering company and brought services in house. This led to a great improvement, overseen by director Stacey-Louise Balcombe. Now Andrew is taking forward the good work. Expect an even greater enhancement of our excellent dining services!
We have been making other improvements, also. After remedying a leak in the roof, the lounge at Spring Grove has been undergoing major renovation – structural and aesthetic – including redecoration, new fittings, and furniture.
Over at Springview there has been a total renovation of the third-floor bedrooms, bringing them up to a luxury standard, complete with showers. The lift refurbishment has been completed to a high standard.
Now the lift engineers are turning their attention to the lifts at Spring Lane, where other further improvements are under way. There is a complete refurbishment of the fourth-floor bedrooms and reworking of the lounge, while the entrance is to be enhanced and modernised.
Meanwhile, we’ve been checking in on the progress of Spring, your sponsored puppy who is being trained by the Medical Detection Dogs charity to sniff out illnesses, such as Covid and diabetes.
Spring has progressed very well over the past six months and is a very affectionate boy who just needs a little extra work on his recall. The trainers ask a lot of these dogs to remain undistracted in every possible circumstance, but with some further training we’re confident he’ll do well.
Spring has been increasing his public access experience, including travelling on buses and trains. It’s important for Spring and his fellow dogs to to be confident in differing surroundings, as once they are partnered with a client, they will accompany them everywhere.
We know how much you rate the quality of the care in our luxury homes – your testimonials demonstrate it. We hope you will continue to support us in upholding the highest standards.
He has been working very hard to perfect all the skills he has learnt so far in preparation for his final assessment. This requires the dogs to showcase their ability to perform a wide range of tasks, such as a 90-second “wait” in an exciting environment, walking to heel at varying speeds and regular direction changes.
Spring has also been tested to review how comfortable he is in different areas of public-access training, including visiting a shopping centre and using amenities such as lifts and stairs and demonstrating that he can settle comfortably and confidently in a busy environment.
The good news is that Spring passed with flying colours and will now go on to undertake more specific training before the matching process begins. Well done, Spring! If you would like to support him further, you may make a donation via Kathy Dunn, our business administrator at Springview (svadmin@springdene.co.uk).
One of the things we emphasise in our marketing is that Springdene represents the best of family values. The company is still run by the descendants of the family that founded it more than half a century ago. Indeed, Theodore Powell, grandson of founders Arnold and June Powell, has just been appointed a director, bringing a third generation into the Springdene management.
In this family environment we offer a warm and intimate approach to care of your loved ones. This is in frequent contrast to the large anonymous homes that have been springing up in London and elsewhere in recent years. Often funded by overseas corporations, they cannot compete with the personalised care that is the hallmark of Springdene.
And to confirm we are doing the right thing, we have had some marvellous recent endorsements. Helen Kogan, daughter of Philip Kogan who was resident at Spring Lane, says: “I am writing to thank you on behalf of my mother, brother and sister for the wonderful care you gave Philip during his time with you. Your staff are exceptionally caring and compassionate, and we all felt he was treated with the utmost care and kindness.”
Also on the subject of Spring Lane, Mrs Anna Markou writes: “It has been a wonderful place for my father to have his rehab. All the staff are wonderful – from the welcome at reception – from Alex to management, Zoey and Lori. He has been well cared for and has enjoyed joining in with exercises. I can highly recommend Spring Lane for your loved one to come to, for either a short or long stay. Exceptional care!”
You can rest assured we’ll be keeping up the good work in 2023. One thing we are doing is to enter for the national care home awards, whose judges will rate us, based on your comments. So, if you have positive thoughts, please share them with us by writing to our chairman Michael Williams at mwilliams@springdene.co.uk. All communications will be acknowledged.
In the meantime, may we wish you a wonderful New Year!
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